Reference: Jonathan
Hastings
1. A Levite, the 'son' of Gershom (wh. see); according to Jg 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' (Jg 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 (Jg 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; 14 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 beauty
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And Micah saith to him, 'Dwell with me, and be to me for a father and for a priest, and I give to thee ten silverlings for the days, and a suit of garments, and thy sustenance;' and the Levite goeth in.
And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war. And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, 'Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim. read more. And they pass over thence to the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah. And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, 'Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.' And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare, -- (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who are of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate), -- yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up -- they have come in thither -- they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image -- and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war -- yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, 'What are ye doing?' and they say to him, 'Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?' And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into the midst of the people, and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them. They have been far off from the house of Micah -- and the men who are in the houses which are near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan, and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, 'What -- to thee that thou hast been called together?' And he saith, 'My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what is this ye say unto me, What -- to thee!' And the sons of Dan say unto him, 'Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;' and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his house. And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire, and there is no deliverer, for it is far off from Zidon, and they have no word with any man, and it is in the valley which is by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it, and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish is the name of the city at the first. And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of the people of the land.
And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of the people of the land. And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.
And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;' and none of the people hath tasted food. And all they of the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field; read more. and the people come in unto the forest, and lo, the honey dropped, and none is moving his hand unto his mouth, for the people feared the oath. And Jonathan hath not heard of his father's adjuring the people, and putteth forth the end of the rod, which is in his hand, and dippeth it in the honeycomb, and bringeth back his hand unto his mouth -- and his eyes see! And a man of the people answereth and saith, 'Thy father certainly adjured the people, saying, Cursed is the man who eateth food to-day; and the people are weary.' And Jonathan saith, 'My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, that mine eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more if the people had well eaten to-day of the spoil of its enemies which it hath found, for now, the smiting hath not been great among the Philistines.' And they smite on that day among the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people are very weary, and the people make unto the spoil, and take sheep, and oxen, and sons of the herd, and slaughter on the earth, and the people eat with the blood. And they declare to Saul, saying, 'Lo, the people are sinning against Jehovah, to eat with the blood.' And he saith, 'Ye have dealt treacherously, roll unto me to-day a great stone.' And Saul saith, 'Be ye scattered among the people, and ye have said to them, Bring ye nigh unto me each his ox, and each his sheep; and ye have slain them in this place, and eaten, and ye do not sin against Jehovah to eat with the blood.' And all the people bring nigh each his ox, in his hand, that night, and slaughter them there. And Saul buildeth an alter to Jehovah; with it he hath begun to build altars to Jehovah. And Saul saith, 'Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey upon them till the light of the morning, and leave not a man of them.' And they say, 'All that is good in thine eyes do.' And the priest saith, 'Let us draw near hither unto God.' And Saul asketh of God, 'Do I go down after the Philistines? dost Thou give them into the hand of Israel?' and He hath not answered him on that day. And Saul saith, 'Draw ye nigh hither all, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin hath been to-day; for, Jehovah liveth, who is saving Israel: surely if it be in Jonathan my son, surely he doth certainly die;' and none is answering him out of all the people. And he saith unto all Israel, 'Ye -- ye are on one side, and I and Jonathan my son are on another side;' and the people say unto Saul, 'That which is good in thine eyes do.' And Saul saith unto Jehovah, God of Israel, 'Give perfection;' and Jonathan and Saul are captured, and the people went out. And Saul saith, 'Cast between me and Jonathan my son;' and Jonathan is captured. And Saul saith unto Jonathan, 'Declare to me, what hast thou done?' and Jonathan declareth to him, and saith, 'I certainly tasted with the end of the rod that is in my hand a little honey; lo, I die!' And Saul saith, 'Thus doth God do, and thus doth He add, for thou dost certainly die, Jonathan.' And the people say unto Saul, 'Doth Jonathan die who wrought this great salvation in Israel? -- a profanation! Jehovah liveth, if there falleth from the hair of his head to the earth, for with God he hath wrought this day;' and the people rescue Jonathan, and he hath not died. And Saul goeth up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone to their place;
And it cometh to pass, when he finisheth to speak unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan hath been bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loveth him as his own soul.
And he saith to him, 'Far be it! thou dost not die; lo, my father doth not do anything great or small and doth not uncover mine ear; and wherefore doth my father hide from me this thing? this thing is not.'
And he saith to him, 'Far be it! thou dost not die; lo, my father doth not do anything great or small and doth not uncover mine ear; and wherefore doth my father hide from me this thing? this thing is not.'
And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Jehovah, God of Israel -- when I search my father, about this time to-morrow or the third day, and lo, good is towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear --
And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat, and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after. read more. And Saul hath not spoken anything on that day, for he said, 'It is an accident; he is not clean -- surely not clean.' And it cometh to pass on the second morrow of the new moon, that David's place is looked after, and Saul saith unto Jonathan his son, 'Wherefore hath the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or to-day, unto the food?' And Jonathan answereth Saul, 'David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem, and he saith, Send me away, I pray thee, for a family sacrifice we have in the city, and my brother himself hath given command to me, and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren; therefore he hath not come unto the table of the king.' And the anger of Saul burneth against Jonathan, and he saith to him, 'Son of a perverse rebellious woman! have I not known that thou art fixing on the son of Jesse to thy shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of thy mother? for all the days that the son of Jesse liveth on the ground thou art not established, thou and thy kingdom; and now, send and bring him unto me, for he is a son of death.' And Jonathan answereth Saul his father, and saith unto him, 'Why is he put to death? what hath he done?' And Saul casteth the javelin at him to smite him, and Jonathan knoweth that it hath been determined by his father to put David to death. And Jonathan riseth from the table in the heat of anger, and hath not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he hath been grieved for David, for his father put him to shame.
I am in distress for thee, my brother Jonathan, Very pleasant wast thou to me; Wonderful was thy love to me, Above the love of women!
And the king saith unto Zadok the priest, 'Art thou a seer? turn back to the city in peace, and Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar, your two sons with you;
And Jonathan and Ahimaaz are standing at En-Rogel, and the maid-servant hath gone and declared to them -- and they go and have declared it to king David -- for they are not able to be seen to go in to the city. And a youth seeth them, and declareth to Absalom; and they go on both of them hastily, and come in unto the house of a man in Bahurim, and he hath a well in his court, and they go down there, read more. and the woman taketh and spreadeth the covering over the face of the well, and spreadeth on it the ground corn, and the thing hath not been known. And the servants of Absalom come in unto the woman to the house, and say, 'Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?' and the woman saith to them, 'They passed over the brook of water;' and they seek, and have not found, and turn back to Jerusalem.
and he reproacheth Israel, and smite him doth Jonathan son of Shimeah, brother of David;
And sons of Jada, brother of Shammai: Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether dieth without sons.
And over the treasures of the king is Azmaveth son of Adiel; and over the treasures in the field, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the towers, is Jehonathan son of Uzziah;
And Jonathan, uncle of David, is counsellor, a man of understanding, he is also a scribe; and Jehiel son of Hachmoni is with the sons of the king;
And from the sons of Adin: Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him fifty who are males.
Only Jonathan son of Asahel, and Jahaziah son of Tikvah, stood against this, and Meshullam, and Shabbethai the Levite, helped them.
The Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, are written, heads of fathers, and of the priests, in the kingdom of Darius the Persian.
and of the sons of the priests with trumpets, Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Michaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,
and the heads are wroth against Jeremiah, and have smitten him, and put him in the prison-house -- the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it they had made for a prison-house. When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth there many days, read more. and the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh him, and the king asketh him in his house in secret, and saith, 'Is there a word from Jehovah?' And Jeremiah saith, 'There is,' and he saith, 'Into the hand of the king of Babylon thou art given.' And Jeremiah saith unto the king Zedekiah, 'What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have given me unto a prison-house? And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon doth not come in against you, and against this land? And now, hearken, I pray thee, my lord, O king, let my supplication fall, I pray thee, before thee, and cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I die not there.'
then thou hast said unto them, I am causing my supplication to fall before the king, not to cause me to return to the house of Jonathan, to die there.'
and they come in unto Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan sons of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maachathite, they and their men.