And the Philistines followed close upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.
All Commentaries on 1 Samuel 31:2 Go To 1 Samuel 31
Bede
AD 735
The nations that surrounded Judah rushed in with the sole intention of destroying the kingdom of Judah and of removing the sons of the kingdom from its midst. So too with their corruption they corrupted the high priests, scribes and Pharisees—and even the heretics. They forbade the sons of the kingdom (certainly, a reference to the leaders of that kingdom) from preaching or worshiping the grace of the Holy Spirit in their sincere heart. That is the meaning of their striking down Jonathan, “the gift of the dove.” They forbade praising the Father through a worthy confession, who made us his sons not by nature but by adoption. The death of Abinadab pointed to this, for his name means “Father of his own volition.” They resisted so that they would not believe in the salvation that was coming into the world through Christ’s kingdom. The death of Malchishua pointed to this, since his name means “My king is my salvation.” I believe that the philosopher who seduced Arius killed Malchishua, as it were, just as the one who seduced Macedonius killed Jonathan, and the one who seduced Mani killed Abinadab. I say that because the master of corruption taught Arius to deny the omnipotence of Christ the king, Macedonius to detract from the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Mani to blaspheme the goodness of our great God.
