2 Samuel
Chapter 1
David Mourns Saul and Jonathan’s Deaths
After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed at Ziklag for two days.
On the third day, a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground in homage.
David asked him: “Where are you from?” And he answered: “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
David then said: “Tell me what happened.” And the man told him: “The soldiers fled from the battle, but many fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan—they too are dead.”
Then David asked the young man who had reported this: “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
The young man replied: “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and I saw Saul leaning on his spear while chariots and horsemen were closing in on him.
He turned around and, seeing me, called me.
I said, ‘Here I am.’ He asked, ‘Who are you?’ and I replied, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
He then said to me, ‘Come here and kill me for I feel dizzy though I am fully alive.’
So I went over and killed him, for I knew that he would fall and not rise again. Then I removed the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm, which I have here to give you, my lord.”
At this, David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and his men did the same.
And they mourned, weeping and fasting until evening, for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, for all the people of Judah and the nation of Israel.
David asked the young man who had told him this, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an Amalekite immigrant.”
David said, “Why were you not afraid to lay your hands on the Lord’s anointed and kill him?”
He then called one of his men and ordered him, “Come and strike him down.” He struck down the Amalekite and killed him.
David declared: “You will answer for your own blood, for you condemned yourself when you said, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
David sang this song of lamentation for Saul and his son Jonathan and had it taught to the people of Judah. It is called “The Bow”
and is found in the Book of the Just.
“Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your mountains!How the mighty ones have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon lest the Philistine women rejoice,lest foreign maidens exult.
Mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain visit you,no more fertile fields on you! For on you, the shield of the valiant was defiled.
The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil;but with the blood of the slain.From the fat of the warriors,the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,nor did the sword of Saul return unstained.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished,neither in life nor in death were they parted;swifter than eagles, they were and stronger than lions.
Women of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in precious scarlet.
How the valiant have fallen!In the battle, Jonathan lies slain on your mountains.
I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan;how dear have you been to me!Your love for me was wonderful,even more than the love of women.
How the valiant have fallen!The weapons of war have perished!”
Commentaries
David Mourns Saul and Jonathan’s Deaths.
The report of Saul’s defeat and death echoes the story in 1 Samuel 4. The Amalekite messenger knows where David lives and about Saul’s hostility; he views David as a fugitive from his people and a loyal supporter of the Philistines. He believes that David sees the news of the Philistine victory, Israel’s defeat, and Saul’s death, along with his succession, as good news, and expects to be rewarded handsomely. Therefore, the Amalekite arrives with royal jewels, which he could only have gathered if he was there very early at Saul’s death scene. David believes what he’s told and, as a result, sentences and executes him. The author emphasizes how quickly events unfold and how battles occur simultaneously. Verses 17-27 contain David’s lament over the great loss caused by the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.