Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.
We are not given any of the reasons which Saul might have alleged as the basis of this shameful edict against his own son-in-law; but, "He probably accused David of being a traitor and of planning to usurp the throne."[3]   Whatever reasons he might have claimed as the basis of his shameful declaration, Jonathan intervened, refuted the last one of all such evil allegations, insisted upon David's innocence, and in return received from Saul a solemn oath in the name of the Lord that David would not be put to death.  Before leaving this, we must include the comment of Matthew Henry, who said, "The ease with which Saul had violated other oaths makes the sincerity of this one justly questionable."[4]