Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 14:3
And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’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.
3. And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub ] And [there was with him] Ahiah, or Ahijah, as the name is usually transliterated. Ahijah is perhaps the same as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, the priest at Nob, who was the victim of Saul’s sacrilegious vengeance (1Sa 22:9). The name Ahijah = “brother of Jah” and Ahimelech = “brother of the king” may have been applied to the same person, Melech king being substituted for the divine name Jah in ordinary intercourse. But it is also possible that Ahimelech was the brother of Ahijah and his successor in the high priesthood.
I-chabod’s brother ] See 1Sa 4:21. I-chabod’s elder brother Ahitub was probably about the same age as Samuel, and his son may have been high-priest already for some time. Fifty years or more must have elapsed since the death of Eli. See Introduction, Ch. III.
the Lord’s priest in Shiloh ] These words must be referred to Eli as the most famous priest during the period while the Tabernacle was at Shiloh, not to Ahijah. It is all but certain that Shiloh ceased to be the religious centre of the nation after the capture of the Ark.
wearing an ephod ] i.e. officiating as high-priest. See note on 1Sa 2:18. His presence with the army is noticed to prepare the way for the fact mentioned in 1Sa 14:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whether Ahiah or Ahijah is the same person as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub (see the marginal reference), or whether Ahimelech was the brother or son of Ahijah, and his successor in the priesthood, it is impossible to say certainly. Most probably Ahijah and Ahimilech are variations of the same name; the latter element in each alone being different, melek (king) being substituted for the divine name yahh. Compare Eliakim and Jehoiakim 2Ki 23:34, Eliab and Eliel 1Ch 6:27, 1Ch 6:34.
This fragment of a genealogy is a very valuable help to the chronology. The grandson of Phinehas, the son of Eli, was now High Priest; and Samuel, who was probably a few years older than Ahitub the son of Phinehas, was now an old man. All this indicates a period of about 50 years or upward from the taking of the ark by the Philistines.
The Lords priest in Shiloh – But as Eli was so emphatically known and described in 1 Sam. 14, as Gods Priest at Shiloh, and as there is every reason to believe that Shiloh was no longer the seat of the ark in Sauls time (see 1 Sam. 22; 1Ch 13:3-5), it is better to refer these words to Eli, and not to Ahijah, to whom the next words, wearing an ephod, apply. (See 1Sa 2:28; Jdg 1:1 note.)
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Ahiah, the son of Ahitub] Phinehas, son of Eli the high priests had two sons, Ahitub and I-chabod; the latter was born when the ark was taken, and his mother died immediately after. Ahiah is also called Ahimelech, 1Sa 22:9.
Wearing an ephod.] That is, performing the functions of the high priest. This man does not appear to have been with Saul when he offered the sacrifices, 1Sa 13:9, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Ahiah; the same who is called Ahimelech, 1Sa 22:9,11,20, the high priest, who was here to attend upon the ark, which was brought hither, 1Sa 14:18.
An ephod, to wit, the high priests ephod, wherein the Urim and Thummim was.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Ahiah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother,…. Ichabod was the child that Phinehas’s wife bore prematurely on hearing the news of the ark being taken and of the death of her husband and father-in-law, which name she gave him on that account, and died; see 1Sa 4:19, he, it seems, had an elder brother, called Ahitub, who died young, and this Ahiah was the son of him; for not he, but Ahitub, was Ichabod’s brother:
the son of Phinehas; so Ichabod was:
the son of Eli; so Phinehas was:
the Lord’s priest in Shiloh; this refers not to Ahiah for he was not now priest in Shiloh, which was destroyed: and besides, he was now in the camp of Saul; but to Eli, who when living exercised the priest’s office in Shiloh:
wearing an ephod; as Ahiah now did; not such as common priests wore, but the ephod the high priest wore, which had the breastplate of judgment, the Urim and Thummim, in it, by which inquiry was made, 1Sa 14:37. The meaning of all this is, that the high priest is now with Saul, and the ark also, which and the high priest might be sent for on this occasion, 1Sa 14:18
and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone; or they would have gone with him, namely, the military men that were particularly with him; he and Saul were in two different parts of Gibeah, with distinct bodies of men; whether the thousand that Jonathan first had with him all continued is not certain; it seems probable they did not; it can hardly be thought he should have more with him than were with Saul; see
1Sa 14:2, though from 1Sa 14:17 they seem now to have been together.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) Ahiah, the son of Ahitub.The Chronicles, rehearsing these facts, show us what a terrible impression the last events in Elis reign as high priest had made in Israel. The destruction of Shiloh, the death of the high priest, the fall of Phinehas and his brother in battle, the melancholy circumstances of the birth of I-chabod, were still fresh in the memory of the people. Well might Jonathan be ready to sacrifice himself if he could deal an effectual blow upon these hereditary enemies of his country. Of this high priest Ahiah we never hear again in these Books of Samuel. He is generally supposed to be the same as the high priest Ahimelech, who was subsequently murdered by Doeg, by the direction of Saul, with the priests at Nob (1Sa. 22:9, &c.). The name Ahiah signifies brother, or friend of the Eternal; Ahimelech, brother of the king, may be another form of the same name.
Wearing an ephod.The ephod here alluded to is not the ordinary priestly vestment of white linen, but that official garment worn alone by the high priest, in which was the breast-plate of gems with the mysterious Urim and Thummim, by which inquiry used to be made of the Lord.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Ahiah Here we meet again with the descendants of Eli. See note on
1Sa 2:33. It is generally supposed, and quite probable, that Ahiah is only a different name for Ahimelech, mentioned 1Sa 22:9; still, it is possible that Ahimelech may have been his brother, and successor in the office of high priest. The presence of the priest with Saul is here mentioned in anticipation of what is to be stated in 1Sa 14:18-19; 1Sa 14:36-37.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 14:3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’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.
Ver. 3. And Ahiah. ] Called also Ahimelech, 1Sa 22:11-12 and basely butchered by the command of Saul, who here had sent for him, and served himself upon him.
And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ahiah (= brother or friend of Jehovah). As Ahimelech (brother or friend of the king) was also the son of Ahitub, therefore Ahiah and Ahimelech were brothers, and the latter succeeded the former (1Sa 22:11). I-chabod’s. Compare 1Sa 4:21.
the LORD’S. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
wearing an ephod. See note on 1Sa 14:18.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Ahiah
Called Ahimelech, 1Sa 22:9; 1Sa 22:11; 1Sa 22:20.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Ahiah: 1Sa 22:9-12, 1Sa 22:20, called Ahimelech.
Ichabod’s: 1Sa 4:21
wearing: 1Sa 2:28, Exo 28:26-32
Reciprocal: 1Sa 2:31 – I will cut 1Sa 21:1 – to Ahimelech 1Sa 23:6 – an ephod 1Ch 6:7 – Ahitub Hos 3:4 – ephod
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 14:3. And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub The high-priest, who was here to attend upon the ark, which had been brought hither, 1Sa 14:18. The son of Eli, the Lords priest in Shiloh These last words manifestly belong not to Ahiah, but to Eli, who was high-priest while the tabernacle was at Shiloh. Wearing an ephod Or rather, the ephod; that is, the high-priests ephod, comprehending the breast-plate with the Urim and Thummim, which were inseparable from it. These Ahiah, being high-priest, now wore. Saul, being now in great distress, probably had sent for Ahiah, that he might consult God for him, as there should be occasion.