Then said Jonathan, My father has troubled the land. Please look how my eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
An oath was an extremely serious matter in the ancient Near East (1 Samuel 14:26; cf. Judges 14:8-9). One did not violate a king’s oath without suffering severe consequences. Jonathan saw the folly of Saul’s oath clearly because he wanted God’s glory (1 Samuel 14:29-30). The Hebrew word translated "troubled" (1 Samuel 14:29, ’akar) is the same one from which "Achan" and "Achor" come (Joshua 7:25-26). Saul, not Jonathan, had troubled Israel, as Achan had, by his foolish command (1 Samuel 14:24).