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1 Samuel 14:4

in 1 Samuel 14

Now there were cliffs on both sides of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost. One was named Bozez and the other Seneh.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

KJV

And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 14

Commentary

12 notes on this verse
(The southern cliff was called “Seneh,” or “the acacia,” and the same name still applies to the modern valley, dotted by acacias. The northern cliff was named “Bozez” or “Shining.” The valley runs nearly due east, and the northern cliff is of ruddy and tawny tint, crowned with gleaming white chalk, and in the full glare of the sun almost all the day. (Conder.))

This site's exposition

a sharp rock on the one side

on 1 Samuel 14:4-5

The narrator stops to name the two crags, Bozez and Seneh, and to set them one over against Michmash and the other over against Gibeah. The detail is not ornament: it says the pass Jonathan proposes to climb is a real place with a real difficulty, so that his plan reads as reckless by any military measure. Visitors to the site still describe the steep faces the two young men had to climb on hands and feet.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

But there were rocky cliffs on either side of the pass, etc. There are frequent dangers lying in wait from both the right and left for the holy teachers striving to ascend against the wiles of evil spirits, that is, in glory and ignominy, in …

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.

proposed

Since the life of the elect is lofty in merits, while the condition of malignant spirits is lowly, what does it mean that there is said to be an ascent by which Jonathan tries to reach the garrison of the Philistines? For concerning these same Philistines as a type of demons, it was said not far above: "Going up, they encamped at Michmash" (1 Kings 13:5). But they are said to be above us insofar as we appear lesser in strength. They are also known to be above us in that which we cannot penetrate through understanding.

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

One was called Bozez, etc. Bozez, "in it he blossomed": Sene, "distress" is said. The interpretation of which is evident, for not less in flourishing than in opposing, that is, bringing distress, the ascent of the saints is hindered, and by the tireless enemy they …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Saul had once offended by offering sacrifice himself, ch. xiii. Now he resolves never to fall into that error again, and therefore sends for a priest, and hopes to compromise the matter with God Almighty by a particular reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

) as being peculiarly difficult, and their natural entrenchments impregnable, yet this does not discourage him; the strength and sharpness of the rocks do but harden and whet his resolutions. Great and generous souls are animated by opposition and take a pleasure in breaking through it.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

5 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Rock - Which is not to be understood, as if in this passage one rock was on the right hand, and the other on the left; for so he might have gone between both: and there was no need of climbing up to them.
And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

between the passages--that is, the deep and great ravine of Suweinit. Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison--a distance of about three miles running between two jagged points; Hebrew, "teeth of the cliff." there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side . . .

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The name of the one was Bozez - Slippery; and the name of the other Seneh, treading down. - Targum.

Modern Voices1 voice

A commentator

GK Chesterton

Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905) · Written before 1936.

proposed

The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וּבֵ֣יןand [were] between

    uveinH996 →407 times

  • הַֽמַּעְבְּר֗וֹתthe passes

    hama'berotH4569 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בִּקֵּ֤שׁhe sought

    bikeshH1245 →225 times

  • יֽוֹנָתָן֙Jonathan

    yonatanH3129 →43 times

  • לַֽעֲבֹר֙to pass over

    laavorH5674 →556 times

  • עַל־to

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • מַצַּ֣ב[the] garrison of

    matzavH4673 →10 times

  • פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines

    pelishtimH6430 →287 times

  • שֵׁן־[the] tooth of

    shen-H8127 →55 times

  • הַסֶּ֤לַעthe rock

    hasela'H5553 →58 times

  • מֵהָעֵ֙בֶר֙from the other side

    mehaeverH5676 →90 times

  • מִזֶּ֔הfrom this

    mizehH2088 →1180 times

  • וְשֵׁן־and [the] tooth of

    veshen-H8127 →55 times

  • הַסֶּ֥לַעthe rock

    hasela'H5553 →58 times

  • מֵהָעֵ֖בֶרfrom the other side

    mehaeverH5676 →90 times

  • מִזֶּ֑הfrom this

    mizehH2088 →1180 times

  • וְשֵׁ֤םand [the] name of

    veshemH8034 →864 times

  • הָֽאֶחָד֙the one

    haechadH259 →971 times

  • בּוֹצֵ֔ץ[was] Bozez

    botzetzH949 →

  • וְשֵׁ֥םand [the] name of

    veshemH8034 →864 times

  • הָאֶחָ֖דthe one

    haechadH259 →971 times

  • סֶֽנֶּה׃[was] Seneh

    senehH5573 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 13:23

    And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 10:28

      Assyria has entered Aiath and passed through Migron, storing their supplies at Michmash.

    • 1 Samuel 14:1

      One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.

    • 1 Samuel 14:4–5

      Now there were cliffs on both sides of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost. One was named Bozez and the other Seneh.

    • 1 Samuel 13:2–3

      He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And…

    • 1 Samuel 13:5

      Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 14 →
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).

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