Jonathan (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: ''Yəhōnāṯān'' or ''Yōnāṯān''; "
Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he po ...
has gifted") is a heroic figure in
1 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...
in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' United Kingdom of Israel
The United Monarchy () in the Hebrew Bible refers to Israel and Judah under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is traditionally dated to have lasted between and . According to the biblical account, on the succession of Solomon's son R ...
, he was the eldest son of
King Saul as well as a close friend of
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, who eventually succeeded Saul as king.
Like his father, he was a man of great strength and swiftness
2 Samuel 1:23, and he excelled in
archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...
(
2 Samuel 1:22 and slinging
.
Conflicts with Saul
Jonathan first appears in the biblical narrative as the victor of
Geba, a
Philistine
The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
stronghold (
1 Samuel 13), while in the following chapter he carries out a
lone and secret attack on another Philistine garrison, demonstrating his "prowess and courage as a warrior."
[T. H. Jones, "Jonathan," in J. D. Douglas, (ed.), ''New Bible Dictionary'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 654.] However, he eats
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
without knowing that his father had said, "Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes" (1 Samuel 14:24). When he learns of his father's oath, Jonathan disagrees with the wisdom of it, as it requires the soldiers to pursue the enemy although weak from fasting. Saul decides to put Jonathan to death for breaking the ban, but relents when the soldiers protest ().
The story of
David and Jonathan
David and Jonathan were, according to the Hebrew Bible's Books of Samuel, heroic figures of the Kingdom of Israel, who formed a covenant, taking a mutual oath.
Jonathan was the son of Saul, king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and David ...
is introduced in
Samuel 1
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...
(18:1), where it says that "Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself". The feeling is expressed before the men exchanged a single word in an interaction that has been described as ''
philia'' or
love at first sight. The relationship between David and Jonathan has also been compared more explicitly to other homoerotic relationships in Near Eastern literature, including by the Near Eastern scholar
Cyrus H. Gordon
Cyrus Herzl Gordon (June 29, 1908 – March 30, 2001) was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages.
Biography
Gordon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lithuanian emigrant and physician Benjamin Gordon. H ...
, who noted the instance in the
Book of Jashar, excerpted in
Samuel 2 (1:26), in which David "proclaims that Jonathan's love was sweeter to him than the love of a women" as being similar to
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
' comparison of
Patroclus to a girl and
Gilgamesh
sux, , label=none
, image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assy ...
's love for
Enkidu
Enkidu ( sux, ''EN.KI.DU10'') was a legendary figure in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, wartime comrade and friend of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Their exploits were composed in Sumerian poems and in the Akkadian ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', writte ...
"as a woman".
Saul suspects that Jonathan is colluding with David, who he believes is conspiring to overthrow him. Saul insults Jonathan calling him the "... son of a perverse and rebellious woman!" in 1 Samuel 20:30. Saul even goes so far as to attempt to kill Jonathan by throwing a javelin at him during a fit of paranoid rage. But, before this event happened, all Jonathan did was ask his father what did David do to him so that he would be put to death? (1 Sam. 20:32-33), which suggests David had never wronged Saul.
The last meeting between Jonathan and David would take place in a forest of
Ziph at Horesh, during Saul's pursuit of David. There, the two would make a covenant before the Lord before going their separate ways.
Death
Jonathan died at the battle of
Mount Gilboa
Mount Gilboa ( he, הַר הַגִּלְבֹּעַ, translit=Har hagGīlbōaʿ ; ar, جبل جلبوع ''Jabal Jarbūʿ'' or ''Jabal Fuqqāʿa''), sometimes referred to as the Mountains of Gilboa, is the name for a mountain range in Israel. It ...
along with his father and brothers (1 Samuel 31). His bones were buried first at Jabesh-gilead,
1 Samuel 31:13 but were later removed with those of his father and moved to
Zelah.
[ G. Darshan]
"The Reinterment of Saul and Jonathan’s Bones (II Sam 21, 12–14) in Light of Ancient Greek Hero-Cult Stories"
ZAW, 125,4 (2013), 640–645. Jonathan was the father of
Mephibosheth, to whom David showed special kindness for Jonathan's sake (2 Samuel 9).
Cultural symbolism
Jonathan has typically been portrayed as a "model of loyalty to truth and friendship", in the words of T. H. Jones.
He is venerated as a saint by the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, with a feast day on 29 December.
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*Adam Green, ''King Saul, The True History of the First Messiah'' (
Lutterworth Press, 2007) – includes a critical literary reassessment of the character and personality of Jonathan and his relationships with Saul and David.
{{Authority control
People associated with David
11th-century BCE Hebrew people
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)
Jewish royalty
House of Saul
Christian saints from the Old Testament
Archers