1 Samuel 18 (KJV) - Bible Truth Library

the soul of Jonathan.The modesty, piety, and courage of David were so congenial to the character of the amiable Jonathan, that they attracted his most cordial esteem and affection; so that the most intimate friendship subsisted between them from that time, and they loved each other with pure hearts fervently.

Their friendship could not be affected by the common vicissitudes of life; and it exemplifies by fact what the ancients have written on the subject; [Ten philian isoteta einai, kai mian psychen ton philon heteron auton.]

"Friendship is an entire sameness, and one soul:

a friend is another self."

1 Sam. 14:1‑14,45• ¹Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.
²And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
³And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I-chabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
⁴And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
⁵The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.
⁶And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
⁷And his armorbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
⁸Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.
⁹If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
¹⁰But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
¹¹And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
¹²And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
¹³And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew after him.
¹⁴And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.
⁴⁵And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. (1 Sam. 14:1‑14,45)

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Gen. 44:30• ³⁰Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; (Gen. 44:30)

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Judg. 20:11• ¹¹So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. (Judg. 20:11)

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1 Chron. 12:17• ¹⁷And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. (1 Chron. 12:17)

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Psa. 86:11• ¹¹Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. (Psa. 86:11)

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Col. 2:2• ²That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; (Col. 2:2)

loved him.

1 Sam. 18:3• ³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. (1 Sam. 18:3)

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1 Sam. 20:17• ¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. (1 Sam. 20:17)

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2 Sam. 1:26• ²⁶I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. (2 Sam. 1:26)

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Prov. 18:24• ²⁴A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (Prov. 18:24)

• When Christ makes Himself known, the remnant (which Jonathan represented) loves Him as his own soul, and this beloved one becomes the object of his whole affection. (“1 Samuel 18-19” by J.N. Darby)

• Here Jonathan enters into a personal relationship with David, Goliath’s conqueror. In type he is one who knows Christ as the One who has conquered Satan through death but who is nevertheless rejected by the world. This knowledge corresponds to the knowledge Christians have today, although Jonathan properly is the type of the remnant of Israel to whom the Lord will make Himself known before taking the kingdom, and who love Christ even though He is still rejected by the people. (“1 Samuel 18” by H.L. Rossier)

• He appreciates the moral beauty with which his words are impressed more than his own outward advantages. (“1 Samuel 18” by H.L. Rossier)

J. N. Darby Translation

And it came to pass, when he had ended speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.