Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman. This is a striking Oriental form of abuse (see an instance, Bovet, 'Voyage en Terre Sainte,' p. 77), the counterpart of that ancient benediction, Luke 11:27. Saul was not angry with his wife; it was the son alone upon whom he meant, by this style of address, to discharge his resentment; and the principle on which it is rounded seems to be, that to a genuine filial instinct it is a more inexpiable offence to hear the name or character of a parent traduced than any personal reproach. In every Eastern family the great object of respect and devotion is the mother. There are familiar expressions which show this very strongly. 'Pull my father's beard, but do not speak ill of my mother.' 'Strike me, but do not curse my mother' (Urquhart's 'Spirit of the East). This was, undoubtedly, one cause of 'the fierce anger' in which the high-minded prince left the table without tasting a morsel.