שמואל א, פרק י״ד, פסוק ט׳

Standing before the Philistine outpost, Jonathan establishes a tactical and spiritual test to determine his course of action. By making his next move conditional upon the enemy's response, he seeks to discover whether the moment is right for battle or if he should hold back.

The test is straightforward: if the Philistines tell Jonathan and his armor-bearer to stop and wait where they are until the enemy reaches them, the Israelites will remain in their place and avoid an attack [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. The logic behind this specific condition is deeply rooted in battlefield psychology. If the Philistines demand that the Israelites wait while they advance, it reveals that the enemy feels confident, successful, and swollen with pride [רש"י]. Furthermore, such a response indicates that the Philistines are eager to initiate a pursuit. Since the pursuer typically holds the tactical advantage, an aggressive response from the enemy signals a high risk of defeat, meaning an attack should be avoided [רלב"ג].

Jonathan's reliance on a sign naturally raises questions about the biblical prohibition against divination. The primary approach among commentators is that his action does not qualify as forbidden divination. The Torah only forbids superstitious practices based on arbitrary occurrences, such as a stick falling from one's hand, the call of a crow, or an animal crossing a path [רד"ק]. In contrast, establishing a condition in advance to strengthen one's resolve and inspire action is completely permitted. This is evident from the fact that God actively assisted Jonathan in his mission [רד"ק].

A sign is considered proper and acceptable only when a person explicitly defines it beforehand, just as Jonathan and Abraham's servant Eliezer did. It is forbidden, however, to retroactively assign a negative meaning to a random event after it has already occurred [רד"ק]. To further prove that Jonathan's approach is both desirable and guided by God, commentators point to the historical precedent of Gideon. Gideon also established a similar test, relying on the overheard words of his enemies to build his courage before going to war [רלב"ג, רד"ק, שטיינזלץ].