65.

Jonathan's very first slaughter (not counting the one before)

Well, it was a bit disappointing to me, but I guess it was OK for a very first slaughter.

Here's how it happened.

One day Jonathan and his armor bearer decided to go find some uncircumcised guys to kill. Who knows? Maybe God would help them.

Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us. 1 Samuel 14:6

Jonathan's amorous armor bearer said to him, "Do whatever is in your heart. Whatever is in your heart is in my heart, too." (They had a very close, intimate relationship.)

His armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 14:7

So Jonathan told him his plan. They will go over to the Philistines and if they say, "Wait there and we'll come over to you," then Jonathan and his armor bearer will stay put. But if the Philistines say, "Come up to us, and we will show you something," then they will attack, knowing that God will help them kill them.

Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. 14:8-10

So they did that. And when the Philistines saw them, they said, "Look the Hebrews have crawled out of the holes they were hiding in."

Both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 14:11

And then the Philistines said the magic words of doom, "Come on up and we'll show you a thing or two."

The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. 14:12a

When Jonathan heard that, he told his armor bearer that God would help them kill the Philistines.

Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. 14:12b

So Jonathan and his armor bearer crawled out of their hole and began to kill Philistines.

Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14:13

They killed about 20 of them, all in an area of half an acre or so, which is not too bad for a very first slaughter.

That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. 14:14

The thing that bothers me about this story is the "first slaughter" part. Because if this was Jonathan's very first slaughter, what was he doing in the last chapter?

Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. 13:3