Jonathan · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
taken
וַיִּלָּכֵ֧דvai.yi.la.Khed
H3920
to catch (in a net · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
בְּעַמְּךָbe.'a.me.Kha
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
escaped
יָצָֽאוּya.Tza.'u
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
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
Acts 1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Joshua 7:16-18 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
1 Samuel 10:20-21 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Jonah 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:36-46
Here is, I. Saul's boasting against the Philistines. He proposed, as soon as his soldiers had got their suppers, to pursue them all night, and not leave a man of them, Sa1 14:36. Here he showed much zeal, but little discretion; for his army, thus fatigued, could as ill spare a night's sleep as a meal's meat. But it is common for rash and foolish men to consider nobody but themselves, and, so that they might but have their humour, not to care what hardships they put upon those that are under them. However, the people were so obsequious to their king that they would by no means oppose the motion, but resolved to make the best of it, and, if he will go on, they will follow him: Do whatsoever se…
the people were very faint. And the people flew upon the spoil--at evening, when the time fixed by Saul had expired. Faint and famishing, the pursuers fell voraciously upon the cattle they had taken, and threw them on the ground to cut off their flesh and eat them raw, so that the army, by Saul's rashness, were defiled by eating blood, or living animals; probably, as the Abyssinians do, who cut a part of the animal's rump, but close the hide upon it, and nothing mortal follows from that wound. They were painfully conscientious in keeping the king's order for fear of the curse, but had no scruple in transgressing God's command. To prevent this violation of the law, Saul ordered a large stone…
Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot - Both the Vulgate and Septuagint add much to this verse: And Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, Lord God of Israel, give judgment. Why is it that thou hast not answered thy servant to-day? If the iniquity be in me, or Jonathan my son, make it manifest. Or if this iniquity be in thy people, give sanctification.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:41
Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel,.... After the division was made between him and his son on one side, and the people of Israel on the other, and everything was ready for the drawing of the lot; Saul put up to God the following petition, as knowing that though the lot is cast into the lap, the disposing of it is of the Lord:
give a perfect lot; or man, let it fall upon the guilty person, and let the innocent go free; the Targum is,"cause it to come in truth;''
let truth and righteousness take place; let the right man be found out, and taken; the petition seems to be too arrogant and presumptuous, and insinuates as if the Lord did not always dispose the lot aright:
and Saul an…
The Church Fathers
But what does it mean that Saul commands the people to separate themselves to one side, and the people ask the king to do what he commands, except that simple people do not know how to examine themselves, even when they are commanded to? Therefore he says: "Do what is good in your eyes." As if to say: You will be able to manage our affairs better, you who have received the light of the heart not only for yourself, but also for foreseeing our paths. But the ruler is praised for the interior illumination which he has through grace, yet does not possess through his own estimation. He is praised, indeed, because he is able to know the secrets of others, but he himself lacks confidence that he can know himself. Because, therefore, he does not ascribe to himself the light of so great a grace, he does not neglect to seek it from God through prayers. Whence it also follows: And he said to the Lord God of Israel: "Give a sign. Why have you not answered your servant today? If this iniquity is in me or in my son Jonathan, give a revelation; or if this iniquity is in your people, give holiness." We therefore ask that a sign be given when we demand that hidden things be revealed to us. But we must ask what such great diversity of words means. For regarding himself and his son he asks that a manifestation be given, but if the iniquity is in the people, holiness. This however can be stated briefly: because chosen teachers know their own strength and know the weakness of the subject people. For themselves, therefore, they ask only the manifestation of the fault, because they know they are accustomed to pursue it with the severity of penance. But for the people they seek holiness, because they do not desire merely to know the faults of their subjects; but those whom they find doing evil, they urge to arrive at pardon through lamentation. For what does it mean to say, "Give holiness," except, "Sanctify those whom you reveal"? You uncover their hidden things to me, but nothing is accomplished by the uncovering if you do not work upon those whom you reveal by pouring back grace. But because often subjects stand firm while prelates fall, there follows: And Jonathan and Saul were taken. And because it is not easily recognized by whom the fault itself was committed, there follows: And Saul said: Cast the lot between me and my son. And Jonathan was taken.
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
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
Lot, The · Jonathan’s — Jonathan’s
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).
Result of the battle, and consequences of Saul's rashness. - Sa1 14:31. "On that day they smote the Philistines from Michmash to Ajalon," which has been preserved in the village of Ylo (see at Jos 19:42), and was about three geographical miles to the south-west of Michmash; "and the people were very faint," because Saul had forbidden them to eat before the evening (Sa1 14:24).
Sa1 14:32
They therefore "fell voraciously upon the booty" - (the Chethibh ויּעשׂ is no doubt merely an error in writing for ויּעט, imperf. Kal of עיט with Dagesh forte implic. instead of ויּעט, as we may see from Sa1 15:19, since the meaning required by the context, viz., to fall upon a thing, cannot be established in…
Casting sacred lots involved the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8), which David also used when soliciting God’s guidance (1 Sam 23:2; 30:8; 2 Sam 2:1). The Urim and Thummim were two small objects (perhaps flat stones, sticks, or arrows) that may have been cast like dice. They would provide a positive answer, a neutral response, or a negative answer.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 14:41
Make it truthful. Give a true lot.
And the people were excluded. Innocent, from the lot.