13 others in the registry answer to the name Jonathan. Every Jonathan in the Bible
- verses
- 6
- first named
- 2 Samuel 15:27
- last named
- 1 Kings 1:43
- period
- United Monarchy
- tribe
- Levi
Description
Who was Jonathan?
Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest, appears in the biblical narrative during the reign of King David. He served as a messenger and informant alongside Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, during the time of Absalom's rebellion against David (2Sa.15.27,36).
When David was forced to flee Jerusalem due to Absalom's coup, he instructed Jonathan and Ahimaaz to remain in the city and send word to him about any developments (2Sa.15.27-29). The two young men stayed near En-rogel, outside the city, to avoid detection (2Sa.17.17). A servant girl would relay messages to them, which they would then deliver to David (2Sa.17.17).
When Absalom's men came searching for Jonathan and Ahimaaz, a woman hid them in a well and covered it, misleading the pursuers (2Sa.17.18-20). The two then escaped and informed David of Ahithophel's advice to Absalom (2Sa.17.21).
Later, during the tensions surrounding Solomon's succession to the throne, Jonathan brought news to Adonijah and his supporters that Solomon had been anointed king (1Ki.1.42-48). This report led to the disbanding of Adonijah's faction.
Jonathan's role as a messenger and informant highlights the importance of loyalty and communication during times of political upheaval. His service to David, along with that of Ahimaaz, was crucial in helping the king navigate the challenges posed by Absalom's rebellion and the uncertainties of the royal succession.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Jonathan is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
6 verses across 2 of 66 books; 64 write the name nowhere. Named in 2 Samuel (4) and 1 Kings (2).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 6, across 2 books.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
Sources