Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on 1 Samuel 14:3
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And Ahiah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, etc.] Ichabod was the child that Phinehas’s wife bore prematurely on hearing the news of the ark being taken and of the death of her husband and father-in-law, which name she gave him on that account, and died; (see <090419>1 Samuel 4:19-22), he, it seems, had an elder brother, called Ahitub, who died young, and this Ahiah was the son of him; for not he, but Ahitub, was Ichabod’s brother: the son of Phinehas; so Ichabod was: the son of Eli; so Phinehas was: the Lord’s priest in Shiloh; this refers not to Ahiah for he was not now priest in Shiloh, which was destroyed: and besides, he was now in the camp of Saul; but to Eli, who when living exercised the priest’s office in Shiloh: wearing an ephod; as Ahiah now did; not such as common priests wore, but the ephod the high priest wore, which had the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and Thummim, in it, by which inquiry was made, (<091437>1 Samuel 14:37). The meaning of all this is, that the high priest is now with Saul, and the ark also, which and the high priest might be sent for on this occasion, (<091418>1 Samuel 14:18) and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone; or they would have gone with him, namely, the military men that were particularly with him; he and Saul were in two different parts of Gibeah, with distinct bodies of men; whether the thousand that Jonathan first had with him all continued is not certain; it seems probable they did not; it can hardly be thought he should have more with him than were with Saul; (see <091402>1 Samuel 14:2), though from (<091417>1 Samuel 14:17) they seem now to have been together.
How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.
