Jonathan (son of Abiathar)

Jonathan is a character in the Hebrew Bible, appearing in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings.

Jonathan and Ahimaaz hide from Absalom by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695. This woodcut depicts an event recorded in 2 Samuel 17:17-21.

He is introduced as the son of Abiathar the High Priest in 2 Samuel 15:27. He was also a companion of Ahimaaz, son of Zadok: together they work as messengers for David during Absalom's rebellion (2 Sam 15:36). 2 Samuel 17 describes an incident in which they hide from Abasalom's men in a well in Bahurim.

In 1 Kings 1, during Adonijah's conspiracy, Jonathan tells Adonijah that David had made Solomon king (1 Kgs 1:43). Jonathan is not mentioned again, and misses out on becoming high priest, since his father is replaced by Zadok.

Keith Bodner calls him an "under-rated (yet intriguing) character", and notes that he is "used in a larger discussion about succession", which Bodner argues is ironic, "since he himself is banished into obscurity by the succession of a rival house."[1]

Jonathan was the 9th Samaritan High Priest according to Samaritan Genealogical Records.[2]

References
  1. Bodner, Keith (2013). The Artistic Dimension: Literary Explorations of the Hebrew Bible. A & C Black. p. 103. ISBN 9780567442628. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. Gaster, M. (1909). "The Chain of Samaritan High Priests: A Synchronistic Synopsis: Published for the First Time". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 393–420. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00038697. JSTOR 25210743. S2CID 147176244. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
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