And, lo, I must die] rather, 'Here am I, I will die.' Jonathan does not flinch. This 'taboo,' or 'ban,' which Saul had placed upon the taking of food (see on 1 Samuel 14:24) is regarded with as much reverence as Jephthah's vow (Judges 11:35); but Jonathan's life, unlike that of Jephthah's daughter, is important to the whole nation, and Saul finds that his power is very strictly limited by the popular will.

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