2tn Heb “bearing.” Many English versions understand this verb to mean “wearing” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).

3tn Heb “act.”

4tn Heb “in your heart.”

5tn Heb “Look, I am with you, according to your heart.” See the note at 13:14.

6tn Heb “Look!”

7tn Heb “stand.”

8tn Heb “the two of them.”

9tn Heb “a thing.”

10tn The perfect verbal form is used rhetorically here to express Jonathan’s certitude. As far as he is concerned, the victory is as good as won and can be described as such.

11tn Heb “and they fell before Jonathan.”

12tn Heb “and the one carrying his equipment was killing after him.”

13tn Heb “fell upon.”

14tn Heb “and it was by the fear of God.” The translation understands this to mean that God was the source or cause of the fear experienced by the Philistines. This seems to be the most straightforward reading of the sentence. It is possible, however, that the word “God” functions here simply to intensify the accompanying word “fear,” in which one might translate “a very great fear” (cf. NAB, NRSV). It is clear that on some occasions that the divine name carries such a superlative nuance. For examples see Joüon 2:525 §141.n.

15tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

16tn Heb “saw, and look!”

17tn Heb “the crowd melted and went, even here.”

18tn Heb “and they mustered the troops, and look!”

19tc Heb “the ark of God.” It seems unlikely that Saul would call for the ark, which was several miles away in Kiriath-jearim (see 1 Sam 7:2). The LXX and an Old Latin ms have “ephod” here, a reading which harmonizes better with v. 3 and fits better with the verb “bring near” (see 1 Sam 23:9; 30:7) and with the expression “withdraw your hand” in v.19. This reading is followed in the present translation (cf. NAB, TEV, NLT).

20tc Heb “for the ark of God was in that day, and the sons of Israel.” The translation follows the text of some Greek manuscripts. See the previous note.

21tn Or perhaps “until.”

22tn Heb “and look, there was”

23tn Heb “the sword of a man against his companion, a very great panic.”

24tn Heb “and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around.”

25tc The LXX includes the following words: “And all the people were with Saul, about ten thousand men. And the battle extended to the entire city on mount Ephraim.”

26tn Heb “all the land.”

27tn Heb “the surface of the field.”

28tn Heb “and the army entered the forest, and look!”

29tn Heb “and there was no one putting his hand to his mouth.”

30tn Heb “and he returned his hand to his mouth.”

31tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading “gleamed,” rather than the Kethib, “saw.”

32tn Heb “your father surely put the army under an oath.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize the solemn nature of the oath.

33tc The LXX reads “saw.” See v. 27.

34tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “and they rushed greedily upon,” rather than the Kethib, “and they did.”

35tc The translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss הַשָּׁלָל (hashalal, “the spoil”) rather than following the Kethib reading, שָׁלָל (shalal, “spoil”).

36tn Heb “You have acted deceptively.” In this context the verb refers to violating an agreement, in this case the dietary and sacrificial regulations of the Mosaic law. The verb form is second masculine plural; apparently Saul here addresses those who are eating the animals.

37tn Heb “and all the army brought near, each his ox by his hand, and they slaughtered there.”

38tn Heb “plunder.”

39tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

40tn Heb “and there will not be left among them a man.”

41tn Heb “all that is good in your eyes.” So also in v. 40.

42tn Heb “know and see.”

43tn Heb “and there was no one answering from all the army.”

44tc Heb “to the Lord God of Israel: ‘Give what is perfect.’” The Hebrew textual tradition has accidentally omitted several words here. The present translation follows the LXX (as do several English versions, cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 247-48, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 132.

sn The Urim and Thummim were used for lot casting in ancient Israel. Their exact identity is uncertain; they may have been specially marked stones drawn from a bag. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8, and Deut 33:8, as well as the discussion in R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 140.

45tn Heb “went out.”

46tc The LXX includes the following words: “Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, ‘It is not this word.’ But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son.”

47tn Heb “Look, I, I will die.” Apparently Jonathan is acquiescing to his anticipated fate of death. However, the words may be taken as sarcastic (“Here I am about to die!”) or as a question, “Must I now die?” (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

48tn Heb “So God will do and so he will add, surely you will certainly die, Jonathan.”

49tn Heb “and he did not die.”

50tn Heb “to their place.”

51tn Heb “his,” which could refer to Israel or to Saul.

52tc The translation follows the LXX (“he was delivered”), rather than the MT, which reads, “he acted wickedly.”

53tn Heb “plunderers.”

54sn The list differs from others. In 1 Sam 31:2 (= 1 Chr 10:2), Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua are listed as Saul’s sons, while 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39 list Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

55sn The word “uncle” can modify either Abner or Ner. See the note on the word “son” in v. 51 for further discussion.

56tn 1 Chr 9:35-36 indicates that Jeiel (= Abiel?) had two sons (among others) named Ner and Kish (see also 1 Sam 9:1 and 1 Chr 8:30, where some Greek manuscripts include the name Ner, though it is absent in the Hebrew text). If this Kish was the father of Saul and Ner was the father of Abner, then Saul and Abner were cousins. However, according to 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39, Ner, not Abiel, was the father of Kish. In this case, Kish and Abner were brothers and Abner was Saul’s uncle. The simplest solution to the problem is to see two men named Kish in the genealogy: Abiel (Jeiel) was the father of Ner and Kish I. Ner was the father of Abner and Kish II. Kish II was the father of Saul. The Kish mentioned in 1 Sam 9:1 was the father of Saul (v.2) and must be identified as Kish II. In this case the genealogy is “gapped,” with Ner being omitted. Abiel was the grandfather of Kish II.