1 Samuel 14:24

And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
men	וְאִֽישׁ ve.'ish-	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
distressed	נִגַּ֖שׂ ni.Gas	H5065	to drive (an animal · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
day	בַּיּ֣וֹם bai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Saul	שָׁא֨וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
adjured	וַיֹּאֶל֩ vai.yo.'El	H422	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people	הָעָ֜ם ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
saying	לֵאמֹ֗ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Cursed	אָר֣וּר 'a.Rur	H779	to execrate · verb, qal passive participle, masculine singular absolute
man	הָ֠אִישׁ Ha.'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
eateth	יֹ֨אכַל Yo.khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
food	לֶ֜חֶם Le.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
evening	הָעֶ֗רֶב ha.'E.rev	H6153	dusk · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
avenged	וְנִקַּמְתִּי֙ ve.ni.kam.Ti	H5358	to grudge · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
enemies	מֵאֹ֣יְבַ֔י me.'O.ye.Vai	H341	hating · preposition + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
people	הָעָ֖ם ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
tasted	טָעַ֥ם ta.'Am	H2938	to taste · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
food	לָֽחֶם La.chem	H3899	food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay…
Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Leviticus 27:29 None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
Numbers 21:2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their citi…
Deuteronomy 27:15-26 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth…
Joshua 6:17-19 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with…
Judges 1:28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
Judges 5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:24-35

We have here an account of the distress of the children of Israel, even in the day of their triumphs. Such alloys are all present joys subject to. And such obstructions does many a good cause meet with, even when it seems most prosperous, through the mismanagement of instruments. I. Saul forbade the people, under the penalty of a curse, to taste any food that day, Sa1 14:24. Here we will suppose, 1. That as king he had power to put his soldiers under this interdict, and to bind it on with a curse; and therefore they submitted to it, and God so far owned it as to discover, by the lot, that Jonathan was the delinquent that had meddled with the accursed thing (though ignorantly), on which accou…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 14:24

Saul had adjured the people--Afraid lest so precious an opportunity of effectually humbling the Philistine power might be lost, the impetuous king laid an anathema on any one who should taste food until the evening. This rash and foolish denunciation distressed the people, by preventing them taking such refreshments as they might get on the march, and materially hindered the successful attainment of his own patriotic object.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 14:24

Saul had adjured the people - He was afraid, if they waited to refresh themselves, the Philistines would escape out of their hands, and therefore he made the taking any food till sunset a capital crime. This was the very means of defeating his own intention; for as the people were exhausted for want of food, they could not continue the pursuit of their enemies: had it not been for this foolish adjuration, there had been a greater slaughter of the Philistines, Sa1 14:30.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:24

And the men of Israel were distressed that day,.... By reason of the following order Saul gave with an oath, forbidding any to taste meat till evening, when the people were faint and weary, which is the common sense of interpreters; but Jarchi interprets it, the men of Israel were ready, forward, and hasty, and drew nigh to fight with the Philistines, and so refers it to the persons before mentioned, who came out of their lurking places; and this sense is approved of by Abarbinel: "for", or "and Saul had adjured", or "did adjure the people"; or willed them, signified to them his will and pleasure, which would not have been so much amiss, had he not annexed a curse to it, as follows: saying,…

The Church Fathers

And the man of Israel was joined to himself on that day. With the enemies scattered in different directions, the Church, divided throughout the whole world, rejoices always with one and the same love of brotherhood.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

Saul, as it is written in the first book of Kings [Samuel], pronounced a curse on him who ate bread before the evening, and until he had avenged himself upon his enemies. So none of his troops tasted any food while all the people of the land ate. And so binding was a solemn fast once it was proclaimed to the Lord, that Jonathan, to whom the victory was due, was taken by lot and could not escape the charge of sinning in ignorance, and his father's hand was raised against him, and the prayers of the people barely saved him.
— Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.15

At all events, Saul himself, when engaged in battle, clearly enjoined this duty: "Cursed (be) the man who shall have eaten bread until evening, until I am avenged against my enemy"; and his whole company did not taste (food), and (yet) the whole earth was breakfasting! So solemn a sanction, moreover, did God confer on the edict which enjoined that station, that Jonathan the son of Saul, although it had been in ignorance of the fast having been appointed till a late hour that he had allowed himself a taste of honey, was both presently convicted, by lot … and with difficulty was exempted from punishment through the prayer of the people: for he had been convicted of gluttony, although of a simple kind.
— Tertullian, ON FASTING 10

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Adjuration — A solemn appeal whereby one person imposes on another the obligation of speaking or acting as if under an oath (1 Sam. 14:24; Josh. 6:26; 1 Kings 22:16). We have in the New Testament a striking…
Jonathan — Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judg. 18:30). His history is recorded in 17:7-13…
Moabite — The designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Saul — Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first…
Armies Of Israel, The · Strict discipline observed in — Strict discipline observed in
Jonathan · before Saul was avenged of his enemies — before Saul was avenged of his enemies

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 14:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:24-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 14:24

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 14:24

John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 14:24

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:24-35

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 14:24

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 14:24

John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:24

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 14:24-30

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 14:24

Rashi on 1 Samuel 14:24