1 Samuel 14:14

“And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men, etc.] Or the first blow they struck, as the Targum, they killed about twenty men; that is, they did not stop smiting, but followed their blows so quickly, that in a very little time, as well as in a very small space of ground, so many were killed: even within as it were an half acre of land, which a “yoke” of oxen might plough; that is, in one day; the word is used for a furrow, (<19C903>Psalm 129:3) and is supposed by some f264 to be the length of one furrow; but if so, it must be a circular furrow; so much ground was given to Horatius Cocles as could be ploughed round about in one day, for his brave…”

“that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow--This was a very ancient mode of measurement, and it still subsists in the East. The men who saw them scrambling up the rock had been surprised and killed, and the spectacle of twenty corpses would suggest to others that they were attacked by a numerous force. The success of the adventure was aided by a panic that struck the enemy, produced both by the sudden surprise and the shock of an earthquake. The feat was begun and achieved by the faith of Jonathan, and the issue was of God.”

“Within as it were an half acre ... - The Hebrew text is extremely obscure. Hence, there is some probability that the true reading is preserved by the Septuagint which translates the clause “with darts and stones and flints of the field.” Others take the words to mean: “in about half the time that a yoke of oxen draw a furrow in the field.” return to 'Top of Page'”

“an half acre of land: or, half a furrow of an acre of land, The original is obscure and variously understood; but it is probably a proverbial expression for a small space. Sa1 14:14 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 14:15”