He put forth the end of the rod. — Most likely, with the point of his staff took up a piece of the honeycomb. Jonathan in that hurried battle and pursuit had heard nothing of his father’s rash oath, and was, no doubt, owing to his exertions in the earlier part of that eventful day, worn out with fatigue and hunger.
And his eyes were enlightened. — This simply means that the natural dimness caused by extreme exhaustion passed away when his long fast was broken; literally, his eyes became bright. Hence the Talmud comments: “Whoever suffers from the effects of intense hunger, let him eat honey and other sweet things, for such eatables are efficacious in restoring the light of one’s eyes... Thus we read of Jonathan, “See, I pray you, how my eyes have been enlightened because I tasted a little of this honey” (1 Samuel 14:27). — Treatise Yoma, fol. 83, Colossians 2.