Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:3
including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator identifies Ahijah among Saul’s six hundred troops stationed at Migron, noting the priestly lineage of the man wearing the ephod while the army remains unaware of Jonathan’s departure. This occurs at the precise moment before Jonathan’s solo assault on the Philistine outpost.
The words — The text highlights אֲחִיָּ֣ה (Ahijah) and the repeated בֶן (son of) genealogy, which literally chains Ahijah to Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, Phinehas, and ultimately Eli. This structural repetition anchors the priestly line in Shiloh.
The thread — The genealogy links back to 1 Samuel 2:28 where God selects Eli’s house as priests, and connects forward to 1 Samuel 22:20 where a descendant of this same line escapes to David. The mention of Ichabod in 1 Samuel 4:21 marks the earlier departure of glory from this priestly line.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that divine authority rests on documented lineage rather than military advantage, even as the army operates in ignorance. It requires the reader to track how priestly continuity persists despite the collapse of Israel’s spiritual center.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I–chabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 2:28 And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.
- 1 Samuel 4:21 And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
- 1 Samuel 22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
- 1 Samuel 22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul’s servants, answered: “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.
- Exodus 28:26 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece, on the inside edge next to the ephod.