שמואל א, פרק י״ג, פסוק כ״ב

A harsh reality of severe military disadvantage confronted the Israelites as they prepared to face the Philistines. The fighters marched into combat lacking the most basic weaponry, a stark reflection of their material weakness against their enemies. The exact nature of this unarmed state is viewed in different ways; it may have been the reality of a specific, sudden conflict that caught the nation off guard [מלבי״ם], or it might have been the ongoing, everyday condition whenever the two nations clashed [רד״ק].

The practical reason for this widespread lack of arms was a complete absence of blacksmiths among the Israelites capable of forging iron weapons [מצודת דוד]. Stripped of proper iron gear, the fighters were likely forced to rely on whatever crude substitutes they could gather, such as copper blades, wooden implements, and stone slings [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Amidst an entire army equipped with makeshift gear, only the highest military commanders, Saul and his son Jonathan, actually possessed a proper sword and spear [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A straightforward understanding of events suggests that the leaders simply owned these rare weapons well before the battle began. However, a Midrashic tradition introduces a supernatural layer to the story, explaining that initially, even Saul and Jonathan were completely unarmed. In this view, their weapons were not acquired naturally, but were instead miraculously provided to them by an angel just in time for the battle [רש״י, רד״ק].