063. XLII. The Great Victory Over The Philistines
§ XLII. THE GREAT VICTORY OVER THE PHILISTINES
1. Outbreak of the war. Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel: two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and on the mountain of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan his son in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the rest of the people he had sent each to his home. Then Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gibeah. And the Philistines heard the report that the Hebrews had revolted. But Saul had meantime caused the trumpet to be blown throughout all the land. And all Israel heard the report that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had brought itself into ill repute with the Philistines.
2. Advance of the Philistines. And the Philistines were gathered together to fight with Israel. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves, in holes, in rocks, in tombs, and in pits. Also many people went over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul numbered the people who were with him, about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son, together with the people who were with them, were staying in Gibeah of Benjamin, while the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the plunderers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three divisions: one division turned in the direction of Ophrah, in the land of Shual, and another division turned in the direction of Bethhoron, and another division turned in the direction of the hill that looks down over the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
3. Jonathan’s proposal. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. Now on that day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, Come and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is by the threshing-floor, and the people who were with him numbered about six hundred men. And Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah at Shiloh, was in charge of an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. And between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez [the Shining], and the name of the other Seneh [the Thorny]. The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba. And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised Philistines; perhaps Jehovah will act for us, for there is nothing that can prevent Jehovah from saving by many or by few. And his armorbearer said to him, Do whatever you think best; see, I am with you; your wish is mine. Then Jonathan said, See, we will pass over to the men and show ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Stand still until we can reach you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up; for Jehovah has given them into our hand; and this shall be the sign to us.
4. Jonathan’s attack. Now when both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, There are Hebrews coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves. And the men of the garrison cried out to Jonathan and his armorbearer, saying, Come up to us that we may tell you something. Then Jonathan said to his armorbearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah has given them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armorbearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armorbearer kept despatching them after him. And in the first attack Jonathan and his armorbearer slew about twenty men with javelins and rocks from the field. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and even the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked so that it produced a very great panic.
5. General attack and defeat of the Philistines. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and saw a tumult surging hither and thither. Then said Saul to the people who were with him, Investigate now and see who is gone from us. And when they had investigated they found that Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ephod; for at that time he had charge of the ephod before Israel. And while Saul was yet speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines kept on increasing. Therefore Saul said to the priest, Draw back your hand. And Saul and all the people that were with him responded to the call, and came to the battle; and thereupon every man’s sword was turned upon his fellow, and there was very great confusion. And the Hebrews, who were with the Philistines heretofore, who had come up into the camp, also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel, who were in hiding in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, also pursued close after them in the battle. So Jehovah saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over beyond Bethhoron.
6. Saul’s rash vow and Jonathan’s violation of it. And all the people were with Saul, about ten thousand men; and the fighting was scattered over all the hill-country of Ephraim. Then Saul committed a great act of folly that day, for he laid an oath on the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat any food until evening and until I avenge myself on my enemies. So none of the people tasted food. Now there was honey on the surface of the ground, and when the people came to the honeycomb, the bees had just flown away, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; therefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were lightened. Then one of the people spoke up and said, Your father adjured the people saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’ But Jonathan said, My father has brought disaster on the land. See how I have been refreshed, because I have tasted a little of this honey. If only the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found, how much greater would have been the slaughter of the Philistines!
7. Saul’s ceremonial precautions. But they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people were very faint. Then the people rushed upon the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and struck them to the earth, and the people ate them with the blood. When they told Saul, saying, See, the people are sinning against Jehovah in eating with the blood, he said to those who told him, Roll hither to me a great stone. And Saul said, Go out among the people and say to them, ‘Let each man bring to me his ox and his sheep, and slay it here and eat; but do not sin against Jehovah in eating the flesh together with the blood.’ And all the people brought that night, each what he had in his hand, and slew them there. So Saul built an altar to Jehovah; that was the first altar that he built to Jehovah.
8. Penalty of the broken vow. And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder among them until daybreak, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatever you think best. Then said the priest, Let us here draw near to God. And Saul asked of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he did not answer him that day. And Saul said, Come hither, all you chiefs of the people and know and see in whom is this guilt to-day. For as Jehovah liveth, who delivereth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But no one of all the people answered him. Then he said to all Israel, You be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what seems good to you. Therefore Saul said, Jehovah, God of Israel, why hast thou not answered thy servant this day? If the guilt be in me or in Jonathan my son, Jehovah, God of Israel, give Urim; but if the guilt is in thy people Israel, give Thummim. Then Jonathan and Saul were taken and the people escaped. And Saul said, Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son. He whom Jehovah shall take, must die. And the people said to Saul, It shall not be so! But Saul overruled the people and they cast the lot between him and Jonathan his son. And Jonathan was taken.
9. Jonathan’s confession and deliverance. Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you have done. And Jonathan told him, saying, I did indeed taste a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand; and here I am! I am ready to die. And Saul said, May God do to me whatever he pleases, you shall surely die, Jonathan! But the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die who has wrought this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it! As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has wrought with God this day. Therefore the people rescued Jonathan, so that he did not die. Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own country.
10. Saul’s military policy. But the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul. And whenever Saul saw any valiant or efficient man, he would attach him to himself. The name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s cousin. And Kish the father of Saul and Ner the father of Abner were sons of Abiel.
11. His wars. Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: against Moab, and the Ammonites, and Edom, and Beth-rehob, the king of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned he was victorious. And he did mighty deeds and smote the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of its plunderers.
I. Jonathan’s Attack upon the Philistines. Saul went forth to attack the Ammonites simply as a tribal deliverer. When he returned he had been called to the greater task of delivering the Hebrews from their Philistine oppressors. It was his son, Jonathan, however, who made the first attack, capturing the garrison of the Philistines at his native town Gibeah. This attack was the signal for a general Philistine advance. The Israelites, however, were unprepared. Instead of rallying about Saul and Jonathan, they fled before the organized forces of the Philistines. Saul and Jonathan were left with only a few hundred men, and the Hebrew cause seemed hopeless. Finding no real resistance, the Philistine army separated into three divisions and turned to plunder.
II. The Capture of the Philistine Stronghold. It was at this critical moment, when the foe were most open to attack, that Jonathan, by his prowess and courage saved his father’s kingdom. The deep valley of the Michmash extends upward from the Jordan, cutting across central Canaan. On the northern side a small Philistine garrison guarded the pass. From the crags on the south Jonathan looked across the valley and conceived the bold plan of a single-handed attack. It is one of the most dramatic scenes in Israel’s history. Accompanied by his brave armorbearer he descended into the valley and then mounted the cliffs to the north, amidst the taunts of the Philistines. Their taunts were changed to wonder and then to fear, when Jonathan mounted the height and boldly attacked them. A panic, possibly, as the narrative suggests, increased by an earthquake, seized the Philistine garrison and quickly spread to the marauding bands.
III. The Pursuit of the Philistines. News of the panic among the Philistines was soon brought to Saul. Following the custom of his age, he first turned to consult Jehovah through the priestly ephod before going out to fight with his foes. The increasing tumult, however, expelled all doubt. Without waiting for the divine response, Saul rallied his forces and was soon in hot pursuit. In their terror and confusion the Philistines turned against each other, and even the craven Israelites in their midst rose to join with Saul in the overthrow of their oppressors. Down across the hill country of Ephraim and beyond the passes of Bethhoron, the Philistines were driven in mad flight, and the Hebrews learned at last that their hated oppressors were not invincible.
IV. Saul’s Rash Vow. In his eagerness to overcome his foes Saul, like Jephthah, made a rash vow. It was that he who tasted food until evening should die. Jonathan, however, who was in the van of the pursuit, unaware of his father’s vow, transgressed the ban. When his father’s vow was reported to him, with justice he condemned it.
Later when Saul failed to secure a response to the divine oracle—perhaps because the priests knew of Jonathan’s act and were not ready to absolve Saul from the consequences of his vow—the king concluded that some one had disobeyed his solemn command. Accordingly he inquired through the sacred lot who was guilty. Jonathan, his son, proved to be the culprit. With a fearlessness and frankness that characterizes all that is recorded of this noble knight, Jonathan stated what he had done and declared that he was ready to die. Although he had won for Saul a throne and kingdom, he would have died to fulfil his father’s rash vow had not the people redeemed him.
V. Saul’s Wars. The initial victory over the Philistines was far from decisive; but until the end of Saul’s reign the Philistines appear to have made no serious and united attempt to reconquer central Canaan. The hostilities between the two peoples took the form rather of border warfare. Hostile bands made a sudden attack on some outlying town, slaying the inhabitants and carrying away the spoil, and escaped before the pursuers could overtake them. A similar counter-attack would soon follow, and thus the petty wars of reprisal continued, apparently without intermission, throughout Saul’s reign. From the south those Bedouin wanderers, the Amalekites, invaded Canaan. To prevent their repeated attacks, Saul appears to have pursued them out into their wilderness home, and for the time being to have intimidated them. The biblical narrative also states that Saul carried on similar wars with the Edomites and Moabites to the south-east and with certain Aramean tribes in the north. Thus, with the exception of the Phoenicians on the north-west, Saul’s little kingdom was encircled by a close ring of active foes. His court was the camp, his sceptre the sword, and his nobles the warriors who rallied about him in defence of Israel’s liberties.