1 Samuel 13:2

Saul chose him three thousand men And Saul chose, &c. The formation of a standing armymarks an important epoch in the history of a nation. It was a natural result of the election of a king, who was to be a military leader. Cp. 1 Samuel 14:52. This body was only large enough to form a nucleus for the general levy of fighting men (1 Samuel 13:4), like the hus-carlsof the Saxon kings for the Land-Fyrd. See Green's Hist. of the Engl. People, p. 75.

in Michmash The villages of Mŭkhmâsand Jebapreserve the names and mark the sites of Michmash and Geba. They stand on the N. and S. respectively of the Wady es Suweinit, a deep ravine with precipitous sides running from the highlands of Benjamin to Jericho. "About two miles S. E. of Ai it becomes a narrow gorge with vertical precipices some 800 feet high." Jonathan was in Gibeah, a few miles to the S. W. of Geba. See note on 1 Samuel 10:5. We may conjecture that when Saul occupied Michmash the Philistines transferred their post, which had previously been at Gibeah (1 Samuel 10:5), to Geba, in order to watch him more closely. Jonathan thereupon seized Gibeah, from which he made the successful sally described in 1 Samuel 13:3.

mount Beth-el The high ground between Bethel and Michmash.

Jonathan The first mention of Saul's eldest son, whose memory is famous not so much for his military achievements, as for his fast friendship with David. The name Jonathanmeans "the gift of Jehovah," and may be compared with the Greek Theodore.