Jonathan and the Honeycomb

The words

1. Adjured

   By adjuring the people, Saul binds them under an oath not to eat until evening; their fear keeps them from the honey.

   1 Samuel 14:24–26 (opens a new tab)

2. Ahiah

   Ahijah in the NET Bible.

   The KJV describes Ahiah wearing an ephod with Saul’s company; Saul speaks to him as the noise in the Philistine camp grows.

   1 Samuel 14:3 (opens a new tab) · 1 Samuel 14:18–19 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: 1 Samuel 14:3 (opens a new tab)

3. Armourbearer

   An attendant who carries a warrior’s armor.

   Jonathan climbs toward the Philistine garrison with his armor-bearer following; Jonathan’s opponents fall before him, and the attendant kills behind him.

   1 Samuel 14:1 (opens a new tab) · 1 Samuel 14:11–13 (opens a new tab)

4. Cursed

   Saul’s food oath curses anyone who eats before evening; after Jonathan admits tasting honey, Saul declares that he must die.

   1 Samuel 14:24 (opens a new tab) · 1 Samuel 14:43–44 (opens a new tab)

5. Dropped

   In the wood, the soldiers see honey dropping but do not eat it because they fear Saul’s oath.

   1 Samuel 14:25–26 (opens a new tab)

6. Enlightened

   The NET says his eyes “gleamed.”

   Jonathan credits a little honey with enlightening his eyes, using his own refreshment to criticize the oath under which the people are faint.

   1 Samuel 14:27–30 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: 1 Samuel 14:27-31 (opens a new tab)

7. Evening

   Evening is Saul’s stated deadline for the food oath, which he links to seeking vengeance against his enemies.

   1 Samuel 14:24 (opens a new tab)

8. Faint

   Very tired, in the NET Bible.

   After the pursuit from Michmash to Aijalon, the exhausted people slaughter captured livestock and eat meat with the blood.

   1 Samuel 14:31–33 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: 1 Samuel 14:27-31 (opens a new tab)

9. Honeycomb

   Wax cells built by bees.

   Not having heard the oath, Jonathan dips his rod into the honeycomb and tastes honey; the narrator says his eyes are enlightened.

   Did you know?

   Honeybees use comb cells both to store honey and pollen and to raise their young.

   1 Samuel 14:27 (opens a new tab) · FDA: honeycomb and bee brood (opens a new tab)

10. Jonathan

    Jonathan tastes the honey without knowing Saul’s oath; after the lot selects him, he admits what he has eaten and faces his father’s death sentence.

    1 Samuel 14:27 (opens a new tab) · 1 Samuel 14:42–44 (opens a new tab)

11. Perfect Lot

    After receiving no answer from God, Saul asks for a “perfect lot”; successive selections first isolate Saul and Jonathan, then Jonathan alone.

    1 Samuel 14:37; 1 Samuel 14:41–42 (opens a new tab)

12. Philistines

    Jonathan and his armor-bearer kill about twenty men in their first attack on the Philistines; the fighting spreads when Saul’s forces join.

    1 Samuel 14:11–14 (opens a new tab) · 1 Samuel 14:20 (opens a new tab)

13. Rescued

    The people refuse to let Saul kill Jonathan, arguing that he has brought Israel deliverance with God; the account says he does not die.

    1 Samuel 14:44–45 (opens a new tab)

14. Slaughter

    Jonathan says there could have been “a much greater slaughter” if the people had eaten from the spoil, criticizing his father’s oath.

    1 Samuel 14:29–30 (opens a new tab)

15. Taste

    Asked what he has done, Jonathan tells Saul he tasted a little honey with the rod’s end; Saul answers with a death sentence.

    1 Samuel 14:43–44 (opens a new tab)