In the biblical narrative, he is the eldest son of King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel, and a close friend of David.

When he learns of his father's oath, Jonathan disagrees with the wisdom of it, as it requires the soldiers to pursue the enemy although weak from fasting.

[5] Saul decides to put Jonathan to death for breaking the ban, but relents when the soldiers protest (1 Samuel 14:45).

The feeling is expressed before the men exchanged a single word in an interaction that has been described as philia or love at first sight.

[b] Saul even goes so far as to attempt to kill Jonathan by throwing a javelin at him during a fit of paranoid rage.