Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
1 SAMUEL 14:28KJVWhat does 1 Samuel 14:28 mean?
1 Samuel 14:28 reports that one of the people told Jonathan that his father, King Saul, had made everyone swear an oath not to eat any food that day, declaring a curse on anyone who did. As a result, the people were weak and exhausted from hunger.
In this scene, a member of Saul’s army is speaking to Jonathan, Saul’s son. Jonathan had just eaten some honey, not knowing about the oath. The verse highlights the seriousness of Saul’s command and shows how it affected the people, making them faint from lack of food during a crucial time in battle.
The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 14:28
- The word for "straitly charged" and "oath" is שָׁבַע (shavaʿ), which means to swear or make someone take an oath. The repetition in the Hebrew emphasizes how forcefully Saul imposed this command.
- "Cursed" is אָרַר (ʾarar), meaning to bind with a curse or pronounce a serious consequence. This shows the severity of Saul’s warning and the fear it created.
- "Faint" is עָפַר (ʿāphar), which often means to be exhausted or to lose strength. This word helps us understand that the people were not just hungry but physically weakened, which could affect their ability to fight.
Why 1 Samuel 14:28 matters
- This verse helps explain why Jonathan’s actions were significant—he broke an oath he didn’t know about, which sets up tension in the story.
- The verse shows the impact of Saul’s leadership choices on his people, highlighting how a strict or rash command can have unintended negative consequences.
- It connects to the broader narrative by showing the physical and moral strain on Israel’s army, setting the stage for later conflict between Saul and Jonathan.