Jonathan
VIEW:38 DATA:01-04-2020
given of God
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
JONATHAN (J″ [Note: Jahweh.] hath given).1. A Levite, the son of Gershom (wh. see); according to Jdg_18:30 he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan up to the Captivity. Jonathan was taken into the service of Micah as father and priest (Jdg_17:10); but, not long after he had taken up his abode there, six hundred Danites came that way and induced Jonathan to leave Micah and join them as their priest (Jdg_18:11-31). 2. The eldest son of Saul; he appears, in the first instance, as a brave and successful leader in battle. 1Sa_13:1-23; 1Sa_14:1-52 contain a graphic account of the way in which the Israelites threw off the Philistine yoke; in this campaign Jonathan took a leading part. He first of all, at the head of a thousand men, smote the Philistine garrison in Geba; this was the signal for the outbreak of war. The Philistine army gathered together and encamped in Michmash. Jonathan, accompanied only by his armour-bearer, at great risk surprised an advanced post of the Philistines, and slew about twenty men; the suddenness and success of this coup so terrified the Philistines that the whole host of them fled in panic. The popularity of Jonathan is well illustrated by the fact that the people prevented Saul from carrying out a vow which would have cost Jonathan his life (1Sa_14:24-46). The implicit trust which Saul placed in Jonathan is seen in the words of the latter in 1Sa_20:2 : Behold my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me. The faithfulness and trustworthiness of Jonathan as here shown gives an insight into what must have been that friendship for David which has become proverbial. All the characteristics of truest friendship are seen in Jonathan in their full beautylove (1Sa_18:1), faithfulness (1Sa_20:2 ff). disinterestedness (1Sa_20:12). and self-sacrifice (1Sa_20:24-34). The last we hear of Jonathan is his death upon the battlefield, fighting the foes of his country. In Davids lament the spirit of the departed hero speaks in unison with his friend: Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women (2Sa_1:26).
3. The son of the priest Mattathias; the youngest of the four Maccabæan brothers (2Ma_8:22), who played an important part during the Maccabsan revolt (see Maccabees). 4. A nephew of David (2Sa_21:21; cf. prob. 1Ch_27:32). 5. A son of Abiathar the priest (2Sa_15:27 ff; 2Sa_17:17-20, 1Ki_1:42). 6. A scribe in whose house Jeremiah was imprisoned (Jer_37:15-20; Jer_38:26). 7. A high priest (Neh_12:11): called in Neh_12:22 f. Johanan. 8. One of Davids heroes (2Sa_23:32, 1Ch_11:34). 9. A Levite (Neh_12:35). 10. The son of Kareah (Jer_40:8). 11. The father of Peleth and Zaza (1Ch_2:32 f.). 12. One of Davids treasurers (1Ch_27:25). 13. Father of Ebed (Ezr_8:6). 14. One of those who opposed (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) or assisted (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ) Ezra in the matter of the foreign marriages (Ezr_10:15). 15. A priest (Neh_12:14). 16. Son of Absalom, in the time of Simon the Maccabee (1Ma_13:11). 17. A priest who led the prayer at the first sacrifice after the Return (2Ma_1:23).
W. O. E. Oesterley.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
("Jehovah's gift".)
1. Son of Gershom. (See GERSHOM.) Sprung from Moses (changed to "Manasseh" in the keri or margin Hebrew): Jdg_18:30. It marks how prone to idolatry were the Israelites, that the priest to Micah's images and afterward to the Danites was a Levite, whose special duty it was to maintain pure Jehovah's worship, and he a descendant of Moses himself! Idolatry begins with the people, it being natural to our sensuous cravings; then it seeks the sanction of the church. Micah began with robbery of his own mother; her curses extorted restitution; she as a meritorious act consecrated the money for a "graven image" (pecel) and the "molten pedestal" (massecah) on which it stood like Aaron's calf (Exo_32:4), to be a representation of Jehovah; it was the forerunner of Jeroboam's calves long after and idol. (See CALVES; IDOL.)
Micah had a domestic sanctuary in which he consecrated his son as priest; here the image was set. The ephod was an imitation of the high priest's shoulder dress. The teraphim or household gods were also worshipped as givers of prosperity and as oracles. The time was very shortly after Joshua's death, an age when there was no king, and the law and the judges were not as yet well established (Jdg_17:1-6). Micah afterwards found a Levite for the service, who had sojourned in Bethlehem Judah and left it to seek maintenance where he could, in Mount Ephraim. It was Jonathan. With the self deceiving folly of idolaters Micah then said, "now I know that Jehovah will do me good seeing I have a Levite to my priest," as if a Levite's presence could bless where both priest and patron were apostates from the God of all blessing.
Five Danite spies, on their way to search for a settlement in the far N. for their tribe, recognized Jonathan. At their request he consulted God for them and promised them success. Six hundred Danites of Zorah and Eshtaol, led by the spies' report, marched to Dan or Laish. (See DAN.) On their way the live carried off the graven image, ephod, teraphim, and molten (cast) pedestal (Keil). Jonathan at their invitation was. "glad" to accompany them; ambition readily prompted the desire to be priest to a tribe and clan rather than to one individual. Micah with self convicting folly expostulated in vain, "ye have taken away my gods which I made (!) and the priest, ... and what have I more?" His loss was his gain, and their gain a fatal loss, if only he and they knew it. The priesthood remained hereditary in the family of Jonathan "until the captivity of the ark" (the taking of the ark by the Philistines), and Micah's images of his own making remained set up "all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh." Their idolatry was in the land of spiritual light and privileges (Luk_12:47-48).
2. Saul's oldest son. About 30 when first introduced, commanding a thousand at Gibeah (1Sa_13:2; compare 2Sa_2:8; 2Sa_2:10, which shows that Ishbosheth his younger brother was 40 at Saul's death). Meribbaal, or Mephibosheth, was born to him five years before his death (2Sa_4:4; 1Ch_8:34). Famed for swiftness and strength as a warrior (2Sa_1:23); and especially for skill with the bow (2Sa_1:22; 1Ch_12:2). His "bow turned not back," his invariable accoutrement (1Sa_18:4; 1Sa_20:35). Dutifully devoted to his father, whose constant companion he was (1Sa_20:2; 1Sa_20:25), yet true to his bosom friend David, whose modest:, youthful beauty, and heroic bravery won his whole heart at their first meeting after Goliath's fall, against whom nevertheless Saul cherished such deadly spite. He knew David's loyalty amidst all his father's suspicions.
Knowing also God's revealed will to exalt David to Saul's forfeited throne, Jonathan bowed to it with pious submission. Instead of jealousy, unselfish love made him rejoice in his friend's prospective exaltation at his own cost, and only covet to be next in rank to David: as he said when he went to David "and strengthened his hand in God," his last interview with him in the wood of Ziph (1Sa_23:16-17). Loving David "as his own soul" (1Sa_20:17; 1Sa_20:42), he withstood his father's reproaches and attempts to alienate his affections by representing "as long as the son of Jesse liveth ... thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom." He privately intimated to David his father's resolve to kill him (1Sa_19:2); but at the intercession of Jonathan (1Sa_19:4-6) Saul for the present gave up his design, saying "as the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain."
Soon he renewed his attempt, and David fled to Naioth. Jonathan then covenanted with David that he should show kindness to him and his house forever, when David's kingdom would be established (1 Samuel 20), a promise faithfully fulfilled by David to Mephibosheth. In vain he remonstrated with Saul in David's behalf; his father actually hurled a javelin at himself. Jonathan then only "rose from (his place beside his father at) table in fierce anger (the only time of his losing self command toward his father) and (did eat no meat," etc. Yet he clung to his father through life, and "in death they were not divided" (2Sa_1:23). The second last parting scene was especially touching; David and Jonathan "kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded" (1Sa_20:41). Jonathan by smiting the Philistine garrison (1Sa_13:2-3; or else an officer, Netzib, as William Tell rose against Gesler) at Geba gave the signal for a general revolt of Israel against its oppressors. (See GIBEAH.)
The Philistines poured in marauding parties, and Israel's cause seemed more hopeless than ever (1 Samuel 13). Saul and he had but 600 men in Gibeah, who were without sword and spear (the Philistines having taken away all their smiths); many Israelites had fled beyond Jordan. As Jonathan had provoked this aggravation of Philistine tyranny in concert with Saul, so Jonathan determined alone to deliver Israel (1 Samuel 14). His armourbearer agreed with all his heart to join in the hazardous enterprise; Jonathan's strong faith in God inspired his companion in arms with the same chivalrous devotion; "there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or few." Having fixed on an omen from God of success, they received it in the scoffing invitation of the Philistine guards on the other side of the steep Michmash defile, the key to command the E. in ascending from the Philistine plain: "come up to us and we will show you a thing" (compare 2Sa_5:6).
Jonathan and his armourbearer smote 20 of them in rapid succession. A panic ensued, the Philistines thought themselves outnumbered, and an earthquake completed the confusion; and the Israelites, with the Philistines in the camp an those hidden heretofore in Mount Ephraim and now emerging, joined in the pursuit as far W. as Ajalon. Saul, by his rash curse on any who should eat that day until the foe should be overthrown, retarded his own aim through weakening his people, involved them in violating the law by flying ravenously on the spoil at evening and eating flesh with the blood, and bound himself to put to death for tasting honey, and so receiving refreshment, his own beloved son, from which he was rescued only by the people's interposition. "Jonathan's soul was knit with David's," so that the latter testifies, "thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women"; like a Homeric hero, he gave his friend all his own arms, stripping himself (compare the Antitype, Php_2:7-8): 1Sa_18:1-4; 2Sa_1:26.
Jonathan holds the chief place in David's touching elegy, "the bow song" (the song on Jonathan famed for the bow) on his death with Saul and his two brothers in the battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). (See DAVID.) His corpse with the others was fastened to the wall of Bethsham; from whence the men of Jabesh Gilead rescued it. Finally it was removed to Zelah in Benjamin (2Sa_21:12-14). Jonathan's pious and filial self devotion appears in his readiness (like Isaac) to die at his father's command because of the rash adjuration of the latter; type of the Son of God, volunteering to die for us because Adam by eating the forbidden fruit had his "eyes opened" (Genesis 3; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:43); again in his continuing to the last faithful to Saul, though his father had attempted his life, and though he knew that his father's kingdom was doomed to fall and David to succeed.
3. David's nephew, son of Shimeah, Jonadab's brother. At once "a wise man and learned scribe and counselor" (for the Hebrew dod, "uncle," means a relative and so "nephew": 1Ch_27:32; 2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7), and a brave warrior who like David slew a giant Philistine, of Gath, remarkable for six toes and six fingers.
4. The high priest Abiathar's son. In Absalom's rebellion returned with his father from Olivet to act as David's spy with Ahimaaz, conveying the tidings from Abiathar and Hushai in the city (2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_15:2 Samuel 17). Announced at Adonijah's feast to the guests, including Abiathar, the unwelcome tidings of Solomon's being anointed (1Ki_1:41-49).
5. Son of Shage the Ararite, i.e. mountaineer (1Ch_11:34). "Shammah" in 2Sa_23:33 stands instead of "son of Shage," probably all error of the transcriber from ver. 11; Chronicles has the true reading.
6. Ezr_8:6.
7. Ezr_10:15.
8. Neh_12:14.
9. Jer_40:8.
10. The high priest Joiada's son and successor. The genealogies of the priests and Levites were kept in his high priesthood, and the national chronicles were continued to his time (Neh 12:11-22-23). Notorious for murdering in the temple his own brother Jesus, who had tried to supplant him by the Persian general Bagoas' help. The latter in consequence entered and polluted the temple and imposed a tax of 50 shekels for every lamb sacrificed (Josephus, Ant. 11:7, section 1). Jonathan or John was high priest 32 years.
11. Neh_12:35; of the course of Shemaiah (so Lord A.C. Hervey reads for "son of".)
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Jon'athan. That is, "the gift of Jehovah", the eldest son of King Saul. (B.C. about 1095-1056). He was a man of great strength and activity. 2Sa_1:23. He was also famous as a warrior, 1Ch_12:2, as is shown by the courage he showed, in attacking the garrison of the Philistines, in company with his armor-bearer only, slaying twenty men and putting an army to flight. 1Sa_14:6-16. During the pursuit, Jonathan, who had not heard of the rash curse, 1Sa_14:24, which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening, tasted the honey which lay on the ground. Saul would have sacrificed him; but the people interposed in behalf , of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved. 1Sa_14:24-45.
The chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived , from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return, from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. Their last meeting was in a forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. 1Sa_23:16-18. From this time forth, we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle, he fell. 1Sa_31:2; 1Sa_31:8. (B.C. 1056). His ashes were buried first at Jabesh-gilead, 1Sa_31:13, but were afterward, removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin. 2Sa_21:12. The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David. He left a son, Mephibosheth. See Mephibosheth.
1. A nephew of David. 2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7. He engaged in single combat with, and slew, a gigantic Philistine of Gath. 2Sa_21:21. (B.C. 1018).
2. The son of Abiathar, the high priest, is the last descendant of Eli, of whom we hear anything. 2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_17:15-21; 1Ki_1:42-43. (B.C. 1023).
3. One of David's heroes. 2Sa_23:32; 1Ch_11:34.
4. The son or descendant of Gershom, the son of Moses. Jdg_18:30. See Micah. (B.C. about 1425).
5. One of the Bene-Adin, (that is, sons of Adin). Ezr_8:6.
6. A priest, the son of Asahel, in the time of Ezra. Ezr_10:15. (B.C. 459).
7. A priest, of the family of Melieu. Neh_12:14.
8. One of the sons of Kareah, and brother of Johanan. Jer_40:8. (B.C. 587).
9. Son of Joiada, and his successor in the high priesthood. Neh_12:11; Neh_12:22-23. (B.C. before 332).
10. Father of Zechariah, a priest, who blew the trumpet, at the dedication of the wall. Neh_12:35.
11. 1Es_8:32. See Jonathan, 6. (B.C. 446).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
the son of Saul, a prince of an excellent disposition, and in all varieties of fortune a sincere and steady friend to David. Jonathan gave signal proofs of courage and conduct upon all occasions that offered, during the wars between his father and the Philistines. The death of Jonathan was lamented by David, in one of the noblest and most pathetic odes ever uttered by genius consecrated by pious friendship. See 1Sa_13:16, &c; 1Sa_14:1-2, &c.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
In the early days of Sauls kingship, the Israelite army consisted of two main divisions, one under the command of Saul, the other under the command of his eldest son, Jonathan (1Sa_13:2; 1Sa_14:49). Early in his career, Jonathan showed his sharp thinking and his courage when he took his armour-bearer and carried out a daring raid that threw the enemy Philistines into confusion. Though it was a risky adventure, it resulted in a notable victory for Israel (1Sa_14:1-48).
When David became a member of Sauls court and then of his army, he and Jonathan became close friends (1Sa_18:1-4). Davids victories stirred up Sauls jealousy and hatred, but Jonathan defended him and intervened on his behalf. He successfully pleaded with his father to stop trying to kill David (1Sa_19:1-7).
Unknown to Jonathan, Saul renewed his attacks on David (1Sa_19:8-11). When Jonathan heard about this, he determined to find out Sauls real intentions towards David (1Sa_20:1-23). Unlike his father, Jonathan showed no jealousy of David, even when his father reminded him that David was a threat to his own chances of becoming king (1Sa_20:30-34).
Jonathan helped David escape, but neither he nor David plotted against the king. Their sole purpose was to save Davids life. While remaining loyal to the king, Jonathan reassured David that nothing could change the relationship between them. He knew that David would be the next king, and he would be happy to serve under him as chief minister (1Sa_23:16-18).
Some years later Jonathan was tragically killed in a battle with the Philistines. Davids love for him is seen in the song of remembrance he wrote after his friends premature death (1Sa_31:2; 2Sa_1:17-27).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
Jonathan, 1
Jonathan (God-given), a Levite descended from Gershom, the son of Moses, not Manasseh, as in our common copies, an interpolation made (Jdg_18:30) in order to save the character of the great lawgiver from the stain of having an idolater among his immediate descendants. The history of this Jonathan is involved in the narrative which occupies Judges 17-18; and the events themselves appear to have occurred soon after the death of Joshua, and of the elders who outlived him, when the government was in a most unsettled state.
Jonathan, who was resident at Bethlehem, lived at a time when the dues of the sanctuary did not afford a livelihood to the numerous Levites who had a claim upon them; and belonged to a tribe destitute of the landed possessions which gave to all others a sufficient maintenance. He, therefore, went forth to seek his fortune. In Mount Ephraim he came to 'a house of gods,' which had been established by one Micah, who wanted nothing but a priest to make his establishment complete [MICAH]. This person made Jonathan what was manifestly considered the handsome offer of engaging him as his priest for his victuals, a yearly suit of clothes, and ten shekels (twenty-five shillings) a year in money. Here he lived for some time, till the Danite spies, who were sent by their tribe to explore the north, passed this way and formed his acquaintance. When, not long after, the body of armed Danites passed the same way when going to settle near the sources of the Jordan, the spies mentioned Micah's establishment to them; on which they went and took away not only 'the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image,' but the priest also, that they might set up the same worship in the place of which they were going to take possession. Micah vainly protested against this robbery; but Jonathan himself was glad at the improvement in his prospects, and from that time, even down to the captivity, he and his descendants continued to be priests of the Danites in the town of Laish, the name of which they changed to Dan.
There is not any reason to suppose that this establishment, whether in the hands of Micah or of the Danites, involved an apostasy from Jehovah. It appears rather to have been an attempt to localize or domesticate His presence, under those symbols and forms of service which were common among the neighboring nations, but were forbidden to the Hebrews. The offence here was twofold?the establishment of a sacred ritual different from the only one which the law recognized, and the worship by symbols, naturally leading to idolatry, with the ministration of one who could not legally be a priest, but only a Levite, and under circumstances in which no Aaronic priest could legally have officiated. It is more than likely that this establishment was eventually merged in that of the golden calf, which Jeroboam set up in this place, his choice of which may very possibly have been determined by its being already in possession of 'a house of gods.'
Jonathan, 2
Jonathan, eldest son of Saul, king of Israel, and consequently heir apparent of the throne which David was destined to occupy (1Sa_14:9; 1Ch_8:33; 1Ch_9:39). The war with the Philistines, which occupied the early part of his father's reign, afforded Jonathan more than one opportunity of displaying the chivalrous valor and the princely qualities with which he was endowed. His exploit in surprising the Philistine garrison at Michmash, attended only by his armor-bearer, is one of the most daring which history or even romance records (1Sa_14:1-14). His father came to follow up this victory, and in the ensuing pursuit of the confounded Philistines, Jonathan, spent with fatigue and hunger, refreshed himself with some wild honey which he found in a wood through which he passed. He knew not that his father had rashly vowed to put to death anyone who touched a morsel of food before night. When the fact transpired, Saul felt himself bound to execute his vow even upon his gallant son; but the people, with whom the young prince was a great favorite, interposed and prevented the execution of his design (1Sa_14:16-52).
Jealousy and every mean or low feeling were strangers to the generous heart of Jonathan. Valiant and accomplished himself, none knew better how to acknowledge valor and accomplishment in others. The act of David in meeting the challenge of Goliath, and in overcoming that huge barbarian, entirely won his heart; and from that day forward the son of Jesse found no one who loved him so tenderly, who admired his high gifts with so much enthusiasm, or who risked so much to preserve him from harm, as the very prince whom he was destined to exclude from a throne. Jonathan knew well what was to happen, and he submitted cheerfully to the appointment which gave the throne of his father to the young shepherd of Bethlehem. In the intensity of his love and confidence he shrank not to think of David as his destined king and master; and his dreams of the future pictured nothing brighter than the day in which David should reign over Israel, and he be one with him in friendship, and next to him in place and council.
When Saul began to hate David as his intended successor, he was highly displeased at the friendship which had arisen between him and his son. This exposed Jonathan to much contumely, and even to danger of life; for, once at least, the king's passion against him on this account rose so high that he cast a javelin at him 'to smite him to the wall.'
This unequivocal act taught Jonathan that the court of Saul was no safe place for David. He told him so, and they parted with many tears. David then set forth upon those wanderings among strangers and in solitary places, which boasted all the time of Saul. The friends met only once more. Saul was in pursuit of David when he was in the wilderness of Ziph; and Jonathan would not forbear coming to him secretly in the wood to give him comfort and encouragement (1Sa_23:16-18). Nothing more is related Jonathan till both he and his father lost their lives in the fatal battle of Gilboa, combating against the enemies of their country.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Jonathan
(Heb. Yonathan, יוֹנָתָן, 1Sa_13:2-3; 1Sa_13:16; 1Sa_13:22; 1Sa_14:1; 1Sa_14:3-4; 1Sa_14:12-14; 1Sa_14:17; 1Sa_14:21; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:29; 1Sa_14:39-45; 1Sa_14:49; 1Sa_19:1; 1Ki_1:42-43; 1Ch_2:32-33; 1Ch_10:2; 1Ch_11:34; Ezr_8:6; Ezr_10:15; Neh_12:11; Neh_12:14; Neh_12:35; Jer_40:8; Sept. Ι᾿ωνάθαν), a contracted form of JEHONATHAN (יְהוֹנָתָן, q.d. Theodore, 1Ch_27:25; 2Ch_17:8; Neh_12:18; Anglicized "Jonathan" elsewhere, Jdg_18:30 1Sa_14:6; 1Sa_14:8; 1Sa_18:1; 1Sa_18:3-4; 1Sa_19:1-2; 1Sa_19:4; 1Sa_19:6-7; 1Sa_20:1; 1Sa_20:3-5; 1Sa_20:9-13; 1Sa_20:16-18; 1Sa_20:25; 1Sa_20:27-28; 1Sa_20:30; 1Sa_20:32-35; 1Sa_20:37-40; 1Sa_20:42; 1Sa_23:16; 1Sa_23:18; 1Sa_31:2; 2Sa_1:4-5; 2Sa_1:12; 2Sa_1:17; 2Sa_1:22-23; 2Sa_1:25-26; 2Sa_4:4; 2Sa_9:1; 2Sa_9:3; 2Sa_9:6-7; 2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_17:17-20; 2Sa_21:7; 2Sa_21:12-14; 2Sa_21:21; 2Sa_22:32; 1Ch_8:33-34; 1Ch_9:39-40; 1Ch_20:7; 1Ch_27:32; Jer_37:15; Jer_37:20; Jer_38:26; Sept. Ι᾿ωνάθαν), the name of fifteen or more men in the canonical Scriptures, besides several in the Apocrypha and Josephus.
I. A Levite descended from Gershom, the son of Moses (Jdg_18:30). It is indeed said, in our Masoretic copies, that the Gershom from whom this Jonathan sprang was "the son of Manasseh;" but it is on very good grounds supposed that in the name Moses (משׁה), the single letter n (נ) has been interpolated (and it is usually written suspended, Buxtorf, Tiber. p. 14), changing it into Manasseh (מנשׂה), in order to save the character of the great lawgiver from the stain of having an idolater among his immediate descendants (Baba Bathra, 109, b). The singular name Gershom, and the date of the transaction, go far to establish this view. Accordingly the Vulgate, and some copies of the, Septuagint, actually exhibit the name of Moses instead of Manasseh. (See Clarke's Comment. ad loc.) The history of this Jonathan is involved in the narrative which occupies Judges 17:18, and is one of the two accounts which form a sort of appendix to that book. The events themselves appear to have occurred soon after the death of Joshua, and of the elders who outlived him, when the government was in a most unsettled state. Its proper place in the chronological order would have been between the second and third chapters of the book. B.C. cir. 1590. Jonathan, who was resident at Bethlehem, lived at a time when the dues of the sanctuary did not afford a livelihood to the numerous Levites who had a claim upon them, and belonged to a tribe destitute of the landed possessions which gave to all others a sufficient maintenance. He therefore went forth to seek his fortune. In Mount Ephraim he came to "a house. of gods," which had been established by one Micah, who wanted nothing but a priest to make his establishment complete. SEE MICAH. This person made Jonathan what was manifestly considered the handsome offer of engaging him as his priest for his victuals, a yearly suit of clothes, and ten shekels (about six dollars) a year in money. Here he lived for some time, till the Danite spies, who were sent by their tribe to explore the north, passed this way and formed his acquaintance. When, not long after, the body of armed Danites passed the same way in going to settle near the sources of the Jordan, the spies mentioned Micah's establishment to them, on which they went and took away not only "the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image," but the priest, also, that they might set up the same worship in the place of which they were going to take possession. Micah vainly protested against this robbery; but Jonathan himself was glad at the improvement in his prospects, and from that time, even down to the captivity, he and his descendants continued to be priests of the Danites in the town of Laish, the name of which was changed to Dan.
There is not any reason to suppose that this establishment, whether in the hands of Micah or of the Danites, involved an apostasy from Jehovah. It appears rather to have been an attempt to localize or domesticate his presence, under those symbols and forms of service which were common among the neighboring nations, but were forbidden to the Hebrews. The offense here was twofold the establishment of a sacred ritual different from the only one which the law recognized, and the worship by symbols, naturally leading to idolatry, with the ministration of one who could not legally be a priest, but only a Levite. and under circumstances in which no Aaronic priest could legally have officiated. It is more than likely that this establishment was eventually merged in that of the golden calf, which Jeroboam set up in this place, his choice of which may very possibly have been determined by its being already in possession of "a house of gods."
The Targum of R. Joseph, on 1Ch_23:16, identifies this Jonathan with Shebuel, the son of Gershom, who is there said to have repented (עֲבִד תְּתוּבָא) in his old age, and to have been appointed by David as chief over his treasures. All this arises from a play upon the name Shebuel, from which this meaning is extracted in accordance with a favorite practice of the Targumist.
II. Second of the two sons of Jada, and grandson of Jerahmeel, of the family of Judah; as his brother Jether died without issue, this branch of the line was continued through the two sons of Jonathan (1Ch_2:32-33). B.C. considerably post 1612.
III. The eldest son of king Saul and the bosom friend of David (Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθη, Ant. 6:6,1). He first appears some time after his father's accession (1Sa_13:2). If his younger brother Ishbosheth was forty at the time of Saul's, death (2Sa_2:8), Jonathan must have been at least thirty when he is first mentioned. Of his own family we know nothing except the birth of one son, five years before his death (2Sa_4:4). He was regarded in his father's lifetime as heir to the throne. Like Saul, he was a man of great strength and activity (2Sa_1:23). of which the exploit at Michmash was a proof. He was also famous for the peculiar martial exercises in which his tribe excelled archery and slinging (1Ch_12:2). His bow was to him what the spear was to his father: "the bow of Jonathan turned not back" (2Sa_1:22). It was always about him (1Sa_18:4; 1Sa_20:35). It is through his relation with David that he is chiefly known to us, probably as related by his descendants at David's court. But there is a background, not so clearly given, of his relation with his father. From the time that he first appears he is Saul's constant companion. He was always present at his father's meals. As Abner and David seem to have occupied the places afterwards called the captaincies of "the host" and "of the guard," so he seems to have been (as Hushai afterwards) "the friend" (comp. 1Sa_20:25; 2Sa_15:37).
The whole story implies, without expressing, the deep attachment of the father and son. Jonathan can only go on his dangerous expedition (1Sa_14:1) by concealing it from Saul. Saul's vow is confirmed, and its tragic effect deepened, by his feeling for his son, "though it be Jonathan my son" (1Sa_14:39). "Tell me what thou hast done" (1Sa_14:43). Jonathan cannot bear to believe his father's enmity to David: "My father will do nothing, great or small, but that he will show it to me and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so" (1Sa_20:2). To him, if to any one, the wild frenzy of the king was amenable "Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan" (1Sa_19:6). Their mutual affection was indeed interrupted by the growth of Saul's insanity. Twice the father would have sacrificed the son: once in consequence of his vow (1 Samuel 14); the second time, more deliberately, on the discovery of David's flight; and on this last occasion, a momentary glimpse is given of some darker history. Were the phrases "son of a perverse rebellious woman" "shame on thy mother's nakedness" (1Sa_20:30-31), mere frantic invectives? or was there something in the story of Ahinoam or Rizpah which we do not know? "In fierce anger" Jonathan left the royal presence (ib. 34). But he cast his lot with his father's decline, not with his friend's rise, and "in death they were not divided" (2Sa_1:23; 1Sa_23:16).
1. The first main part of his career is connected with the war with the Philistines, commonly called, from its locality, "the war of Michmash" (1Sa_13:21, Sept.), as the last years of the Peloponnesian War. were called, for a similar reason, "the war of Decelea." In the previous war with the Ammonites (1Sa_11:4-15) there is no mention of him; and his abrupt appearance, without explanation, in 13:2, may seem to imply that some part of the narrative has been lost. B.C. 1073. He is already of great importance in the state. Of the 3000 men of whom Saul's standing army was formed (13:2; 24:2; 26:1, 2), 1000 were under the command of Jonathan at Gibeah. The Philistines were still in the general command of the country; an officer was stationed at Geba, either the same as Jonathan's position or close to it. In a sudden act of youthful daring, as when Tell rose against Gessler, or as in sacred history Moses rose against the Egyptian, Jonathan slew this officer (Auth. Vers. "garrison," Sept. τὸν Νασίβ, 1Sa_13:3-4. See Ewald, 2, 476), and thus gave the signal for a general revolt. Saul took advantage of it, and the whole population rose. But it was a premature attempt. The Philistines poured in from the plain, and the tyranny became more deeply rooted than ever. SEE SAUL.
Saul and Jonathan (with their immediate attendants) alone had arms, amidst the general weakness and disarming of the people (1Sa_13:22). They were encamped at Gibeah, with a small body of 600 men, and as they looked down from that height on the misfortunes of their country, and of their native tribe especially, they wept aloud (Sept. ἔκλαιον, 1Sa_13:16).
From this oppression, as Jonathan by his former act had been the first to provoke it, so now he was the first to deliver his people. On the former occasion Saul had been equally with himself involved in the responsibility of the deed. Saul "blew the trumpet" Saul had "smitten the officer of the Philistines" (1Sa_13:3-4). But now it would seem that Jonathan was resolved to undertake the whole risk himself. "The day," the day fixed by him (Sept. γίνεται ἡ ἡμέρα, 1Sa_14:1), approached, and without communicating his project to any one, except the young man, whom, like all the chiefs of that age, he retained as his armor bearer, he sallied forth from Gibeah to attack the garrison of the Philistines stationed on the other side of the steep defile of Michmash (1Sa_14:1). His words are short, but they breathe exactly the ancient and peculiar spirit of the Israelitish warrior: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few." The answer is no less characteristic of the close friendship of the two young men, already like that which afterwards sprang up between Jonathan and David. "Do all that is in thine heart; .... behold, I am with thee as thy heart is my heart (Sept., 1Sa_14:7)." After the manner of the time (and the more, probably, from having taken no counsel of the high priest or any prophet before his departure), Jonathan proposed to draw an omen for their course from the conduct of the enemy. If the garrison, on seeing them, gave intimations of descending upon them, they would remain in the valley; if, on the other hand, they raised a challenge to advance, they were to accept it. The latter turned out to be the case. The first appearance of the two warriors from behind the rocks was taken by the Philistines as a furtive apparition of "the Hebrews coming forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves;" and they were welcomed with a scoffing invitation (such as the Jebusites afterwards offered to David), "Come up, and we will show you a thing" (1Sa_14:4-12). Jonathan immediately took them at their word. Strong and active as he was, "strong as a lion, and swift as an eagle" (2Sa_1:23), he was fully equal to the adventure of climbing on his hands and feet up the face of the cliff. When he came directly in view of them, with his armor bearer behind him, they both, after the manner of their tribe (1Ch_12:2), discharged a flight of arrows, stones, and pebbles from their bows, crossbows, and slings, with such effect that twenty men fell at the first onset. A panic seized the garrison, thence spread to the camp, and thence to the surrounding hordes of marauders; an earthquake combined with the terror of the moment; the confusion increased; the Israelites who had been taken slaves by the Philistines during the last three days (Sept.) rose in mutiny; the Israelites who lay hid in the numerous caverns and deep holes in which the rocks of the neighborhood abound, sprang out of their subterranean dwellings. Saul and his little band had watched in astonishment the wild retreat from the heights of Gibeah; he now joined in the pursuit, which led him headlong after the fugitives, over the rugged plateau of Bethel, and down the pass of Beth-horon to Ajalon (1Sa_14:15-31). SEE GIBEAH.
The father and son had not met on that day: Saul only conjectured his son's absence from not finding him when he numbered the people. Jonathan had not. heard of the rash curse (1Sa_14:24) which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening. In the dizziness and darkness (Hebrew, 1Sa_14:27) that came on after his desperate exertions, he put forth the staff which apparently had (with his sling and bow) been his chief weapon, and tasted the honey which lay on the ground as they passed through the forest. The pursuers in general were restrained even from this slight indulgence by fear of the royal curse; but the moment that the day, with its enforced fast, was over, they flew, like Muslims at sunset during the fast of Ramadan, on the captured cattle, and devoured them, even to the brutal neglect of the law which forbade the dismemberment of the fresh carcasses with the blood. This violation of the law Saul endeavored to prevent and to expiate by erecting a large stone, which served both as a rude table and as an altar; the first altar that was raised under the monarchy. It was in the dead of night, after this wild revel was over, that he proposed that the pursuit should be continued fill dawn; 'and then; when the silence of the oracle of the high priest indicated that something had occurred to intercept the divine favor, the lot was tried, and Jonathan appeared as the culprit. Jephthah's dreadful sacrifice would have been repeated; but the people interposed in behalf of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved (1Sa_14:24-46).
2. But the chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. It is the first Biblical instance of a romantic friendship, such as was common afterwards in Greece, and has been since in Christendom; and is remarkable both as giving its sanction to these, and as filled with a pathos of its own, which has been imitated, but never surpassed, in modern works of fiction. "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul" "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (1Sa_18:1 2Sa_1:26). Each found in each the affection that he found not in his own family; no jealousy of rivalry between the two, as claimants for the same throne, ever interposed: "Thou shalt be king in Israel, and I shall be next unto thee" (1Sa_23:17). The friendship was confirmed, after the manner of the time, by a solemn compact often repeated. The first was immediately on their first acquaintance. Jonathan gave David as a pledge his royal mantle, his sword, his girdle, and his famous bow (1Sa_18:4). His fidelity was soon called into action by the insane rage of his father against David. He interceded for his life, at first with success (1Sa_19:1-7). Then the madness returned, and David fled. It was in a secret interview during this flight, by the stone of Ezel, that the second covenant was made between the two friends, of a still more binding kind, extending to their mutual posterity Jonathan laying such emphasis on this portion of the compact as almost to suggest the belief of a slight misgiving on his part of David's future conduct in this respect. It is this interview which brings out the character of Jonathan in the liveliest colors his little artifices his love for both his father and his friend his bitter disappointment at his father's unmanageable fury his familiar sport of archery. With passionate embraces and tears the two friends parted, B.C. cir. 1062, to meet only once more (1 Samuel 20). That one more meeting was far away in the forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. Jonathan's alarm for his friend's life is now changed into a confidence that he will escape: "He strengthened his hand in God." Finally, and for the third time, they renewed the covenant, and then parted forever (1Sa_23:16-18). B.C. cir. 1061.
From this time forth we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle he fell, with his two brothers and his father, and his corpse shared their fate (1Sa_31:2; 1Sa_31:8). B.C. 1053. His remains were buried first at Jabesh- Gilead (ib. 13), but afterwards removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin (2Sa_21:12). The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David, in which, as the friend, he naturally occupies the chief place (2Sa_1:22-23; 2Sa_1:25-26), and which seems to have been sung in the education of the archers of Judah, in commemoration of the one great archer, Jonathan: "He bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow" (2Sa_1:17-18).
Jonathan left one son, aged five years old at the time of his death (2Sa_4:4), to whom he had probably given his original name of Merib- baal, afterwards changed for Mephibosheth (comp. 1Ch_8:34; 1Ch_9:40). SEE MEPHIBOSHETH. Through him the line of descendants was continued down to the time of Ezra (1Ch_9:40), and even then their great ancestor's archery was practiced among them. SEE DAVLD. See Niemeyer, Charakter. 4, 413; Herder, Geist. der Hebr. Poesie, 2, 287; Koster, in the Stud. u. Krit. 1832, 2, 366; Ewald, Isr. Gesch. 2, 530; Pareau, Elegia Davidis, etc. (Groning. 1829); Simon, De amicitia Davidii et Jonah (Hildburgh. 1739).
IV. Son of Shage, a relative of Ahiam, both among David's famous warriors and descendants of Jashen of the mountains of Judah (2Sa_23:32; 1Ch_11:34). B.C. 1046. SEE HARARITE.
V. Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one of the adherents to David's cause during the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:36). He remained at En-rogel under pretence of procuring water, and reported to his master the proceedings in the camp of the insurgents (2Sa_17:20; Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθης, Ant. 7, 9, 2). B.C. cir. 1023. At a later date his constancy was manifested on a similar occasion by announcing to the ambitious Adonijah the forestallment of his measures by the succession of Solomon (1 Kings 1, 42, 43). B.C. cir. 1015. "On both occasions it may be remarked that he appears as the swift and trusty messenger. He is the last descendant of Eli of whom we hear anything" (Smith). SEE DAVID.
VI. Son of Shammah (Shimeah or Shimea), and David's nephew, as well as one of his chief warriors, a position which he earned by slaying a gigantic relative of Goliath (2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7; Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθης, Ant. 7, 12, 2). B.C. 1018. He was also made secretary of the royal cabinet (1Ch_27:32, where דּוֹד is mistaken in the Auth. Vers. for the usual sense of "uncle"). B.C. 1014. "Jerome (Quest. Hebr. on 1Sa_17:12) conjectures that this was Nathan the prophet, thus making up the eighth son, not named in 1Ch_2:13-15. But this is not probable" (Smith).
VII. Son of Uzziah, and steward of the agricultural revenue of David (1Ch_27:25; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
VIII. One of the Levites sent by Jehoshaphat to aid in teaching the Law to the people (1Ch_17:8; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
IX. A scribe whose house was converted into a prison in which Jeremiah was closely confined (Jer_27:15; Jer_27:20; Jer_38:26). B.C. 589. X. Brother of Johanan, the son of Kareah, and associated with him in his intercourse with Gedaliah. the Babylonian governor of Jerusalem (Jer_40:8). B.C. 587.
XI. Son of Shemaiah and priest contemporary with Joiakim (Neh_12:18; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
XII. Son of Melicu and priest contemporary with Joiakim. (Neh_12:14). B.C. between 536 and 459.
XIII. Father of Ebed, which latter was an Israelite of the "sons" of Adin that returned from Babylon with Ezra (Ezr_8:6) at the head of fifty males, a number which is increased to 250 in 1Es_8:32, where Jonathan is written Ι᾿ωνάθας. B.C. ante 459.
XIV. Son of Asahel, a chief Israelite associated with Jahaziah in separating the returned exiles from their Gentile wives (Ezr_10:15). B.C. 459.
XV. Son of Joiada and father of Jaddua, Jewish high priests (Neh_12:11); elsewhere called JOHANAN (Neh_12:22), and apparently John by Josephus, who relates his assassination of his own brother Jesus in the Temple(Ant. 11, 7, 1 and 2). Jonathan, or John, was high priest for thirty-two years, according to Eusebius and the Alexandr. Chronicles (Selden, De Success. in Pontif. cap. 6, 7). SEE HIGH PRIEST.
XVI. Son of Shemaiah, of the family of Asaph, and father of Zechariah, which last was one of the priests appointed to flourish the trumpets as the procession moved around the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (Neh_12:35). B.C. ante 446.
XVII. A son of Mattathias, and leader of the Jews in their war of independence after the death of his brother Judas Maccabaeus, B.C. 161 (1Ma_9:19 sq.). Smith. SEE MACCABEES.
XVIII. A son of Absalom (1Ma_13:11), sent by Simon with a force to occupy Joppa, which was already in the hands of the Jews (1Ma_12:33), though probably held only by a weak garrison. Jonathan expelled the inhabitants (τοὺς ὄντας ἐν αὐτῆ); comp. Josephus, Ant. 13, 6, 3) and secured the city. Jonathan was probably a brother of Mattathias (2) (1Ma_11:70).
XIX. A priest who is said to have offered up a solemn prayer on the occasion of the sacrifice made by Nehemiah after the recovery of the sacred fire (2 Macc. 1, 23 sq.; compare Ewald, Gesch. d. V. Isr. 4, 184 sq.). The narrative is interesting, as it presents a singular example of the combination of Dublic prayer with sacrifice (Grimm, ad 2 Maccabees 1.c.).
XX. A Sadducee at whose instigation Hyrcanus (q.v.) abandoned the Pharisees for their mild sentence against his maligner Eleazar (Josephus, Ant. 13, 10, 6).
XXI. Son of Ananus, appointed Jewish high priest, A.D. 36, by Vitelius in place of Joseph Caiaphas (Ant. 18, 4, 2), and deposed after two years, when his brother Theophilus succeeded him (ib. 5, 2). He was reappointed by Agrippa A.D. 43, but this time he declined that honor in favor of his brother Matthias (Josephus, Ant. 19, 6, 4); he was sent by Cumanus to Claudius in a quarrel with the Samaritans, but appears to have been released by the emperor (War, 2, 12, 6 and 7); he was at last murdered by the Sicarii (War, 2, 13, 3). He was perhaps the high priest whom Felix caused to be assassinated for his reproofs of his bad government (Josephus, Ant. 20, 8, 5). (See Frankel, Monatsschrift, 1, 589; Grätz, Gesch. der Juden, 3, 263, 287, 357.) SEE HIGH PRIEST.
XXII. A common weaver, leader of the Sicarii in Cyrene, captured and put to death by the Romans after various adventures (Josephus, War, 7, 11, 12).
XXIII. A Jew who challenged the Romans to single combat during the last siege, and. after slaying one combatant, Pudens, was at length killed by Priscus (Josephus, War, 6, 2,10).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
JONATHAN (J″ [Note: Jahweh.] hath given).1. A Levite, the son of Gershom (wh. see); according to Jdg_18:30 he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan up to the Captivity. Jonathan was taken into the service of Micah as father and priest (Jdg_17:10); but, not long after he had taken up his abode there, six hundred Danites came that way and induced Jonathan to leave Micah and join them as their priest (Jdg_18:11-31). 2. The eldest son of Saul; he appears, in the first instance, as a brave and successful leader in battle. 1Sa_13:1-23; 1Sa_14:1-52 contain a graphic account of the way in which the Israelites threw off the Philistine yoke; in this campaign Jonathan took a leading part. He first of all, at the head of a thousand men, smote the Philistine garrison in Geba; this was the signal for the outbreak of war. The Philistine army gathered together and encamped in Michmash. Jonathan, accompanied only by his armour-bearer, at great risk surprised an advanced post of the Philistines, and slew about twenty men; the suddenness and success of this coup so terrified the Philistines that the whole host of them fled in panic. The popularity of Jonathan is well illustrated by the fact that the people prevented Saul from carrying out a vow which would have cost Jonathan his life (1Sa_14:24-46). The implicit trust which Saul placed in Jonathan is seen in the words of the latter in 1Sa_20:2 : Behold my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me. The faithfulness and trustworthiness of Jonathan as here shown gives an insight into what must have been that friendship for David which has become proverbial. All the characteristics of truest friendship are seen in Jonathan in their full beautylove (1Sa_18:1), faithfulness (1Sa_20:2 ff). disinterestedness (1Sa_20:12). and self-sacrifice (1Sa_20:24-34). The last we hear of Jonathan is his death upon the battlefield, fighting the foes of his country. In Davids lament the spirit of the departed hero speaks in unison with his friend: Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women (2Sa_1:26).
3. The son of the priest Mattathias; the youngest of the four Maccabæan brothers (2Ma_8:22), who played an important part during the Maccabsan revolt (see Maccabees). 4. A nephew of David (2Sa_21:21; cf. prob. 1Ch_27:32). 5. A son of Abiathar the priest (2Sa_15:27 ff; 2Sa_17:17-20, 1Ki_1:42). 6. A scribe in whose house Jeremiah was imprisoned (Jer_37:15-20; Jer_38:26). 7. A high priest (Neh_12:11): called in Neh_12:22 f. Johanan. 8. One of Davids heroes (2Sa_23:32, 1Ch_11:34). 9. A Levite (Neh_12:35). 10. The son of Kareah (Jer_40:8). 11. The father of Peleth and Zaza (1Ch_2:32 f.). 12. One of Davids treasurers (1Ch_27:25). 13. Father of Ebed (Ezr_8:6). 14. One of those who opposed (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ) or assisted (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ) Ezra in the matter of the foreign marriages (Ezr_10:15). 15. A priest (Neh_12:14). 16. Son of Absalom, in the time of Simon the Maccabee (1Ma_13:11). 17. A priest who led the prayer at the first sacrifice after the Return (2Ma_1:23).
W. O. E. Oesterley.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
("Jehovah's gift".)
1. Son of Gershom. (See GERSHOM.) Sprung from Moses (changed to "Manasseh" in the keri or margin Hebrew): Jdg_18:30. It marks how prone to idolatry were the Israelites, that the priest to Micah's images and afterward to the Danites was a Levite, whose special duty it was to maintain pure Jehovah's worship, and he a descendant of Moses himself! Idolatry begins with the people, it being natural to our sensuous cravings; then it seeks the sanction of the church. Micah began with robbery of his own mother; her curses extorted restitution; she as a meritorious act consecrated the money for a "graven image" (pecel) and the "molten pedestal" (massecah) on which it stood like Aaron's calf (Exo_32:4), to be a representation of Jehovah; it was the forerunner of Jeroboam's calves long after and idol. (See CALVES; IDOL.)
Micah had a domestic sanctuary in which he consecrated his son as priest; here the image was set. The ephod was an imitation of the high priest's shoulder dress. The teraphim or household gods were also worshipped as givers of prosperity and as oracles. The time was very shortly after Joshua's death, an age when there was no king, and the law and the judges were not as yet well established (Jdg_17:1-6). Micah afterwards found a Levite for the service, who had sojourned in Bethlehem Judah and left it to seek maintenance where he could, in Mount Ephraim. It was Jonathan. With the self deceiving folly of idolaters Micah then said, "now I know that Jehovah will do me good seeing I have a Levite to my priest," as if a Levite's presence could bless where both priest and patron were apostates from the God of all blessing.
Five Danite spies, on their way to search for a settlement in the far N. for their tribe, recognized Jonathan. At their request he consulted God for them and promised them success. Six hundred Danites of Zorah and Eshtaol, led by the spies' report, marched to Dan or Laish. (See DAN.) On their way the live carried off the graven image, ephod, teraphim, and molten (cast) pedestal (Keil). Jonathan at their invitation was. "glad" to accompany them; ambition readily prompted the desire to be priest to a tribe and clan rather than to one individual. Micah with self convicting folly expostulated in vain, "ye have taken away my gods which I made (!) and the priest, ... and what have I more?" His loss was his gain, and their gain a fatal loss, if only he and they knew it. The priesthood remained hereditary in the family of Jonathan "until the captivity of the ark" (the taking of the ark by the Philistines), and Micah's images of his own making remained set up "all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh." Their idolatry was in the land of spiritual light and privileges (Luk_12:47-48).
2. Saul's oldest son. About 30 when first introduced, commanding a thousand at Gibeah (1Sa_13:2; compare 2Sa_2:8; 2Sa_2:10, which shows that Ishbosheth his younger brother was 40 at Saul's death). Meribbaal, or Mephibosheth, was born to him five years before his death (2Sa_4:4; 1Ch_8:34). Famed for swiftness and strength as a warrior (2Sa_1:23); and especially for skill with the bow (2Sa_1:22; 1Ch_12:2). His "bow turned not back," his invariable accoutrement (1Sa_18:4; 1Sa_20:35). Dutifully devoted to his father, whose constant companion he was (1Sa_20:2; 1Sa_20:25), yet true to his bosom friend David, whose modest:, youthful beauty, and heroic bravery won his whole heart at their first meeting after Goliath's fall, against whom nevertheless Saul cherished such deadly spite. He knew David's loyalty amidst all his father's suspicions.
Knowing also God's revealed will to exalt David to Saul's forfeited throne, Jonathan bowed to it with pious submission. Instead of jealousy, unselfish love made him rejoice in his friend's prospective exaltation at his own cost, and only covet to be next in rank to David: as he said when he went to David "and strengthened his hand in God," his last interview with him in the wood of Ziph (1Sa_23:16-17). Loving David "as his own soul" (1Sa_20:17; 1Sa_20:42), he withstood his father's reproaches and attempts to alienate his affections by representing "as long as the son of Jesse liveth ... thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom." He privately intimated to David his father's resolve to kill him (1Sa_19:2); but at the intercession of Jonathan (1Sa_19:4-6) Saul for the present gave up his design, saying "as the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain."
Soon he renewed his attempt, and David fled to Naioth. Jonathan then covenanted with David that he should show kindness to him and his house forever, when David's kingdom would be established (1 Samuel 20), a promise faithfully fulfilled by David to Mephibosheth. In vain he remonstrated with Saul in David's behalf; his father actually hurled a javelin at himself. Jonathan then only "rose from (his place beside his father at) table in fierce anger (the only time of his losing self command toward his father) and (did eat no meat," etc. Yet he clung to his father through life, and "in death they were not divided" (2Sa_1:23). The second last parting scene was especially touching; David and Jonathan "kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded" (1Sa_20:41). Jonathan by smiting the Philistine garrison (1Sa_13:2-3; or else an officer, Netzib, as William Tell rose against Gesler) at Geba gave the signal for a general revolt of Israel against its oppressors. (See GIBEAH.)
The Philistines poured in marauding parties, and Israel's cause seemed more hopeless than ever (1 Samuel 13). Saul and he had but 600 men in Gibeah, who were without sword and spear (the Philistines having taken away all their smiths); many Israelites had fled beyond Jordan. As Jonathan had provoked this aggravation of Philistine tyranny in concert with Saul, so Jonathan determined alone to deliver Israel (1 Samuel 14). His armourbearer agreed with all his heart to join in the hazardous enterprise; Jonathan's strong faith in God inspired his companion in arms with the same chivalrous devotion; "there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or few." Having fixed on an omen from God of success, they received it in the scoffing invitation of the Philistine guards on the other side of the steep Michmash defile, the key to command the E. in ascending from the Philistine plain: "come up to us and we will show you a thing" (compare 2Sa_5:6).
Jonathan and his armourbearer smote 20 of them in rapid succession. A panic ensued, the Philistines thought themselves outnumbered, and an earthquake completed the confusion; and the Israelites, with the Philistines in the camp an those hidden heretofore in Mount Ephraim and now emerging, joined in the pursuit as far W. as Ajalon. Saul, by his rash curse on any who should eat that day until the foe should be overthrown, retarded his own aim through weakening his people, involved them in violating the law by flying ravenously on the spoil at evening and eating flesh with the blood, and bound himself to put to death for tasting honey, and so receiving refreshment, his own beloved son, from which he was rescued only by the people's interposition. "Jonathan's soul was knit with David's," so that the latter testifies, "thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women"; like a Homeric hero, he gave his friend all his own arms, stripping himself (compare the Antitype, Php_2:7-8): 1Sa_18:1-4; 2Sa_1:26.
Jonathan holds the chief place in David's touching elegy, "the bow song" (the song on Jonathan famed for the bow) on his death with Saul and his two brothers in the battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). (See DAVID.) His corpse with the others was fastened to the wall of Bethsham; from whence the men of Jabesh Gilead rescued it. Finally it was removed to Zelah in Benjamin (2Sa_21:12-14). Jonathan's pious and filial self devotion appears in his readiness (like Isaac) to die at his father's command because of the rash adjuration of the latter; type of the Son of God, volunteering to die for us because Adam by eating the forbidden fruit had his "eyes opened" (Genesis 3; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:43); again in his continuing to the last faithful to Saul, though his father had attempted his life, and though he knew that his father's kingdom was doomed to fall and David to succeed.
3. David's nephew, son of Shimeah, Jonadab's brother. At once "a wise man and learned scribe and counselor" (for the Hebrew dod, "uncle," means a relative and so "nephew": 1Ch_27:32; 2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7), and a brave warrior who like David slew a giant Philistine, of Gath, remarkable for six toes and six fingers.
4. The high priest Abiathar's son. In Absalom's rebellion returned with his father from Olivet to act as David's spy with Ahimaaz, conveying the tidings from Abiathar and Hushai in the city (2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_15:2 Samuel 17). Announced at Adonijah's feast to the guests, including Abiathar, the unwelcome tidings of Solomon's being anointed (1Ki_1:41-49).
5. Son of Shage the Ararite, i.e. mountaineer (1Ch_11:34). "Shammah" in 2Sa_23:33 stands instead of "son of Shage," probably all error of the transcriber from ver. 11; Chronicles has the true reading.
6. Ezr_8:6.
7. Ezr_10:15.
8. Neh_12:14.
9. Jer_40:8.
10. The high priest Joiada's son and successor. The genealogies of the priests and Levites were kept in his high priesthood, and the national chronicles were continued to his time (Neh 12:11-22-23). Notorious for murdering in the temple his own brother Jesus, who had tried to supplant him by the Persian general Bagoas' help. The latter in consequence entered and polluted the temple and imposed a tax of 50 shekels for every lamb sacrificed (Josephus, Ant. 11:7, section 1). Jonathan or John was high priest 32 years.
11. Neh_12:35; of the course of Shemaiah (so Lord A.C. Hervey reads for "son of".)
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Jon'athan. That is, "the gift of Jehovah", the eldest son of King Saul. (B.C. about 1095-1056). He was a man of great strength and activity. 2Sa_1:23. He was also famous as a warrior, 1Ch_12:2, as is shown by the courage he showed, in attacking the garrison of the Philistines, in company with his armor-bearer only, slaying twenty men and putting an army to flight. 1Sa_14:6-16. During the pursuit, Jonathan, who had not heard of the rash curse, 1Sa_14:24, which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening, tasted the honey which lay on the ground. Saul would have sacrificed him; but the people interposed in behalf , of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved. 1Sa_14:24-45.
The chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived , from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return, from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. Their last meeting was in a forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. 1Sa_23:16-18. From this time forth, we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle, he fell. 1Sa_31:2; 1Sa_31:8. (B.C. 1056). His ashes were buried first at Jabesh-gilead, 1Sa_31:13, but were afterward, removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin. 2Sa_21:12. The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David. He left a son, Mephibosheth. See Mephibosheth.
1. A nephew of David. 2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7. He engaged in single combat with, and slew, a gigantic Philistine of Gath. 2Sa_21:21. (B.C. 1018).
2. The son of Abiathar, the high priest, is the last descendant of Eli, of whom we hear anything. 2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_17:15-21; 1Ki_1:42-43. (B.C. 1023).
3. One of David's heroes. 2Sa_23:32; 1Ch_11:34.
4. The son or descendant of Gershom, the son of Moses. Jdg_18:30. See Micah. (B.C. about 1425).
5. One of the Bene-Adin, (that is, sons of Adin). Ezr_8:6.
6. A priest, the son of Asahel, in the time of Ezra. Ezr_10:15. (B.C. 459).
7. A priest, of the family of Melieu. Neh_12:14.
8. One of the sons of Kareah, and brother of Johanan. Jer_40:8. (B.C. 587).
9. Son of Joiada, and his successor in the high priesthood. Neh_12:11; Neh_12:22-23. (B.C. before 332).
10. Father of Zechariah, a priest, who blew the trumpet, at the dedication of the wall. Neh_12:35.
11. 1Es_8:32. See Jonathan, 6. (B.C. 446).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
the son of Saul, a prince of an excellent disposition, and in all varieties of fortune a sincere and steady friend to David. Jonathan gave signal proofs of courage and conduct upon all occasions that offered, during the wars between his father and the Philistines. The death of Jonathan was lamented by David, in one of the noblest and most pathetic odes ever uttered by genius consecrated by pious friendship. See 1Sa_13:16, &c; 1Sa_14:1-2, &c.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
In the early days of Sauls kingship, the Israelite army consisted of two main divisions, one under the command of Saul, the other under the command of his eldest son, Jonathan (1Sa_13:2; 1Sa_14:49). Early in his career, Jonathan showed his sharp thinking and his courage when he took his armour-bearer and carried out a daring raid that threw the enemy Philistines into confusion. Though it was a risky adventure, it resulted in a notable victory for Israel (1Sa_14:1-48).
When David became a member of Sauls court and then of his army, he and Jonathan became close friends (1Sa_18:1-4). Davids victories stirred up Sauls jealousy and hatred, but Jonathan defended him and intervened on his behalf. He successfully pleaded with his father to stop trying to kill David (1Sa_19:1-7).
Unknown to Jonathan, Saul renewed his attacks on David (1Sa_19:8-11). When Jonathan heard about this, he determined to find out Sauls real intentions towards David (1Sa_20:1-23). Unlike his father, Jonathan showed no jealousy of David, even when his father reminded him that David was a threat to his own chances of becoming king (1Sa_20:30-34).
Jonathan helped David escape, but neither he nor David plotted against the king. Their sole purpose was to save Davids life. While remaining loyal to the king, Jonathan reassured David that nothing could change the relationship between them. He knew that David would be the next king, and he would be happy to serve under him as chief minister (1Sa_23:16-18).
Some years later Jonathan was tragically killed in a battle with the Philistines. Davids love for him is seen in the song of remembrance he wrote after his friends premature death (1Sa_31:2; 2Sa_1:17-27).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
Jonathan, 1
Jonathan (God-given), a Levite descended from Gershom, the son of Moses, not Manasseh, as in our common copies, an interpolation made (Jdg_18:30) in order to save the character of the great lawgiver from the stain of having an idolater among his immediate descendants. The history of this Jonathan is involved in the narrative which occupies Judges 17-18; and the events themselves appear to have occurred soon after the death of Joshua, and of the elders who outlived him, when the government was in a most unsettled state.
Jonathan, who was resident at Bethlehem, lived at a time when the dues of the sanctuary did not afford a livelihood to the numerous Levites who had a claim upon them; and belonged to a tribe destitute of the landed possessions which gave to all others a sufficient maintenance. He, therefore, went forth to seek his fortune. In Mount Ephraim he came to 'a house of gods,' which had been established by one Micah, who wanted nothing but a priest to make his establishment complete [MICAH]. This person made Jonathan what was manifestly considered the handsome offer of engaging him as his priest for his victuals, a yearly suit of clothes, and ten shekels (twenty-five shillings) a year in money. Here he lived for some time, till the Danite spies, who were sent by their tribe to explore the north, passed this way and formed his acquaintance. When, not long after, the body of armed Danites passed the same way when going to settle near the sources of the Jordan, the spies mentioned Micah's establishment to them; on which they went and took away not only 'the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image,' but the priest also, that they might set up the same worship in the place of which they were going to take possession. Micah vainly protested against this robbery; but Jonathan himself was glad at the improvement in his prospects, and from that time, even down to the captivity, he and his descendants continued to be priests of the Danites in the town of Laish, the name of which they changed to Dan.
There is not any reason to suppose that this establishment, whether in the hands of Micah or of the Danites, involved an apostasy from Jehovah. It appears rather to have been an attempt to localize or domesticate His presence, under those symbols and forms of service which were common among the neighboring nations, but were forbidden to the Hebrews. The offence here was twofold?the establishment of a sacred ritual different from the only one which the law recognized, and the worship by symbols, naturally leading to idolatry, with the ministration of one who could not legally be a priest, but only a Levite, and under circumstances in which no Aaronic priest could legally have officiated. It is more than likely that this establishment was eventually merged in that of the golden calf, which Jeroboam set up in this place, his choice of which may very possibly have been determined by its being already in possession of 'a house of gods.'
Jonathan, 2
Jonathan, eldest son of Saul, king of Israel, and consequently heir apparent of the throne which David was destined to occupy (1Sa_14:9; 1Ch_8:33; 1Ch_9:39). The war with the Philistines, which occupied the early part of his father's reign, afforded Jonathan more than one opportunity of displaying the chivalrous valor and the princely qualities with which he was endowed. His exploit in surprising the Philistine garrison at Michmash, attended only by his armor-bearer, is one of the most daring which history or even romance records (1Sa_14:1-14). His father came to follow up this victory, and in the ensuing pursuit of the confounded Philistines, Jonathan, spent with fatigue and hunger, refreshed himself with some wild honey which he found in a wood through which he passed. He knew not that his father had rashly vowed to put to death anyone who touched a morsel of food before night. When the fact transpired, Saul felt himself bound to execute his vow even upon his gallant son; but the people, with whom the young prince was a great favorite, interposed and prevented the execution of his design (1Sa_14:16-52).
Jealousy and every mean or low feeling were strangers to the generous heart of Jonathan. Valiant and accomplished himself, none knew better how to acknowledge valor and accomplishment in others. The act of David in meeting the challenge of Goliath, and in overcoming that huge barbarian, entirely won his heart; and from that day forward the son of Jesse found no one who loved him so tenderly, who admired his high gifts with so much enthusiasm, or who risked so much to preserve him from harm, as the very prince whom he was destined to exclude from a throne. Jonathan knew well what was to happen, and he submitted cheerfully to the appointment which gave the throne of his father to the young shepherd of Bethlehem. In the intensity of his love and confidence he shrank not to think of David as his destined king and master; and his dreams of the future pictured nothing brighter than the day in which David should reign over Israel, and he be one with him in friendship, and next to him in place and council.
When Saul began to hate David as his intended successor, he was highly displeased at the friendship which had arisen between him and his son. This exposed Jonathan to much contumely, and even to danger of life; for, once at least, the king's passion against him on this account rose so high that he cast a javelin at him 'to smite him to the wall.'
This unequivocal act taught Jonathan that the court of Saul was no safe place for David. He told him so, and they parted with many tears. David then set forth upon those wanderings among strangers and in solitary places, which boasted all the time of Saul. The friends met only once more. Saul was in pursuit of David when he was in the wilderness of Ziph; and Jonathan would not forbear coming to him secretly in the wood to give him comfort and encouragement (1Sa_23:16-18). Nothing more is related Jonathan till both he and his father lost their lives in the fatal battle of Gilboa, combating against the enemies of their country.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Jonathan
(Heb. Yonathan, יוֹנָתָן, 1Sa_13:2-3; 1Sa_13:16; 1Sa_13:22; 1Sa_14:1; 1Sa_14:3-4; 1Sa_14:12-14; 1Sa_14:17; 1Sa_14:21; 1Sa_14:27; 1Sa_14:29; 1Sa_14:39-45; 1Sa_14:49; 1Sa_19:1; 1Ki_1:42-43; 1Ch_2:32-33; 1Ch_10:2; 1Ch_11:34; Ezr_8:6; Ezr_10:15; Neh_12:11; Neh_12:14; Neh_12:35; Jer_40:8; Sept. Ι᾿ωνάθαν), a contracted form of JEHONATHAN (יְהוֹנָתָן, q.d. Theodore, 1Ch_27:25; 2Ch_17:8; Neh_12:18; Anglicized "Jonathan" elsewhere, Jdg_18:30 1Sa_14:6; 1Sa_14:8; 1Sa_18:1; 1Sa_18:3-4; 1Sa_19:1-2; 1Sa_19:4; 1Sa_19:6-7; 1Sa_20:1; 1Sa_20:3-5; 1Sa_20:9-13; 1Sa_20:16-18; 1Sa_20:25; 1Sa_20:27-28; 1Sa_20:30; 1Sa_20:32-35; 1Sa_20:37-40; 1Sa_20:42; 1Sa_23:16; 1Sa_23:18; 1Sa_31:2; 2Sa_1:4-5; 2Sa_1:12; 2Sa_1:17; 2Sa_1:22-23; 2Sa_1:25-26; 2Sa_4:4; 2Sa_9:1; 2Sa_9:3; 2Sa_9:6-7; 2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:36; 2Sa_17:17-20; 2Sa_21:7; 2Sa_21:12-14; 2Sa_21:21; 2Sa_22:32; 1Ch_8:33-34; 1Ch_9:39-40; 1Ch_20:7; 1Ch_27:32; Jer_37:15; Jer_37:20; Jer_38:26; Sept. Ι᾿ωνάθαν), the name of fifteen or more men in the canonical Scriptures, besides several in the Apocrypha and Josephus.
I. A Levite descended from Gershom, the son of Moses (Jdg_18:30). It is indeed said, in our Masoretic copies, that the Gershom from whom this Jonathan sprang was "the son of Manasseh;" but it is on very good grounds supposed that in the name Moses (משׁה), the single letter n (נ) has been interpolated (and it is usually written suspended, Buxtorf, Tiber. p. 14), changing it into Manasseh (מנשׂה), in order to save the character of the great lawgiver from the stain of having an idolater among his immediate descendants (Baba Bathra, 109, b). The singular name Gershom, and the date of the transaction, go far to establish this view. Accordingly the Vulgate, and some copies of the, Septuagint, actually exhibit the name of Moses instead of Manasseh. (See Clarke's Comment. ad loc.) The history of this Jonathan is involved in the narrative which occupies Judges 17:18, and is one of the two accounts which form a sort of appendix to that book. The events themselves appear to have occurred soon after the death of Joshua, and of the elders who outlived him, when the government was in a most unsettled state. Its proper place in the chronological order would have been between the second and third chapters of the book. B.C. cir. 1590. Jonathan, who was resident at Bethlehem, lived at a time when the dues of the sanctuary did not afford a livelihood to the numerous Levites who had a claim upon them, and belonged to a tribe destitute of the landed possessions which gave to all others a sufficient maintenance. He therefore went forth to seek his fortune. In Mount Ephraim he came to "a house. of gods," which had been established by one Micah, who wanted nothing but a priest to make his establishment complete. SEE MICAH. This person made Jonathan what was manifestly considered the handsome offer of engaging him as his priest for his victuals, a yearly suit of clothes, and ten shekels (about six dollars) a year in money. Here he lived for some time, till the Danite spies, who were sent by their tribe to explore the north, passed this way and formed his acquaintance. When, not long after, the body of armed Danites passed the same way in going to settle near the sources of the Jordan, the spies mentioned Micah's establishment to them, on which they went and took away not only "the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image," but the priest, also, that they might set up the same worship in the place of which they were going to take possession. Micah vainly protested against this robbery; but Jonathan himself was glad at the improvement in his prospects, and from that time, even down to the captivity, he and his descendants continued to be priests of the Danites in the town of Laish, the name of which was changed to Dan.
There is not any reason to suppose that this establishment, whether in the hands of Micah or of the Danites, involved an apostasy from Jehovah. It appears rather to have been an attempt to localize or domesticate his presence, under those symbols and forms of service which were common among the neighboring nations, but were forbidden to the Hebrews. The offense here was twofold the establishment of a sacred ritual different from the only one which the law recognized, and the worship by symbols, naturally leading to idolatry, with the ministration of one who could not legally be a priest, but only a Levite. and under circumstances in which no Aaronic priest could legally have officiated. It is more than likely that this establishment was eventually merged in that of the golden calf, which Jeroboam set up in this place, his choice of which may very possibly have been determined by its being already in possession of "a house of gods."
The Targum of R. Joseph, on 1Ch_23:16, identifies this Jonathan with Shebuel, the son of Gershom, who is there said to have repented (עֲבִד תְּתוּבָא) in his old age, and to have been appointed by David as chief over his treasures. All this arises from a play upon the name Shebuel, from which this meaning is extracted in accordance with a favorite practice of the Targumist.
II. Second of the two sons of Jada, and grandson of Jerahmeel, of the family of Judah; as his brother Jether died without issue, this branch of the line was continued through the two sons of Jonathan (1Ch_2:32-33). B.C. considerably post 1612.
III. The eldest son of king Saul and the bosom friend of David (Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθη, Ant. 6:6,1). He first appears some time after his father's accession (1Sa_13:2). If his younger brother Ishbosheth was forty at the time of Saul's, death (2Sa_2:8), Jonathan must have been at least thirty when he is first mentioned. Of his own family we know nothing except the birth of one son, five years before his death (2Sa_4:4). He was regarded in his father's lifetime as heir to the throne. Like Saul, he was a man of great strength and activity (2Sa_1:23). of which the exploit at Michmash was a proof. He was also famous for the peculiar martial exercises in which his tribe excelled archery and slinging (1Ch_12:2). His bow was to him what the spear was to his father: "the bow of Jonathan turned not back" (2Sa_1:22). It was always about him (1Sa_18:4; 1Sa_20:35). It is through his relation with David that he is chiefly known to us, probably as related by his descendants at David's court. But there is a background, not so clearly given, of his relation with his father. From the time that he first appears he is Saul's constant companion. He was always present at his father's meals. As Abner and David seem to have occupied the places afterwards called the captaincies of "the host" and "of the guard," so he seems to have been (as Hushai afterwards) "the friend" (comp. 1Sa_20:25; 2Sa_15:37).
The whole story implies, without expressing, the deep attachment of the father and son. Jonathan can only go on his dangerous expedition (1Sa_14:1) by concealing it from Saul. Saul's vow is confirmed, and its tragic effect deepened, by his feeling for his son, "though it be Jonathan my son" (1Sa_14:39). "Tell me what thou hast done" (1Sa_14:43). Jonathan cannot bear to believe his father's enmity to David: "My father will do nothing, great or small, but that he will show it to me and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so" (1Sa_20:2). To him, if to any one, the wild frenzy of the king was amenable "Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan" (1Sa_19:6). Their mutual affection was indeed interrupted by the growth of Saul's insanity. Twice the father would have sacrificed the son: once in consequence of his vow (1 Samuel 14); the second time, more deliberately, on the discovery of David's flight; and on this last occasion, a momentary glimpse is given of some darker history. Were the phrases "son of a perverse rebellious woman" "shame on thy mother's nakedness" (1Sa_20:30-31), mere frantic invectives? or was there something in the story of Ahinoam or Rizpah which we do not know? "In fierce anger" Jonathan left the royal presence (ib. 34). But he cast his lot with his father's decline, not with his friend's rise, and "in death they were not divided" (2Sa_1:23; 1Sa_23:16).
1. The first main part of his career is connected with the war with the Philistines, commonly called, from its locality, "the war of Michmash" (1Sa_13:21, Sept.), as the last years of the Peloponnesian War. were called, for a similar reason, "the war of Decelea." In the previous war with the Ammonites (1Sa_11:4-15) there is no mention of him; and his abrupt appearance, without explanation, in 13:2, may seem to imply that some part of the narrative has been lost. B.C. 1073. He is already of great importance in the state. Of the 3000 men of whom Saul's standing army was formed (13:2; 24:2; 26:1, 2), 1000 were under the command of Jonathan at Gibeah. The Philistines were still in the general command of the country; an officer was stationed at Geba, either the same as Jonathan's position or close to it. In a sudden act of youthful daring, as when Tell rose against Gessler, or as in sacred history Moses rose against the Egyptian, Jonathan slew this officer (Auth. Vers. "garrison," Sept. τὸν Νασίβ, 1Sa_13:3-4. See Ewald, 2, 476), and thus gave the signal for a general revolt. Saul took advantage of it, and the whole population rose. But it was a premature attempt. The Philistines poured in from the plain, and the tyranny became more deeply rooted than ever. SEE SAUL.
Saul and Jonathan (with their immediate attendants) alone had arms, amidst the general weakness and disarming of the people (1Sa_13:22). They were encamped at Gibeah, with a small body of 600 men, and as they looked down from that height on the misfortunes of their country, and of their native tribe especially, they wept aloud (Sept. ἔκλαιον, 1Sa_13:16).
From this oppression, as Jonathan by his former act had been the first to provoke it, so now he was the first to deliver his people. On the former occasion Saul had been equally with himself involved in the responsibility of the deed. Saul "blew the trumpet" Saul had "smitten the officer of the Philistines" (1Sa_13:3-4). But now it would seem that Jonathan was resolved to undertake the whole risk himself. "The day," the day fixed by him (Sept. γίνεται ἡ ἡμέρα, 1Sa_14:1), approached, and without communicating his project to any one, except the young man, whom, like all the chiefs of that age, he retained as his armor bearer, he sallied forth from Gibeah to attack the garrison of the Philistines stationed on the other side of the steep defile of Michmash (1Sa_14:1). His words are short, but they breathe exactly the ancient and peculiar spirit of the Israelitish warrior: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few." The answer is no less characteristic of the close friendship of the two young men, already like that which afterwards sprang up between Jonathan and David. "Do all that is in thine heart; .... behold, I am with thee as thy heart is my heart (Sept., 1Sa_14:7)." After the manner of the time (and the more, probably, from having taken no counsel of the high priest or any prophet before his departure), Jonathan proposed to draw an omen for their course from the conduct of the enemy. If the garrison, on seeing them, gave intimations of descending upon them, they would remain in the valley; if, on the other hand, they raised a challenge to advance, they were to accept it. The latter turned out to be the case. The first appearance of the two warriors from behind the rocks was taken by the Philistines as a furtive apparition of "the Hebrews coming forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves;" and they were welcomed with a scoffing invitation (such as the Jebusites afterwards offered to David), "Come up, and we will show you a thing" (1Sa_14:4-12). Jonathan immediately took them at their word. Strong and active as he was, "strong as a lion, and swift as an eagle" (2Sa_1:23), he was fully equal to the adventure of climbing on his hands and feet up the face of the cliff. When he came directly in view of them, with his armor bearer behind him, they both, after the manner of their tribe (1Ch_12:2), discharged a flight of arrows, stones, and pebbles from their bows, crossbows, and slings, with such effect that twenty men fell at the first onset. A panic seized the garrison, thence spread to the camp, and thence to the surrounding hordes of marauders; an earthquake combined with the terror of the moment; the confusion increased; the Israelites who had been taken slaves by the Philistines during the last three days (Sept.) rose in mutiny; the Israelites who lay hid in the numerous caverns and deep holes in which the rocks of the neighborhood abound, sprang out of their subterranean dwellings. Saul and his little band had watched in astonishment the wild retreat from the heights of Gibeah; he now joined in the pursuit, which led him headlong after the fugitives, over the rugged plateau of Bethel, and down the pass of Beth-horon to Ajalon (1Sa_14:15-31). SEE GIBEAH.
The father and son had not met on that day: Saul only conjectured his son's absence from not finding him when he numbered the people. Jonathan had not. heard of the rash curse (1Sa_14:24) which Saul invoked on any one who ate before the evening. In the dizziness and darkness (Hebrew, 1Sa_14:27) that came on after his desperate exertions, he put forth the staff which apparently had (with his sling and bow) been his chief weapon, and tasted the honey which lay on the ground as they passed through the forest. The pursuers in general were restrained even from this slight indulgence by fear of the royal curse; but the moment that the day, with its enforced fast, was over, they flew, like Muslims at sunset during the fast of Ramadan, on the captured cattle, and devoured them, even to the brutal neglect of the law which forbade the dismemberment of the fresh carcasses with the blood. This violation of the law Saul endeavored to prevent and to expiate by erecting a large stone, which served both as a rude table and as an altar; the first altar that was raised under the monarchy. It was in the dead of night, after this wild revel was over, that he proposed that the pursuit should be continued fill dawn; 'and then; when the silence of the oracle of the high priest indicated that something had occurred to intercept the divine favor, the lot was tried, and Jonathan appeared as the culprit. Jephthah's dreadful sacrifice would have been repeated; but the people interposed in behalf of the hero of that great day, and Jonathan was saved (1Sa_14:24-46).
2. But the chief interest of Jonathan's career is derived from the friendship with David, which began on the day of David's return from the victory over the champion of Gath, and continued till his death. It is the first Biblical instance of a romantic friendship, such as was common afterwards in Greece, and has been since in Christendom; and is remarkable both as giving its sanction to these, and as filled with a pathos of its own, which has been imitated, but never surpassed, in modern works of fiction. "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul" "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" (1Sa_18:1 2Sa_1:26). Each found in each the affection that he found not in his own family; no jealousy of rivalry between the two, as claimants for the same throne, ever interposed: "Thou shalt be king in Israel, and I shall be next unto thee" (1Sa_23:17). The friendship was confirmed, after the manner of the time, by a solemn compact often repeated. The first was immediately on their first acquaintance. Jonathan gave David as a pledge his royal mantle, his sword, his girdle, and his famous bow (1Sa_18:4). His fidelity was soon called into action by the insane rage of his father against David. He interceded for his life, at first with success (1Sa_19:1-7). Then the madness returned, and David fled. It was in a secret interview during this flight, by the stone of Ezel, that the second covenant was made between the two friends, of a still more binding kind, extending to their mutual posterity Jonathan laying such emphasis on this portion of the compact as almost to suggest the belief of a slight misgiving on his part of David's future conduct in this respect. It is this interview which brings out the character of Jonathan in the liveliest colors his little artifices his love for both his father and his friend his bitter disappointment at his father's unmanageable fury his familiar sport of archery. With passionate embraces and tears the two friends parted, B.C. cir. 1062, to meet only once more (1 Samuel 20). That one more meeting was far away in the forest of Ziph, during Saul's pursuit of David. Jonathan's alarm for his friend's life is now changed into a confidence that he will escape: "He strengthened his hand in God." Finally, and for the third time, they renewed the covenant, and then parted forever (1Sa_23:16-18). B.C. cir. 1061.
From this time forth we hear no more till the battle of Gilboa. In that battle he fell, with his two brothers and his father, and his corpse shared their fate (1Sa_31:2; 1Sa_31:8). B.C. 1053. His remains were buried first at Jabesh- Gilead (ib. 13), but afterwards removed with those of his father to Zelah in Benjamin (2Sa_21:12). The news of his death occasioned the celebrated elegy of David, in which, as the friend, he naturally occupies the chief place (2Sa_1:22-23; 2Sa_1:25-26), and which seems to have been sung in the education of the archers of Judah, in commemoration of the one great archer, Jonathan: "He bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow" (2Sa_1:17-18).
Jonathan left one son, aged five years old at the time of his death (2Sa_4:4), to whom he had probably given his original name of Merib- baal, afterwards changed for Mephibosheth (comp. 1Ch_8:34; 1Ch_9:40). SEE MEPHIBOSHETH. Through him the line of descendants was continued down to the time of Ezra (1Ch_9:40), and even then their great ancestor's archery was practiced among them. SEE DAVLD. See Niemeyer, Charakter. 4, 413; Herder, Geist. der Hebr. Poesie, 2, 287; Koster, in the Stud. u. Krit. 1832, 2, 366; Ewald, Isr. Gesch. 2, 530; Pareau, Elegia Davidis, etc. (Groning. 1829); Simon, De amicitia Davidii et Jonah (Hildburgh. 1739).
IV. Son of Shage, a relative of Ahiam, both among David's famous warriors and descendants of Jashen of the mountains of Judah (2Sa_23:32; 1Ch_11:34). B.C. 1046. SEE HARARITE.
V. Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one of the adherents to David's cause during the rebellion of Absalom (2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:36). He remained at En-rogel under pretence of procuring water, and reported to his master the proceedings in the camp of the insurgents (2Sa_17:20; Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθης, Ant. 7, 9, 2). B.C. cir. 1023. At a later date his constancy was manifested on a similar occasion by announcing to the ambitious Adonijah the forestallment of his measures by the succession of Solomon (1 Kings 1, 42, 43). B.C. cir. 1015. "On both occasions it may be remarked that he appears as the swift and trusty messenger. He is the last descendant of Eli of whom we hear anything" (Smith). SEE DAVID.
VI. Son of Shammah (Shimeah or Shimea), and David's nephew, as well as one of his chief warriors, a position which he earned by slaying a gigantic relative of Goliath (2Sa_21:21; 1Ch_20:7; Josephus Ι᾿ωνάθης, Ant. 7, 12, 2). B.C. 1018. He was also made secretary of the royal cabinet (1Ch_27:32, where דּוֹד is mistaken in the Auth. Vers. for the usual sense of "uncle"). B.C. 1014. "Jerome (Quest. Hebr. on 1Sa_17:12) conjectures that this was Nathan the prophet, thus making up the eighth son, not named in 1Ch_2:13-15. But this is not probable" (Smith).
VII. Son of Uzziah, and steward of the agricultural revenue of David (1Ch_27:25; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
VIII. One of the Levites sent by Jehoshaphat to aid in teaching the Law to the people (1Ch_17:8; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
IX. A scribe whose house was converted into a prison in which Jeremiah was closely confined (Jer_27:15; Jer_27:20; Jer_38:26). B.C. 589. X. Brother of Johanan, the son of Kareah, and associated with him in his intercourse with Gedaliah. the Babylonian governor of Jerusalem (Jer_40:8). B.C. 587.
XI. Son of Shemaiah and priest contemporary with Joiakim (Neh_12:18; Heb. and A.V. "JEHONATHAN").
XII. Son of Melicu and priest contemporary with Joiakim. (Neh_12:14). B.C. between 536 and 459.
XIII. Father of Ebed, which latter was an Israelite of the "sons" of Adin that returned from Babylon with Ezra (Ezr_8:6) at the head of fifty males, a number which is increased to 250 in 1Es_8:32, where Jonathan is written Ι᾿ωνάθας. B.C. ante 459.
XIV. Son of Asahel, a chief Israelite associated with Jahaziah in separating the returned exiles from their Gentile wives (Ezr_10:15). B.C. 459.
XV. Son of Joiada and father of Jaddua, Jewish high priests (Neh_12:11); elsewhere called JOHANAN (Neh_12:22), and apparently John by Josephus, who relates his assassination of his own brother Jesus in the Temple(Ant. 11, 7, 1 and 2). Jonathan, or John, was high priest for thirty-two years, according to Eusebius and the Alexandr. Chronicles (Selden, De Success. in Pontif. cap. 6, 7). SEE HIGH PRIEST.
XVI. Son of Shemaiah, of the family of Asaph, and father of Zechariah, which last was one of the priests appointed to flourish the trumpets as the procession moved around the rebuilt walls of Jerusalem (Neh_12:35). B.C. ante 446.
XVII. A son of Mattathias, and leader of the Jews in their war of independence after the death of his brother Judas Maccabaeus, B.C. 161 (1Ma_9:19 sq.). Smith. SEE MACCABEES.
XVIII. A son of Absalom (1Ma_13:11), sent by Simon with a force to occupy Joppa, which was already in the hands of the Jews (1Ma_12:33), though probably held only by a weak garrison. Jonathan expelled the inhabitants (τοὺς ὄντας ἐν αὐτῆ); comp. Josephus, Ant. 13, 6, 3) and secured the city. Jonathan was probably a brother of Mattathias (2) (1Ma_11:70).
XIX. A priest who is said to have offered up a solemn prayer on the occasion of the sacrifice made by Nehemiah after the recovery of the sacred fire (2 Macc. 1, 23 sq.; compare Ewald, Gesch. d. V. Isr. 4, 184 sq.). The narrative is interesting, as it presents a singular example of the combination of Dublic prayer with sacrifice (Grimm, ad 2 Maccabees 1.c.).
XX. A Sadducee at whose instigation Hyrcanus (q.v.) abandoned the Pharisees for their mild sentence against his maligner Eleazar (Josephus, Ant. 13, 10, 6).
XXI. Son of Ananus, appointed Jewish high priest, A.D. 36, by Vitelius in place of Joseph Caiaphas (Ant. 18, 4, 2), and deposed after two years, when his brother Theophilus succeeded him (ib. 5, 2). He was reappointed by Agrippa A.D. 43, but this time he declined that honor in favor of his brother Matthias (Josephus, Ant. 19, 6, 4); he was sent by Cumanus to Claudius in a quarrel with the Samaritans, but appears to have been released by the emperor (War, 2, 12, 6 and 7); he was at last murdered by the Sicarii (War, 2, 13, 3). He was perhaps the high priest whom Felix caused to be assassinated for his reproofs of his bad government (Josephus, Ant. 20, 8, 5). (See Frankel, Monatsschrift, 1, 589; Grätz, Gesch. der Juden, 3, 263, 287, 357.) SEE HIGH PRIEST.
XXII. A common weaver, leader of the Sicarii in Cyrene, captured and put to death by the Romans after various adventures (Josephus, War, 7, 11, 12).
XXIII. A Jew who challenged the Romans to single combat during the last siege, and. after slaying one combatant, Pudens, was at length killed by Priscus (Josephus, War, 6, 2,10).
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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