Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 14:23

"So Jehovah saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over by Beth-aven." — 1 Samuel 14:23 (ASV)

So the Lord saved Israel ...— The identical words used at the Red Sea, after the deliverance of the people from Egypt. So the battle rolled westward through Beth-aven, past city and village, over Mount Ephraim. It was a decisive victory, crushing in its results for the Philistines, who were driven back so effectively that they did not reappear until the close of Saul’s reign. The king was now at liberty to develop the military character of the people; and until the disaster that closed his life and reign, his various campaigns against the idolatrous nations who surrounded Israel generally appear to have gone on from victory to victory.