1 Samuel 14:49
in 1 Samuel 14Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. His two daughters were named Merab (his firstborn) and Michal (his younger daughter).
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
KJV
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi–shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This enumeration of Saul’s children and chief officers is according to the analogy of the subsequent annals of David and Solomen’s reign. But the one here called Ishui, is elsewhere (marginal references) called Abi-nadab; and a fourth son, Esh-baal or Ish-bosheth, is here omitted.
This site's exposition
the names of his two daughters were these
on 1 Samuel 14:49-51
The family list names Merab and Michal, daughters whose fates the story has not yet reached: Merab is promised to Goliath's slayer at 17:25 and given to another man at 18:19, and Michal becomes David's wife and loses him to Saul's jealousy. Abner the captain of the host is here identified as the son of Ner, Saul's own uncle, which makes Abner the king's cousin and explains the loyalty that carries Saul's house into the war that follows his death. The list is plain record, but every name in it reappears later in the book.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Now, the sons of Saul were, etc. The three sons of Saul represent great leaders of the Catholic faith, which proclaims one God in three persons. Since they are what they are not by their own virtue but by the grace of God, and because …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
The sons of Saul, who are born not to any ordinary inheritance but to a kingdom, represent those of whom it is said to the holy Church through the Psalmist: "Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you; you shall make them princes over all the earth" (Psalm 44:17). We recognize that they are three, because they defend the faith of the holy Trinity by preaching it. But since the sons of the king are named after Amalek was struck down, let us refer their number to the merits of the virtues.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Ishui - Called also Abinadab. chap. xxxi, 2. Ishbosheth, Saul's other son is here omitted, because he intended to mention only those of his sons who went with him into the battles here mentioned, and who were afterwards slain with him.
And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the sons of Saul were Jonathan,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Now the sons of Saul - We do not find Ishbosheth here. Calmet says it was “because he was too young, and did not go with him to the war, for he mentions only those who were with him.” Why then mention his daughters and his wife? Did they go with him to the war?
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| יוֹנָתָ֥ן | yonatan | Jonathan | H3129 → | 43 times |
| וְיִשְׁוִ֖י | veyishvi | and Ishvi | H3440 → | |
| וּמַלְכִּי־ | umalki- | and Malki- | H4444 → | 10 times |
| שׁ֑וּעַ | shua' | Shua | H4444 → | 10 times |
| וְשֵׁם֙ | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שְׁתֵּ֣י | shetei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בְנֹתָ֔יו | venotav | daughters his | H1323 → | 588 times |
| שֵׁ֤ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַבְּכִירָה֙ | habekhirah | the firstborn | H1067 → | |
| מֵרַ֔ב | merav | [was] Merab | H4764 → | 3 times |
| וְשֵׁ֥ם | veshem | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַקְּטַנָּ֖ה | haketanah | the young [one] | H6996 → | 101 times |
| מִיכַֽל׃ | mikhal | [was] Michal | H4324 → | 18 times |
וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙and they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
יוֹנָתָ֥ןJonathan
yonatanH3129 →43 times
וְיִשְׁוִ֖יand Ishvi
veyishviH3440 →
וּמַלְכִּי־and Malki-
umalki-H4444 →10 times
שׁ֑וּעַShua
shua'H4444 →10 times
וְשֵׁם֙and [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
שְׁתֵּ֣י[the] two
sheteiH8147 →768 times
בְנֹתָ֔יוdaughters his
venotavH1323 →588 times
שֵׁ֤ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
הַבְּכִירָה֙the firstborn
habekhirahH1067 →
מֵרַ֔ב[was] Merab
meravH4764 →3 times
וְשֵׁ֥םand [the] name of
veshemH8034 →864 times
הַקְּטַנָּ֖הthe young [one]
haketanahH6996 →101 times
מִיכַֽל׃[was] Michal
mikhalH4324 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 Chronicles 8:33Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 31:2
The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 9:1
Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.
- 1 Samuel 14:49–51
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. His two daughters were named Merab (his firstborn) and Michal (his younger daughter).
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 2:8
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
- Acts 13:21
Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- 1 Samuel 31:2
Through
1 Samuel 31:2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 8:33
Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- 1 Chronicles 8:33
Through
1 Chronicles 9:39Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:22
So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
- 1 Samuel 13:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
- PersonEarly monarchyJonathanSon of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadf…
This page draws on 9 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; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
