Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
Saul responded to Jonathan’s affection for David, and presumably David’s bravery, by keeping David with him even more than the king had done previously (1 Samuel 18:2; cf. 1 Samuel 14:52). Evidently Jonathan realized David’s gifts and God’s will for David’s life (cf. 1 Samuel 23:17), and he humbly deferred to him (1 Samuel 18:3-4).