1 Samuel 14:2

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(2) Under a pomegranate tree.—The love of Saul for trees, which was so common among the children of Israel, has been noticed. (See again 1 Samuel 22, 1Samuel 14:6. The king is spoken of as under the tamarisk of Ramali; Deborah is specially mentioned as judging Israel under the palm-tree in Beth-el.)

Benson Commentary

1 Samuel 14:2. Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah — In the outworks of the city, where he had intrenched himself to observe the motions of the Philistines. Under a pomegranate-tree — A grove of pomegranate-trees. Which is in (or toward) Migron — A place near Gibeah.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1-15 Saul seems to have been quite at a loss, and unable to help himself. Those can never think themselves safe who see themselves out of God's protection. Now he sent for a priest and the ark. He hopes to make up matters with the Almighty by a partial reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged. Many love to have ministers who prophesy smooth things to them. Jonathan felt a Divine impulse and impression, putting him upon this bold adventure. God will direct the steps of those that acknowledge him in all their ways, and seek to him for direction, with full purpose of heart to follow his guidance. Sometimes we find most comfort in that which is least our own doing, and into which we have been led by the unexpected but well-observed turns of Divine providence. There was trembling in the host. It is called a trembling of God, signifying, not only a great trembling they could not resist, nor reason themselves out of, but that it came at once from the hand of God. He that made the heart, knows how to make it tremble.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Under a pomegranate - Compare 1 Samuel 22:6; Judges 4:5. Saul was at the northern extremity of Gibeah, about an hour's march from Geba, where Jonathan was.

Migron, if the reading is correct, must be a different place from the Migron of Isaiah 10:28.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah—Hebrew, "Geba"; entrenched, along with Samuel and Ahiah the high priest, on the top of one of the conical or spherical hills which abound in the Benjamite territory, and favorable for an encampment, called Migron ("a precipice").

Matthew Poole's Commentary

In the uttermost part of Gibeah; in the outworks of the city, where he had intrenched himself to observe the motion of the Philistines.

In Migron, or towards (as the Hebrew beth is oft used) Migron, which was another place, but near Gibeah. See Isaiah 10:28.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah,.... Not daring to go out against the Philistines, but remained in the furthest part of Gibeah, at the greatest distance from the camp of the Philistines, in the strongest part of the city, or deeply entrenched in the outer, part of it in the field:

under a pomegranate tree; where were his headquarters; his tent or pavilion was erected under a large spreading pomegranate, which protected him from the heat of the sun: or

under Rimmon; the rock Rimmon; under the shelter of that, and in the caverns of it; where a like number of Benjaminites he now had with him formerly hid themselves, Judges 20:47.

which is in Migron; a part of Gibeah, or rather of the field of Gibeah, so called; for near it it certainly was; and is also mentioned along with Michmash, and as lying in the way of the march of Sennacherib king of Assyria, to Jerusalem, Isaiah 10:28.

and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; which is observed to show that no addition was made to his little army; it was the same it was when he came thither, the people did not flock to his assistance, being in fear of the army of the Philistines, which was so powerful; see 1 Samuel 13:15.

Geneva Study Bible

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. the uttermost part of Gibeah] Here at any rate Gibeah seems to denote a district. See note on 1 Samuel 10:5. Saul was stationed probably at the northern extremity of it, under “the pomegranate tree which is in Migron.” So we find him afterwards “under the tamarisk in Gibeah” (1 Samuel 22:6). Migron cannot be the place mentioned in Isaiah 10:28, which was north of Michmash. The name means precipice, and probably occurred frequently in this rocky region.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 2. - Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah. I.e. the part nearest Geba. Under, not a, but the pomegranate tree, the well known tree at Migron. Saul evidently shared to the full in the love of trees common among the Israelites (see 1 Samuel 22:6). The Hebrew word for pomegranate is Rimmon, but there is no doubt that the tree is here meant, and not the rock Rimmon (Judges 20:45, 47), so called probably from a fancied resemblance to the fruit. Migron, said to mean a cliff was apparently a common name for localities in this mountainous district, as in Isaiah 10:28 we read of one lying to the north of Michmash, whereas this is to the south. 1 Samuel 14:2

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, "We will go over to the post of the Philistines, that is over there." To these words, which introduce the occurrences that followed, there are attached from וּלאביו to 1 Samuel 14:5 a series of sentences introduced to explain the situation, and the thread of the narrative is resumed in 1 Samuel 14:6 by a repetition of Jonathan's words. It is first of all observed that Jonathan did not disclose his intentions to his father, who would hardly have approved of so daring an enterprise. Then follows a description of the place where Saul was stationed with the six hundred men, viz., "at the end of Gibeah (i.e., the extreme northern end), under the pomegranate-tree (Rimmon) which is by Migron." Rimmon is not the rock Rimmon (Judges 20:45), which was on the north-east of Michmash, but is an appellative noun, signifying a pomegranate-tree. Migron is a locality with which we are not acquainted, upon the north side of Gibeah, and a different place from the Migron which was on the north or north-west of Michmash (Isaiah 10:28). Gibeah (Tuleil el Phul) was an hour and a quarter from Geba, and from the pass which led across to Michmash. Consequently, when Saul was encamped with his six hundred men on the north of Gibeah, he may have been hardly an hour's journey from Geba.