David and Jonathan shared a friendship still proverbial for its beauty, strength, and permanence. Apparently they first met following David's triumphant mastery over Goliath, proved on the basis that "the battle is the Lord's" (I Sam. 17:47); and a mutually irresistible attraction quickly arose between them. "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul" (18: 1).
It says much for their inherent stability and loyalty that never in the ensuing years of stress did they violate this covenant.
At first, Jonathan's father, Saul, did not hesitate to place David in charge of a band of warriors, but soon bitter jealousy assailed him on learning that David was credited with destroying tens of thousands of his country's foes, and Saul mere thousands (see 18:8).
