Lives of Scripture

Jonathan's courage is established before David appears: with only his armor-bearer, he climbed a cliff to attack a Philistine garrison, reasoning 'the LORD can save by many or by few,' and God turned it into a rout of the army (1 Samuel 14:1-15). After David killed Goliath, Jonathan's soul was 'knit to the soul of David'; he made a covenant with him and gave David his own robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt — surrendering, symbolically, the throne he stood to inherit as Saul's own son (1 Samuel 18:1-4). As Saul's jealousy of David turned murderous, Jonathan spoke well of David to his father, then, convinced Saul was set on killing David, warned him through a prearranged signal and sent him away weeping, renewing a covenant of kindness to Jonathan's descendants — Saul was so enraged he hurled a spear at his own son (1 Samuel 19-20). Their last meeting came while David was a fugitive: Jonathan visited him in hiding and acknowledged David, not himself, would be king, encouraging him to find strength in God (1 Samuel 23:16-18). Jonathan died alongside his father and two brothers in Israel's defeat at Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:2). David's lament, 'How the mighty have fallen,' singles out Jonathan by name, mourning a friendship 'more wonderful than the love of women' (2 Samuel 1:17-27). Jonathan's young son Mephibosheth, crippled in a fall, was later shown kindness by David for his father's sake and given a place at the king's table (2 Samuel 9).