HarperCollins Study Bible, page 127
30.27 Bethel was not in Judah; the Septuagint has “Beth-zur,” a Calebite town in the Judean hills a few miles north of Hebron (see Josh 15.58). Ramoth of the Negeb, called Baalath-beer in Josh 19.8. Location unknown. Jattir, a levitical city in the Judean hills about twelve miles south-southwest of Hebron (see Josh 15.48; 21.14).
30.28 Aroer (see Num 32.34), a Transjordanian city less likely to have been intended here than Ararah, a town in the Negeb of Judah about twelve miles southeast of Beer-sheba (see Josh 15.22, where Ararah should be read for Adadah). Siphmoth, otherwise unknown. Eshtemoa, a levitical city in the Judean hills about eight miles south of Hebron (see Josh 15.50; 21.14).
30.29 Racal, probably a corruption of Carmel, which the Septuagint preserves (see note on 15.12). Though the Jerahmeelites may have once been an independent tribe, they were eventually incorporated into Judah (see 1 Chr 2.9, 25–27); the location of their territory is unknown, but it may have been south of Beer-sheba (see 27.10). Kenites, better “Kenizzites,” as found in the Septuagint and a manuscript from Qumran (4QSama); see also note on 27.10.
30.30 Hormah must have been close to Ziklag (see note on 27.5–6); it too was formally claimed by Simeon (Josh 19.4) but included in the list of the cities of Judah (Josh 15.30). Bor-ashan, or Ashan, a levitical city in the Judean hills a few miles northwest of Beer-sheba (see Josh 15.42; 19.7; 21.16, where Ain should probably be corrected to Ashan). Athach, better “Ether,” which is paired with Ashan in Josh 15.42; 19.7; it was about fifteen miles northwest of Hebron.
30.31 Hebron, the principal city of the region, the traditional capital of Judah, where David was first proclaimed king (see 2 Sam 2.4). It was about nineteen miles south-southwest of Jerusalem in the Judean hills.
1 SAMUEL 31
The Death of Saul and His Sons
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fella on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3The battle pressed hard upon Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them. 4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me.” But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day. 7When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and fled; and the Philistines came and occupied them.
8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses of their idols and to the people. 10They put his armor in the temple of Astarte;b and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
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a Heb and they fell slain
b Heb plural
31.1–13 Saul, Jonathan, and his brothers lose their lives in a battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa.
31.1 Mount Gilboa. See note on 28.4.
31.2 Sons of Saul. See note on 14.49.
31.4 The armor-bearer’s fear of delivering the coup de grace is probably based on his awareness of Saul’s status as the sacrosanct anointed of the Lord (see 24.6; 26.9).
31.7 The Israelites who were on the other side of the valley are probably those who lived north of the Valley of Jezreel, where the battle occurred, but those beyond the Jordan may be a secondary expansion; the parallel account in 1 Chr 10.7 mentions only the Israelites “who were in the valley.”
31.10 Saul’s armor, like Goliath’s (see 21.9–10), is deposited in a temple. Astarte, the name of a prominent Canaanite goddess used by the biblical writers as a generic designation for a goddess (see 7.4); here it probably refers to the goddess of Beth-shan, whose name was Antit. Beth-shan, a major Egyptian and Canaanite fortress that guarded the eastern end of the Valley of Jezreel (see note on 2 Sam 2.9); at this point in the story it seems to be under Philistine control.
31.11–13 Jabesh-gilead was not far south of Beth-shan on the other side of the Jordan (see 10.27). The people of Jabesh have a long-standing debt to Saul for rescuing them from Nahash the Ammonite (see 10.27–11.15). David will eventually return the bones of Saul and Jonathan to their family tomb in Benjamin (see 2 Sam 21.12–14).
2 SAMUEL
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2 SAMUEL 1
David Mourns for Saul and Jonathan
1After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 2On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. 3David said to him, “Where have you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4David said to him, “How did things go? Tell me!” He answered, “The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died.” 5Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?” 6The young man reporting to him said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him. 7When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Here sir.’ 8And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9He said to me, ‘Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ 10So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. 12They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13David said to the young man who had reported to him, “Where do you come from?” He answered, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.” 14David said to him, “Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come here and strike him down.” So he struck him down and he died. 16David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
17David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18(He ordered that The Song of the Bowa be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
19Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.
21You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields!b
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
22From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
26I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
27How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!
[For introductory material to 2 Samuel, see the Introduction to 1 Samuel.]
next chapter
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a Heb that The Bow
b Meaning of Heb uncertain
1.1–16 David responds to the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan with genuine sorrow. One of the principal goals of the old story of David’s rise to power (see Introduction) is to show that although David was ultimately the beneficiary of Saul’s death, he did not seek or desire it, remaining loyal to Saul to the last.
1.1 2 Samuel begins After the death of Saul just as Joshua begins “After the death of Moses” and Judges “After the death of Joshua.” For the Amalekites in general, see note on 1 Sam 15.2; the present reference is to David’s punitive raid, described in 1 Sam 30, against a band of Amalekites who had attacked his personal fortress of Ziklag (see 1 Sam 27.6).
1.2 An Amalekite (see v. 8) arrives in David’s camp with his clothes torn and dirt on his head, conventional gestures of grief (see 1 Sam 4.12; 2 Sam 15.32), but he may be dissembling (cf. Josh 9.3–15).
1.6–10 The Amalekite’s account of the death of Saul is quite different from that given in 1 Sam 31.3–5. The simplest explanation of the contradiction is that the Amalekite is lying, on the very erroneous assumption that David would reward him for having taken Saul’s life. Readers are probably to understand that the Amalekite came upon the body of Saul, stripped off his crown and armlet, and then conceived of the idea that they might be most valuable to him if he brought them to David.
1.6 Mount Gilboa, the scene of the fatal battle (see 1 Sam 31.1), stood at the northern limit of the Samarian hills overlooking the Valley of Jezreel. It has been suggested that Saul was leaning on his spear in an attempt to commit suicide (cf. 1 Sam 31.4), but it is more likely that he was supporting himself with the shaft of his weapon after receiving mortal wounds.
1.9 Convulsions, obscure, perhaps giddiness or dizziness.
1.10 The crown and armlet are royal insignia. The former is more likely to have been a diadem worn on the forehead than a crown; the king received it at the time of his investiture (see 2 Kings 11.12). The armlet is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible (though some would restore it in 2 Kings 11.12).
1.13–16 Resident alien, a foreigner living legally and permanently in Israel, entitled to protection and most of the same privileges as native-born Israelites, but he was also subject to most of the same rules of behavior, including respect for the sanctity of the LORD’s anointed. David, who has always been scrupulous with regard to this last point where Saul was concerned (see 1 Sam 24.6; 26.9), decides that the Amalekite’s own testimony warrants a sentence of death.
1.17–27 One of the Bible’s earliest poems; given its antiquity and personal character, its attribution to David might well be authentic.
1.18 The Song of the Bow may be the ancient name of David’s lament, but it seems unlikely and appears as such in no ancient manuscripts of the text of Samuel. The Masoretic Text has simply “a bow,” and some have interpreted this to mean that David commanded that the people should be trained in archery. The Septuagint has nothing at all, understanding lamentation of v. 17 to be what David wanted taught to the people. We know of at least two and possibly three poems that were included in the lost Book of Jashar, or “Book of the Upright”: David’s lament, the command to sun and moon to stand still in Josh 10.12–13, and possibly Solomon’s verses about the temple of the Lord in 1 Kings 8.12–13, which are assigned to “the Book of Hashir (the Song)” in the Septuagint.
1.19 If this rendering of this difficult passage is correct, Israel’s glory is Saul; another interpretation is to understand the word translated glory as “gazelle,” an example of the common practice of using the names of strong male animals to refer to military commanders. High places, presumably the heights of Gilboa, but the expression translated slain upon…high places is used in the Qumran War Scroll (1QM 12.10) to mean “backs of the slain.” How the mighty have fallen! (also in vv. 25, 27), a refrain unifying this elegant poem.
1.20 Gath, Ashkelon, two of the principal cities of the Philistines (see note on 1 Sam 5.8).
1.21 Bounteous fields, problematic, possibly “fields of offerings” or “upwellings of the deeps.” Anointed with oil no more, ambiguous (in translation and in the Hebrew) as to whether this refers to Saul or his shield. Although Saul was the anointed of the Lord (see 1 Sam 9.16; 24.6–7; 26.9), it is probably the shield that is meant; a leather shield was rubbed with oil to keep it supple and ready for battle (see Isa 21.5).
1.24 The dried bodies of “kermes” insects produced the brilliant red dye called crimson, which was a sign of luxury (see Prov 31.21).
1.25–26 David’s lament is most personal when he expresses his grief over his friend Jonathan; on Jonathan’s love for David, see 1 Sam 18.1; 20.17.
2 SAMUEL 2
David Anointed King of Judah
1After this David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” The LORD said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” He said, “To Hebron.” 2So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 3David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron. 4Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When they told David, “It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” 5David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him! 6Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing. 7Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Ishbaal King of Israel
8But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbaala son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9He made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10Ishbaal,b Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
The Battle of Gibeon
12Abner son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbaalc son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13Joab son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool, while the other sat on the other side of the pool. 14Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men come forward and have a contest before us.” Joab said, “Let them come forward.” 15So they came forward and were counted as they passed by, twelve for Benjamin and Ishbaald son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16Each grasped his opponent by the head, and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim,e which is at Gibeon. 17The battle was very fierce that day; and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten by the servants of David.
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as swift of foot as a wild gazelle. 19Asahel pursued Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he followed him. 20Then Abner looked back and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” He answered, “Yes, it is.” 21Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or to your left, and seize one of the young men, and take his spoil.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him. 22Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn away from following me; why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?” 23But he refused to turn away. So Abner struck him in the stomach with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out at his back. He fell there, and died where he lay. And all those who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, stood still.
24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. As the sun was going down they came to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25The Benjaminites rallied around Abner and formed a single band; they took their stand on the top of a hill. 26Then Abner called to Joab, “Is the sword to keep devouring forever? Do you not know that the end will be bitter? How long will it be before you order your people to turn from the pursuit of their kinsmen?” 27Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, the people would have continued to pursue their kinsmen, not stopping until morning.” 28Joab sounded the trumpet and all the people stopped; they no longer pursued Israel or engaged in battle any further.
29Abner and his men traveled all that night through the Arabah; they crossed the Jordan, and, marching the whole forenoon,f they came to Mahanaim. 30Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men besides Asahel. 31But the servants of David had killed of Benjamin three hundred sixty of Abner’s men. 32They took up Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was at Bethlehem. Joab and his men marched all night, and the day broke upon them at Hebron.
