Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 21 Nov 2021
Read the story in NAW: 1 Now after the death of Saul, that’s when David returned from striking down the Amalekites. And David had settled down in Ziqlag for two days, then on the third day, Look! a man came from the army-camp after being with Saul. And his clothes were torn, and mud was on top of his head. And when he came to David, he then fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Then David said to him, “Where have you come from here?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the army-camp of Israel!” Then David said to him, “What is the matter? Please communicate it to me!” And he said, “It’s that the people have fled from the battle, and also most of the people has fallen and died, and also Saul and his son Jonathan have died!” Then David said to the guy who was communicating to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? And the guy who was communicating with him said, “I was called – I had an encounter on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul supporting himself on his spear, and there was the chariot and the mounted officers engaged with him. And he glanced behind him and saw me and called out to me, so I said, “Here I am!” And he said to me, “Who are you?” And {I} said to him, “I am an Amalekite.” Then he said to me, “Please stand over me and kill me, for their enclosure has seized me, yet all my vitality is {} with me.” So I stood over him and I killed him, for I knew that he would not live after his fall. Then I took his crown which was upon his head and bracelet which was on his arm, and I brought them to my lord here.” Then David seized his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him, and they mourned and wept and fasted until the evening over Saul and over Jonathan his son and over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel, because they had been {struck down} by sword. Presently, David said to the guy who communicated to him, “Where are you from?” And he said, “I am an Amalekite, son of a man who is a foreign-visitor.” Then David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach your hand out to destroy Yahweh’s anointed one?” And David called to one of his guys and said, “Approach and attack him!” So he struck him down and he died. And David said to him, “Your bloodshed is upon your head, for your mouth replied concerning yourself, saying, ‘I myself killed Yahweh’s anointed one!’”
David has just returned from chasing down the Amalekite raiding party that captured his family and burned his town. He is probably wondering how the battle has gone between the other Philistine lords and the Israelite army under Saul up north. In the clashes between Israel and the Philistines recorded in First Samuel, the Philistines had won a couple of wars, and Israel had won a couple of wars. Which way would it go now?
David has only been home two days when this messenger runs up, presenting himself the same way the messenger did to Eli in 1 Samuel after Israel had lost a battle to the Philistines. Everybody knew, when they saw that his clothes were ripped up and that there was mud on his head, that he was coming to tell them that a battle had just been lost.
As the military governor of the town of Ziklag, David needed to be the first to know the details of this loss, but he also had to be sure that this messenger’s information was accurate. (A leader can’t do a good job of leading if his news sources are not accurate. We’re seeing that in our current political situation as well!) David questions the messenger closely to see whether this is just a guy who is hysterical and passing along a rumor, or if his intelligence is factual.
It must feel like the world if falling apart to David. He has been running for his life for years, his current residence is a smoking ruin, his family has been traumatized by war, he is weary from days and days of marching and fighting, his home nation is being attacked by a foreign army with the result that his home government is being overthrown, and his best friend killed. What does David do when his world falls apart like that? I want to point to three strategic things he did which we can also do when it feels like our world is falling apart, but first let’s examine the fresh news he received which precipitated his three strategic responses:
There are some fishy things about what the messenger said:
For one thing, the way he starts his story, “I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa…” raises questions like, “Do you expect me to believe you ‘just happened’ to stop by in the middle of a war zone? What were you doing there?”
If Saul didn’t recognize him and had to ask who he was, and if his response was that his identity was “an Amalekite,” then it would seem he was NOT a proselyte fighting for the Israelite army. Yet he said that he had come from the Israelite camp. He doesn’t seem to want to explain any of that.
But if he was part of the Philistine army, why would this Amalekite do what mourners did when he announced that the Israelites had lost the battle? A Philistine sympathizer would be crowing about it, not mourning. And why would he bring trophies like Saul’s crown past all the great Philistine cities to the podunk town of Ziqlag on the other side?
Furthermore, if he was making announcements to Jewish towns, why would he think he would find anyone sympathetic to Saul in the Philistine city of Ziqlag? Yet he seems to have made a beeline 100 miles from the battle to Ziqlag to deliver Saul’s crown and bracelet specifically to David.
But if he knew who David was, surely he would also know that David had been conducting a war campaign against Amalekites, so he, as an Amalekite himself should have known to avoid Ziqlag like the plague. What’s going on here?
And another thing, the guy talks about a “chariot” and “horse masters” “pressing in” on Saul on top of Mount Gilboa, but1.
Chariots and horses were for flatland use and wouldn’t have been driving and galloping around on a mountain.
That’s why chariots worked for the Philistines who lived on the flat coastland, but the Israelites who lived in the hills inland rode donkeys. Donkeys could handle carrying burdens up and down slopes much better than horses.
Furthermore, Chapter 31 says it was “archers” that wounded Saul and were closing in on him, but here this guy says it was “cavalry.”
There are so many differences between the two accounts that most folks have decided the two stories can’t be reconciled.
The Amalekite does not indicate that he thought Saul was actually trying to kill himself with his spear (nor, for that matter, with his sword, which is the weapon that 1 Sam. 31 tells us he killed himself with).
the Hebrew verb here is the one for “leaning on” something for support, not “piercing,” so this messenger’s wording indicates to me that Saul was injured and had stopped using his trusty spear as a weapon and was instead using it as a crutch2.
There’s also the fact that the other account in 1 Samuel 31 mentions there being an armor-bearer who was alive until after Saul died, yet Saul’s armor-bearer is not even mentioned in the Amalekite’s account. This armor-bearer surely would have defended Saul rather than than standing by and letting a foreigner kill him, so it seems suspicious that no skirmish with an armorbearer is in this Amalekite’s story, and that this guy didn’t feel the need to kill himself afterwards like the armorbearer did.
But at any rate he claimed that he killed Saul. He explains his reason for doing so by saying that Saul was already “caught” in some sense – yet was still alive – and thus asking to be killed, and because the Amalekite could see that Saul was going to die anyway before long from the fall3 which he had suffered.
Neither of these reasons are reasonable. We don’t kill people just because they ask us to, and we don’t kill people just because we think they’re going to die.
God’s rule since creation has been, “Thou shalt not murder.”
It was wrong for Cain to kill a fellow human being made in the image of God,
and God decreed to Noah long before the 10 Commandments that “whoever sheds man’s blood, by man must his blood be shed.”
If this Amalekite could escape from the battlefront, and if King Saul said he was still full of life, the Amalekite should have attempted to get Saul to safety too!
There are so many suspicious things about this Amalekite. I have to wonder why David didn’t probe into all these matters. I suspect that David could tell right away that this guy was a snake, so he didn’t bother to incriminate him any more than he already incriminated himself by claiming to have murdered Saul. (In Jesus’ parable of the Talents in Luke 19:22, we see the master do a similar thing, saying in effect, “O.K. I’m not going to chase down all the ways you wasted your time – and therefore mine – while I was away; I’m just going to convict you based on what you just said, because that, in itself, is enough to conclude that you’re finished.”)
In a just criminal system, it doesn’t take being convicted of any more than one capital crime to be put to death, and once they’re dead, what does it matter how many other treasonous acts they did?
For David, there was no need to pile up other charges like we have to do today to convince reluctant judges to actually punish crime.
Notice, however, that in verse 13, David re-asks the same question of the Amalekite that he originally asked him in verse 3. This may be David’s way of saying, “OK, so where are you really from? I don’t believe your story that you’re from the Israelite camp.” And that second time, he gets a somewhat-more-straightforward answer, although the guy still doesn’t say where he came from. He just says that his Dad was an Amalekite4 living as an alien, presumably in Israel. As such he didn’t own land and he had not become a Jew5, he was just a visitor, accountable to the Israelite government, probably making a living through buying and selling things. He wasn’t even a full-citizen of Israel, yet he is trying to officiate the succession of the kingship of Israel?
Nevertheless, there are a few details consistent between his account and that of 1 Sam. 31, namely:
Saul being on Mt. Gilboa when he died,
Saul being convinced that he was about to be captured by the Philistines,
Saul asking to be put to death,
and Jonathan and Saul dead along with many others in the Israelite army.
1 Chronicles 12:20-22 tells us that, “When [David] went to Ziklag... mighty men of valor, and ... captains in the army… came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God” (NKJV), so David had a steady stream of Israelites coming in with news, so he may have already heard other accounts that he could compare with the Amalekite’s account to ferret out what was true and what was false in what he was saying.
My guess is that this messenger was an opportunist who was out searching the dead bodies of Israelites for valuables that night after the battle, and he found Saul’s body, then thought he could score a powerful political position with David by running Saul’s crown over to Ziqlag. If this is true, then he didn’t actually murder Saul, and the story he told David was a bold-faced lie with some truth sprinkled in. Then, when David called his bluff, he didn’t go back on his story, so he died for a lie. (Most of the other commentators I read were of this same opinion.6)
But whether or not he killed Saul, his heart was treacherous enough to think that it would have been o.k. for him to commit regicide and to think that he could get away with boasting about it, and you don’t want that kind of person running loose in your community. So what did David do?
1) David’s immediate response was to grieve over the sad death of Saul and Jonathan.
In their culture, ripping holes in your clothes was a standard way of showing on the outside how you were feeling on the inside.
(Maybe it is in our culture too, but in our culture people just accept that distressed jeans are fashionable and we don’t share in the sense of mourning that may lie deep behind the fashion.
But if I came to church with holes ripped in my shirt, you’d probably say, “Whoah, something’s not normal! What’s wrong?”)
Notice that David’s action was immediately followed by all his men – 600 (or more) men ripping holes in their clothes! Why? Because David set the example.
Now, we can understand why the men of Jabesh Gilead were fasting over Saul’s death that week; they owed their eyesight to Saul’s deliverance,
but you’d think David would instead rejoice that finally the lunatic king who had a death-wish against him and who stubbornly refused to get right with God finally got his due!
So why did David tear his clothes? He explains that it was because someone had murdered the LORD’s anointed.
God’s people respect authority; we are not revolutionaries who live to overthrow systems of government or thrive on the instability of endless change.
We believe what God’s word says in Romans 13 that if there is a ruler in authority, that magistrate is in power because God put that person in power.
Maybe God put them there to discipline us; maybe God put them there to demonstrate justice by publicly bringing them down for their injustices, but God put them there, and so we show respect to God, the King of kings, by showing respect and submission to legitimate earthly authorities.
(That doesn’t mean, however, that we won’t use all the lawful means at our disposal to get better magistrates if we can!)
“[David] knew it, before his son wrote it (Prov. 24:17-18), that ‘if we rejoice when our enemy falls, the Lord sees it, and it displeases him;’ and that ‘he who is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished’ (Prov. 17:5).” ~Matthew Henry
And David and his men mourned for more than just Saul, “They mourned and wept and fasted… over Saul and over Jonathan his son and over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel...”
The entire national order would be upset by the untimely death of the king,
And David’s best friend was dead,
Furthermore, men who had once been pillars in their communities and who had worshiped God at the tabernacle were how lying dead in Mount Gilboa,
It also impacted all the people and economy of Israel. When you lose a war on your own turf,
You get really hungry, because the foreigners destroy or steal your food,
Widows have to raise children all by themselves with no husband to provide for them and no father to help with the parenting,
Schools and hospitals and other institutions shut their doors because so many of their staff die in the war; there is social chaos,
The foreigners also rig the economy and the government to be against you to benefit them. For instance, the last time the Philistines conquered Israel, they outlawed Jewish blacksmiths, so if you wanted any metalwork done or needed to sharpen a tool, you had to go to a Philistine to get it done, and they price-gouged you for it.
Short of another miracle, this was what David and his fellow Israelites had to look forward to. You’d weep too!
2) The second thing David did in response to this message was to execute justice on the man who confessed to the murder of the king.
David had already reviewed the legality of attempting an assassination on King Saul, and he had already stated his conclusion on two occasions:
1 Samuel 24:5-6 “...David's heart struck him over when he had cut off the flap {of the tunic} which belonged to Saul. Then he said to his men, ‘It was a disgrace to me from Yahweh that I should have done this thing to my master – to Yahweh's anointed one, by reaching my hand toward him, for he is Yahweh's anointed one!’” (NAW)
1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless?" (NKJV)
Two witnesses were not necessary to condemn the man in this case because he came freely saying that he had killed Saul, so his own voluntary confession was all the evidence needed, besides the exhibit of Saul’s crown proving that Saul was indeed dead.
Scottish Doctor of Divinity, Robert Jamieson, in his 19th century commentary, noted that “the crown [was] a small metallic cap or wreath, which encircled the temples, serving the purpose of a helmet, with a very small horn projecting in front, as the emblem of power” and “the armlet [was] worn above the elbow.”
As David stares at these items and shakes his head over the disingenuous report of the Amalekite bowing before him, it it interesting that, instead of proceeding immediately with a sentence against this guilty party, David asks a piercing question designed to make everyone around him think: “How is it that you were not afraid to destroy the messiah of Yahweh?” The obvious answer is because he did not fear Yahweh. This was the man’s real problem, and this was the man’s opportunity to confess his sin of unbelief and beg forgiveness, but he was apparently unaffected by this question.
David then ordered an executioner to deal with the murderer, and the Amalekite is put to death, and David pronounces the sentence of justice before or while he is dying.
To allow the man to live would be to express public approval of the assassination of King Saul, so David had to punish the man. Furthermore, to pass over the assassination of the king before him would make it open season on himself once he became king for anyone to assassinate him. This had to be nipped in the bud.
As for the legality of this execution: If the assassin was a foreign agent, he could be lawfully killed as a combatant in an already-declared war. If, on the other hand, he was a citizen or resident-alien, he could be lawfully executed for treason.
The only remaining question was whether David had the proper judicial authority to execute a domestic criminal,
but since the messenger clearly treated David as though he were king, the messenger, at least believed David had the authority to judge him,
and, as for David, he could legitimately assume from Samuel’s anointing that God had given him kingly authority upon Saul’s passing (K&D).
So in the midst of a world falling apart, David executed justice in his sphere of authority.
3) The third thing David does is to record a lament and a history.
The Jewish Soncino commentary explains that kinnah, one of the Hebrew words to describe the elegy in the rest of chapter 1, was “the technical term for the lament for the dead.”
The other word in Hebrew used to describe David’s composition, is translated “bow” in all the the English Bibles that I surveyed – from the KJV to the NLT – except for the ESV, which strangely omitted the word. The debate over the meaning of this word “bow” breaks down into two camps (excluding the camp that says it is unintelligible7):
One takes it literally in terms of the weapon used in archery, explaining that David used this occasion to encourage folks from Judah to become better archers. This was the position of early Jewish and Puritan commentators8 - and the New International Commentary on the Old Testament also advocated for it, noting that the loss to the Philistines meant fresh Jewish troops would need to be trained.
However, it makes no sense to me that David would suddenly switch the subject to encourage all the men in Judah to become better archers, and then go back to mourning Saul, so I side with Keil & Delitzsch and the majority of English versions that interpret “the bow” as the title of the lament he composed. Even Jamieson, who was in the “archery” camp rather than the “song title” camp, admitted that it was “the practice of Hebrew… writers [to give] titles to their songs from the principal theme,” and the song has a very military theme.
I hope to survey the text of David’s song in a future sermon, so I won’t get into it now, but David had it written in the book of Jasher to be taught to others so that they would learn history, and offer words of mourning fitting to the passing of Israel’s first king. We don’t have the book of Jasher anymore, but then again, we don’t need it anymore, because we now have the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.
Not only did David have the song written up, he also had this account in 2 Samuel that we are reading, written up, in which he glorifies God by recording the prophecies and recording their fulfillment and showing that God was in control all along.
“The secret springs of revolutions are unaccountable, and must be resolved into that Providence which turns all hearts as the rivers of water… David has been long waiting for the crown, and now it was brought to him by an Amalekite. See how God can serve His own purposes of kindness to His people, even by designing (ill-designing) men…” ~Matthew Henry
And when it feels like the world is falling apart, you can do the same three things David did: Mourn over the effects of sin, Execute justice in your sphere of authority, and Teach future generations the history of God’s work so that they will put their trust in Him!
Did not Jesus himself, during His earthly ministry, model the same to us?
Was not the world falling apart in His day, such that his disciples would live to see “not one stone left upon another” in their beloved capitol city? (Mt. 24:2; Mk. 13:2; Lk. 19:44)
Did Jesus not weep over that city and its inhabitants? (Luke 19:41),
Did He not say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they who shall be comforted”? (Mt. 5:4)
The magnitude of our world’s brokenness is reason to mourn, and it is right to follow in the footsteps of David and of our Lord Jesus in experiencing sadness over evil.
But we don’t stop with pools of tears. Like David, Jesus was a man of action, and He encouraged His followers to take action to set to rights what was within their power,
It probably won’t be as dramatic as putting someone to death, as David did – although for some of our soldiers, it might actually amount to that, but there was also
the disruption of a cattle market that was preventing gentiles from praying in the temple,
the admittance of little children to a blessing ceremony that had been cancelled due to misguided zeal,
the discipline and instruction of children by parents (Eph. 6:4),
church discipline by elders to preserve the peace and purity of Christ’s church,
the Apostle Paul’s insistence on his rights of citizenship to a fair trial (Acts 25) or to force the mayor to apologize for persecuting Christians in Philippi (Acts 16:37),
or the ministry of a brother to turn another brother from the error of his way (Jas. 5:19-20).
God has given each of us someone and something to exercise authority over, even if you are a little child and the only person you have to exercise control over is yourself, use that authority in Jesus’ name to take dominion of this world and spread the Gospel and stand against wrong and do what God says is right.
And finally, when it feels like the world is falling apart, be sure to teach future generations what God has said and done, so that they will see His providence in history and trust Him for the challenges of their own days.
Contemporary secular historiographers are doing their level-best to write God out of all the accounts of history.
I’m reading a biography right now about Christopher Columbus and Martin Luther that claims religion had very little to do with their greatness, but rather it was practically all about money.
Now, if you actually read Columbus’ and Luther’s writings, their love for God and desire for the spread of the Gospel is unavoidable, so this biographer gets around it by simply making claims and quoting as little as possible from the actual men.
(I think that’s one reason why it’s so important to read source documents, not just history books that summarize history.)
We need to write the source documents of our own histories in such a way that it gives glory to God.
Whatever it is: a diary, a photo album, a novel, a blog, a video clip,
even the stories you tell around the dinner table or the living room or the campfire,
(Jesus didn’t write books, but He sure told great stories and did memorable things that inspired his followers to write ‘em down),
craft your stories in such a way that it demonstrates evil to be evil and inspires your children to trust God.
Then, in the future, when they feel like the world is falling apart all around them, they will also know what to do: Mourn over the evil, Do what is right as far as it is in your power, and Record for the next generation how God is at work and how He can be trusted.
LXX |
Brenton
LXX |
Douay |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1 Καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν Σαουλ καὶ Δαυιδ ἀνέστρεψεν τύπτων τὸν Αμαληκ, καὶ ἐκάθισεν Δαυιδ ἐν Σεκελακ ἡμέρας δύο. |
1 And it came to pass after Saul was dead, that David returned from smiting Amalec, and David abode two days in Sekelac. |
1 Now it came to pass, after Saul was dead, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalecites, and X abode two days in Siceleg. |
1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughterB of the Amalekites, and David had abodeC two days in Ziklag; |
1 Now after the death of Saul, that’s when David returned from striking down the Amalekites. And David had settled down in Ziqlag for two days, |
1 וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שָׁאוּל וְדָוִד שָׁב מֵהַכּוֹת אֶת- הָעֲמָלֵק וַיֵּשֶׁב דָּוִד בְּצִקְלָג יָמִים שְׁנָיִם: |
2 καὶ ἐγενήθη τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ἦλθεν ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ D Σαουλ, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ διερρωγότα, καὶ γῆ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτὸν πρὸς Δαυιδ καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ προσεκύνησεν [αὐτῷE]. |
2 And it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came from the camp, from the people of Saul, and his garments were rent, and earth was upon his head: and it came to pass when he went in to David, that he fell upon the earth, and did obeisance [to him]. |
2
And on the third day, there appeared a man who came out of X
X Saul's
camp, with his garments rent, and dust strewed on his head: and
when he came to David, he fell upon his |
2 It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from X Saul with his clothes rentG, and earthH upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisanceI. |
2 then on the third day, Look! a man came from the army-camp after being with Saul. And his clothes were torn, and mud was on top of his head. And when he came to David, he then fell to the ground and prostrated himself. |
2 וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ בָּא מִן-הַמַּחֲנֶה מֵעִם שָׁאוּל וּבְגָדָיו קְרֻעִים וַאֲדָמָה עַל-רֹאשׁJוֹ וַיְהִי בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל-דָּוִד וַיִּפֹּל אַרְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ: |
3 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυιδ Πόθεν σὺ παραγίνῃ; καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν Ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς Ισραηλ ἐγὼ διασέσῳσμαι. |
3 And David said to him, Whence comest thou? and he said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel. |
3 And David said to him: From whence comest thou? And he said to him: I am fled out of the camp of Israel. |
3 And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. |
3 Then David said to him, “Where have you come from here?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the army-camp of Israel!” |
3 וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ דָּוִד אֵי מִזֶּה תָּבוֹא וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו מִמַּחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל נִמְלָטְתִּי: |
4 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυιδ Τίς ὁ λόγος οὗτος; ἀπάγγειλόν XK μοι. καὶ εἶπεν ὅτι Ἔφυγεν ὁ λαὸς ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ X πεπτώκασι πολλοὶ ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ἀπέθανον· καὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ X Σαουλ, καὶ Ιωναθαν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπέθανεν. |
4
And David said to him, What is the matter? X
tell
me. And he said, The people fled out of the battle, and X
many
of the people have fallen and |
4 And David said unto him: What is the matter that is come to pass? X tell me: X He said: The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people are fallen and dead: moreover Saul and Jonathan his son are slain. |
4 And David said unto him, How went the matterL? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. |
4 Then David said to him, “What is the matter? Please communicate it to me!” And he said, “It’s that the people have fled from the battle, and also most of the people has fallen and died, and also Saul and his son Jonathan have died!” |
4 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד מֶה-הָיָה הַדָּבָר הַגֶּד-נָא לִי וַיֹּאמֶרM אֲשֶׁרN-נָס הָעָם מִן-הַמִּלְחָמָה וְגַם-הַרְבֵּה נָפַל מִן-הָעָם וַיָּמֻתוּO וְגַם שָׁאוּל וִיהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ מֵתוּ: |
5 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ τῷ παιδαρίῳ τῷ ἀπαγγέλλοντι αὐτῷ Πῶς οἶδας ὅτι τέθνηκεν Σαουλ καὶ Ιωναθαν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ; |
5 And David said to the young man who brought him the tidings, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? |
5 And David said to the young man that told him: How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son, are dead? |
5 And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? |
5 Then David said to the guy who was communicating to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? |
5 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-הַנַּעַר הַמַּגִּיד לוֹ אֵיךְ יָדַעְתָּ כִּי-מֵת שָׁאוּל וִיהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹP: |
6 καὶ εἶπεν τὸ παιδάριον τὸ ἀπαγγέλλον αὐτῷ Περιπτώματι περιέπεσονQ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ Γελβουε, καὶ ἰδοὺ Σαουλ ἐπεστήρικτο ἐπὶ τὸ δόρυ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδοὺ τὰ ἅρματα καὶ οἱ ἱππάρχαι συνῆψαν αὐτῷ. |
6 And the young man that brought the tidings, said to him, I happened accidentally to be upon mount Gelbue; and, behold, Saul was leaning upon his spear, and, behold, the chariots and captains of horse pressed hard upon him. |
6 And the young man that told him, said: I came by chance upon mount Gelboe, and X Saul leaned upon his spear: and X the chariots and horsemen drew nigh unto him, |
6 And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chanceR upon mount Gilboa, X behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard afterS him. |
6 And the guy who was communicating with him said, “I was called – I had an encounter on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul supporting himself on his spear, and there was the chariot and the mounted officers engaged with him. |
6 וַיֹּאמֶר הַנַּעַר הַמַּגִּיד לוֹ נִקְרֹאT נִקְרֵיתִי בְּהַר הַגִּלְבֹּעַ וְהִנֵּה שָׁאוּל נִשְׁעָן עַל- חֲנִיתוֹ וְהִנֵּה הָרֶכֶב וּבַעֲלֵי הַפָּרָשִׁים הִדְבִּקֻהוּU: |
7 καὶ ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδέν με καὶ ἐκάλεσέν με, καὶ εἶπα Ἰδοὺ ἐγώ. |
7 And he looked behind him, and saw me, and called me; and I said, Behold, [here am] I. |
7 And looking behind him, and seeing me, X he called me. And I answered, Here am I. |
7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. |
7 And he glanced behind him and saw me and called out to me, so I said, “Here I am!” |
7 וַיִּפֶן אַחֲרָיו וַיִּרְאֵנִי וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָי וָאֹמַר הִנֵּנִי: |
8
καὶ εἶπέν μοι
Τίς εἶ σύ; καὶ
εἶπ |
8
And he said to me, Who art thou? and |
8
And he said to me: Who art thou? And |
8
And he said unto me, Who art
thou? And |
8 And he said to me, “Who are you?” And {I} said to him, “I am an Amalekite.” |
8 וַיֹּאמֶר לִי מִי- אָתָּה וַיֹּאמֶרV אֵלָיו עֲמָלֵקִי אָנֹכִי: |
9 καὶ εἶπεν πρός με Στῆθι δὴ ἐπάνω μου καὶ θανάτωσόν με, ὅτι κατέσχεν με [σκότος] δεινόν, ὅτι πᾶσα X ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν ἐμοί. |
9 And he said to me, Stand, I pray thee, over me, and slay me, for a dreadful [darkness] has come upon me, for all X my life is in me. |
9 And he said to me: X Stand over me, and kill me: for anguish is come upon me, [and] as yet my whole X life is in me. |
9 He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, uponW me, and slay me: for anguishX is come uponY me, because my life is yetZ wholeAA in me. |
9 Then he said to me, “Please stand over me and kill me, for their enclosure has seized me, yet all my vitality is {} with me.” |
9 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי עֲמָד- נָא עָלַי וּמֹתְתֵנִיAB כִּי אֲחָזַנִי הַשָּׁבָץAC כִּי-כָל- עוֹדAD נַפְשִׁי בִּי: |
10 καὶ ἐπέστην ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν καὶ ἐθανάτωσα αὐτόν, ὅτι ᾔδειν ὅτι οὐ ζήσεται μετὰ τὸ πεσεῖν αὐτόν· καὶ ἔλαβον τὸ βασίλειον τὸ ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν χλιδῶνα τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ βραχίονος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνήνοχα αὐτὰ τῷ κυρίῳ μου ὧδε. |
10 So I stood over him and slew him, because I knew he would not live after he was fallen; and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and I have brought them hither to my lord. |
10 So standing over him, I killed him: for I knew that he could not live after the fall: and I took the diadem that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to [thee], my lord. |
10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. |
10 So I stood over him and I killed him, for I knew that he would not live after his fall. Then I took his crown which was upon his head and bracelet which was on his arm, and I brought them to my lord here.” |
10 וָאֶעֱמֹד עָלָיו וַאֲמֹתְתֵהוּ כִּי יָדַעְתִּי כִּי לֹא יִחְיֶה אַחֲרֵי נִפְלוֹAE וָאֶקַּח הַנֵּזֶרAF אֲשֶׁר עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ וְאֶצְעָדָהAG אֲשֶׁר עַל-זְרֹעוֹ וָאֲבִיאֵם אֶל-אֲדֹנִי הֵנָּה: |
11 καὶ ἐκράτησεν Δαυιδ τῶν ἱματίων αὐτοῦ καὶ διέρρηξεν αὐτά, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ [διέρρηξαν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν]. |
11 And David laid hold of his garments, and rent them; and all the men who were with him [rent their garments]. |
11 Then David took hold of his garments and rent them, and likewise all the men that were with him. |
11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: |
11 Then David seized his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him, |
11 וַיַּחֲזֵק דָּוִד בִּבְגָדוֹAH וַיִּקְרָעֵם וְגַם כָּל-הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹAI: |
12
καὶ ἐκόψαντο
καὶ ἔκλαυσαν
καὶ ἐνήστευσαν
ἕως δείλης
ἐπὶ Σαουλ καὶ
ἐπὶ Ιωναθαν τὸν
υἱὸν αὐτοῦ
καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν
|
12
And they lamented,
and wept, and fasted till evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his
son, and for the people of |
12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword. |
12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. |
12 and they mourned and wept and fasted until the evening over Saul and over Jonathan his son and over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel, because they had been {struck down} by sword. |
12 AJוַיִּסְפְּדוּAK וַיִּבְכּוּ וַיָּצֻמוּAL עַד-הָעָרֶב עַל-שָׁאוּל וְעַל- יְהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ וְעַל- עַם יְהוָה וְעַל- בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵלAM כִּי נָפְלוּAN בֶּחָרֶב: ס |
13 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ τῷ παιδαρίῳ τῷ ἀπαγγέλλοντι αὐτῷ Πόθεν εἶ σύ; καὶ εἶπεν Υἱὸς ἀνδρὸς παροίκου Αμαληκίτου ἐγώ εἰμι. |
13 And David said to the young man who brought the tidings to him, Whence art thou? and he said, I am the son of an Amalekite sojourner. |
13 And David said to the young man that told him: Whence art thou? X He answered: I am the son of a stranger of Amalec. |
13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a strangerAO, an Amalekite. |
13 Presently, David said to the guy who communicated to him, “Where are you from?” And he said, “I am an Amalekite, son of a man who is a foreign-visitor.” |
13 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-הַנַּעַר הַמַּגִּיד לוֹ אֵי מִזֶּה אָתָּהAP וַיֹּאמֶר בֶּן-אִישׁ גֵּר AQ עֲמָלֵקִי אָנֹכִי: |
14 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυιδ Πῶς οὐκ ἐφοβήθης ἐπενεγκεῖν χεῖρά σου διαφθεῖραι τὸν χριστὸν κυρίου; |
14 And David said to him, How was it thou wast not afraid to lift thy hand to destroy the anointed of the Lord? |
14 X David said to him: Why didst thou not fear to put out thy hand to kill the Lord's anointed? |
14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed? |
14 Then David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach your hand out to destroy Yahweh’s anointed one?” |
14 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד אֵיךְ לֹא יָרֵאתָ לִשְׁלֹחַ יָדְךָ לְשַׁחֵת אֶת-מְשִׁיחַ יְהוָהAR: |
15 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Δαυιδ ἓν τῶν παιδαρίων αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν Προσελθὼν ἀπάντησον αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπέθανεν. |
15 And David called one of his young men, and said, Go X and fall upon him: and he smote him, and he died. |
15 And David calling one of his servants, said: Go near and fall upon him. And he struck him so that he died. |
15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall uponAS him. And he smote him that he died. |
15 And David called to one of his guys and said, “Approach and attack him!” So he struck him down and he died. |
15 וַיִּקְרָא דָוִד לְאַחַד מֵהַנְּעָרִים וַיֹּאמֶר גַּשׁ פְּגַע- בּוֹ וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיָּמֹת: |
16 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς αὐτόν Τὸ αἷμά σου ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου, ὅτι τὸ στόμα σου ἀπεκρίθη κατὰ σοῦ λέγων ὅτι Ἐγὼ ἐθανάτωσα τὸν χριστὸν κυρίου. |
16 And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thine own head; for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the anointed of the Lord. |
16 And David said to him: Thy blood be upon thy own head: for thy own mouth hath spoken against thee, saying: I have slain the Lord's anointed. |
16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed. |
16 And David said to him, “Your bloodshed is upon your head, for your mouth replied concerning yourself, saying, ‘I myself killed Yahweh’s anointed one!’” |
16 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו דָּוִד דָּמֵיךָAT עַל- רֹאשֶׁךָ כִּי פִיךָ עָנָה בְךָ לֵאמֹר אָנֹכִי מֹתַתִּי אֶת- מְשִׁיחַ יְהוָה: ס |
17 Καὶ ἐθρήνησεν Δαυιδ τὸν θρῆνον τοῦτον ἐπὶ Σαουλ καὶ ἐπὶ Ιωναθαν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ |
17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son. |
17 And David made this kind of lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son. |
17 And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: |
17 Then David lamented this lament over Saul and over Jonathan his son, |
17 וַיְקֹנֵןAU דָּוִד אֶת-הַקִּינָה הַזֹּאת עַל-שָׁאוּל וְעַל- יְהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ: |
18 καὶ εἶπεν τοῦ διδάξαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ιουδα X--ἰδοὺ γέγραπται ἐπὶ βιβλίου τοῦ εὐθοῦσ-- |
18
And he |
18
(Also he |
18
(Also he |
18 and he said to teach the sons of Judah “The Bow” (See it written out in the book of Jashar.) |
18 וַיֹּאמֶר לְלַמֵּד בְּנֵי-יְהוּדָה קָשֶׁת הִנֵּה כְתוּבָה עַל-סֵפֶר הַיָּשָׁרAX: |
1Tsumura noted the same thing in the New International Commentary On the Old Testament. But perhaps we can give the benefit of the doubt to this messenger and say maybe Saul was down at the foot of Mt. Gilboa where chariots and horses could still fight effectively and so perhaps he was still technically to some extent “on the mountain.” Maybe.
2Gill and Keil & Delitzsch also took this position, but Josephus, the Geneva Bible and Matthew Henry interpreted this verse to mean that Saul was trying again to kill himself but needing more assistance.
3What this “fall is,” is not explained. Some take it to mean “falling upon his sword,” others take it to mean the “loss of the battle,” and others a “wound or accident” in the course of the battle.
4The tradition started by some Jews that this messenger was Doeg’s son (Gill cited Tanchuma in Yalkut in loc. Hieron. Trad. Heb. In 2 lib. Reg. Fol. 77.C) is almost universally discredited by modern scholars.
5Gill claimed that he had proselytized, but I found no other commentator who thought so. “Convert/proselyte” in Matt. 23:15 is translated גֵּר in the Hebrew NT, though. Tsumura commented that the “ger” status was accountable to Israelite law, unlike “foreigner” status, in which the individual was considered under the jurisdiction of a foreign government.
6Willett, Henry, Gill, Jamieson, Keil & Delitzsch, and Tsumura agreed with this interpretation of what happened. Josephus, Targums, Kimchi, and Ralbag on the other hand, took the Amalekite at his word. Goldman and Gill were ambivalent but nevertheless skeptical of the Amalekite.
7“It may be that when the words were introduced, they had a relevance which now escapes us.” ~Tsumura (NICOT) cf. the omission in the ESV.
8Rashi: “Now that the mighty men of Israel have fallen, it is necessary that the children of Judah give instruction in warfare and the use of the bow.” So also Kimchi, Ehrlich, Willett, Henry, Gill, Jamieson.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing any part of 2 Samuel 1 is 4Q51Samuela,
which is dated around 50BC and contains fragments of vs. 4-13. Where
the DSS is legible and agrees with the MT, the MT text is colored
purple. Where the DSS or Vulgate supports the LXX with omissions or
text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BNIV = “defeating,” ESV is more literal with “striking down”
CNASB = “remained,” NIV = “stayed”
DThe Hebrew word עם can mean “with” (which is the way the Latin and English versions interpreted it) or it can mean “people” (which is the way the Greek interpreted it). Either is plausible (“people” is used later in this chapter to mean “army,” and the army of Saul was “with” him in this battle, so it makes no difference in the meaning of the verse.
EThe vav at the end of this Hebrew word looks like a 3ms pronoun object, and thus it is translated in the LXX, but the final vav is actually part of the hishtaphel verb form and is not actually a pronomial suffix. The LXX did no violence to the meaning, however.
FThe Lucian and Alexandrian editions of the Greek also say “face,” but the Vaticanus and majority text of the Greek, as well as the Hebrew read “ground.” The meaning is not essentially different, because the customary genuflection was always face to the ground.
GNASB, NIV ESV = “torn”
HNASB, NIV = “dust,” ESV = “dirt”
INASB = “prostrated himself,” NIV = “to pay him honor,” ESV = “paid homage”
Jcf. 1 Samuel 4:12 “Now, a man of Benjamin ran from the ranks and came to Shiloh on that day with his uniform torn and mud on his head.” (NAW)
KThe DSS supports the particle of entreaty in the Hebrew.
LNASB/ESV = “How did things/it go?” NIV = “What happened?”
MThe phrase “the people have fled from the battle” is missing in the Alexandrian Greek manuscript.
N“אֲשֶׁר
serves, like כִּי
in other
passages, merely to introduce the words that follow, like our
‘namely’ (vid., Ewald, §338, b.)” ~Keil &
Delitzsch
Tsumura’s opinion was that “it is
probably the first word in the direct speech, meaning ‘because,’
and exhibits some degree of hesitancy… not a matter of cause
and effect; rather, it has a metalinguistic function, making an
excuse for his answer, like a speaker-oriented ki, which
explains the reason for the preceding words.”
OThe MT improperly spells this verb plural even though the subject “the many” is singular, but in English we also fudge on such matters, thus the KJV “are fallen” when it should have been “is fallen” and the NASB “have fallen” when it should have been “has fallen.” McCarter claimed that the extra vav on the end of “fallen” was dittography for the vav on the following word gam and that the original was singular. Tsumura obliquely stated that “the number of the successive verbs varies, depending on whether or not the narrator takes their agents as plural or collective.” The Greek spells it properly with singular verbs, except for the Lucian Rescription and the Syriac which omit the verb “died,” presumably since it is redundant to “fell.” (The Syriac also omitted a redundant verb “communicating” in v.6.) I would venture that “fell and died” was a hendiadys except for the intervening “min ha ‘am” which could be interpreted sequentially that “the majority fell away from the army and then died,” although not necessarily so.
PA good leader must have accurate knowledge of events. David needed to know whether the poor guy was hysterical and passing on a rumor or whether he had factual knowledge of Saul’s and Jonathan’s deaths.
QThe only other place this phrase occurs in the LXX is Ruth 2:3 “And she went; and came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers; and she happened by chance [וַיִּקֶר מִקְרֶהָ] to come on a portion of the land of Booz...” (Brenton) The Hebrew there has a different first verb, though.
RThis is the only place in the KJV or ESV Old Testament where the phrase “by chance” occurs.
SNASB = “pursued closely,” NIV = “almost upon,” ESV = “were close upon”
TThe
Amalekite’s speech is somewhat difficult to understand,
perhaps because of his emotional distress, and perhaps because
Hebrew was not his native language. Much of the ink spilled by
commentators in this passage is on the topic of the idiosyncrasies
of this man’s speech. His
discourse begins with the Niphal passive stem of the verb “to
call” or “to meet.” Goldman noted in the Soncino
commentary: “The phrase suggests that his presence on the
battlefield was purely accidental, yet he is described in verses 2f.
as out of the camp,
i.e. he was attached in some way to Saul’s army… His
meaning must be therefore, that his finding of Saul, not his being
on mount Gilboa, was accidental.”
Matthew
Henry: “...he happened to go to the place where Saul was as a
passenger, not as a soldier...”
UThis is the same verb, albeit a different stem, that was in the synonymous statement in 1 Samuel 31:2 “Presently, the Philistines engaged Saul and his sons…” (NAW)
VThe MT reads “he said,” but the LXX and the qere marginal notes in the MT read וָאֹמַר “I said,” along with the Latin and English versions.
WNASB = “beside,” NIV = “over” – the latter is the most central meaning to the Hebrew word. Same in v.10.
XNASB = “agony,” NIV = “death,” K&D = “the cramp,” Targum = “trembling,” Kimchi = “the condition of a man pierced by a sword.” See endnote AC.
YNASB & ESV = “seized” = a more literal interpretation of the Hebrew (and Greek). When this verb recurs in v.11, most English versions translated it “took hold.”
ZNASB, NIV, ESV = “still” This word in the MT does not appear in the LXX or Vulgate or Syriac; the DSS is not available for comparison because it is illegible at this point.
AAContemporary English versions rendered paraphrastically: NIV = “I’m still alive,” NASB & ESV “my life still lingers” (ESV dropped out the last two words “in me,” even though they are in both the Hebrew and the Greek.)
AB“The Polel of mwt, ‘to die,’ means ‘to make a full end of’ (HALOT, p. 562), that is ‘to deliver the death blow’ as in Judg. 9:54; 1 Sam. 14:13; 17:51.” ~Tsumura
ACHapex legomenon. Is this due to a foreigner using a foreign word that wouldn’t have been in Saul’s vocabulary? Ehrlich suggested that it was due to weakness interfering with Saul’s ability to speak. The only other related words in the OT to this noun are two instances of its verbal form describing a gemstone setting and linen weaving in Exodus 28:20 & 39. The old Geneva Bible notes (perhaps following Ben Gershom, Junius, and Piscator) explained in terms of Saul’s clothing or armor being too tight to get his spear to enter or perhaps that they were restricting his breathing as his body swelled. Matthew Henry, ever ready to make an application, noted, “Let no man’s clothes be his pride, for it may so happen that they may be his burden and snare.” See endnote X.
ADThis word “still” is not found in the LXX, Syriac, or Vulgate. It is in the Lucian Rescription of the LXX, which tends to follow the MT more closely than the LXX, although Lucian omitted the word “all/whole” immediately before it. McCarter called it an adverb “wholly.” Tsumura suggested that “this unusual word order might be an example of the AXB pattern, in which X (‘still’) is inserted between AB (‘all my life’), thus interrupting a normal sequence A-B while modifying the phrase AB as a whole.”
AE“‘After his fall’ does not mean ‘after he had fallen upon his sword or spear’ (Clericus), for this is neither implied in נִפְלֹו nor in עַל־חֲנִיתֹו נִשְׁעָן (‘supported,’ i.e., ‘leaning upon his spear’)... but ‘after his defeat,’ i.e., so that he would not survive this calamity. This statement is at variance with the account of the death of Saul in 1Sam. 31:3.” ~K&D
AFThe root of this word has to do with consecration/dedication/separation for a specific task.
AGOnly here and Numbers 31:50. The root of “march” (found in 2 Sam. 5:24, 1 Chron. 14:15, and Isa. 3:20, which, in turn comes from צעד “step/pace”) implies that this piece of jewelry was a “chain,” rather than a solid “band.” One would expect a definite article prefix in the Hebrew spelling of this word, but Tsumura observed that “it is not uncommon for an article to be omitted in direct speech, just as it is in poetry.”
AHThe Qere spells this with a more-obvious plural form. In English “clothes” is the same singular as plural, so we don’t notice. It’s plural in the Greek too.
AIAlthough the text is illegible at this point in this verse in the DSS, there is not enough space between legible words to include the extra text in the LXX.
AJGoldman (and Ehrlich) considered v.12 to be “parenthetical,” the death sentence and execution happening immediately after the interview in v.11.
AKcf. Israel “mourned” Samuel’s death in 1 Samuel 28:3 and Abner’s death in 2 Sam 3:31. (“Weeping’ and “fasting” are also mentioned at Abner’s death).
ALJust as the men of Jabesh Gilead had done for seven days over the news of Saul’s death in 1 Samuel 31:13. It is not mentioned that David fasts again after that except when the survival of his first son by Bathsheba during his first week of life was in question.
AMSome
commentators emphasized distinctions between these two phrases
“people of Yahweh” and “house of Israel”:
Goldman:
“this must here denote the army… as distinguished from
the house of Israel…”
K&D:
“...distinguished from one another, according to the twofold
attitude of Israel, which furnished a double ground for mourning.
Those who had fallen were first of all members of the people of
Jehovah, and secondly, fellow-countrymen. ‘They were therefore
associated with them, both according to the flesh and according to
the spirit...’”
ANDSS reads נכו "struck” – agreeing with the LXX rather than the MT. But the idea is still the same.
AONASB & NIV = “alien,” ESV = “sojourner,” K&D = “emigrant,” Gill = “proselyte”
APcf. David’s question in v.3 with the same first two words.
AQ“The legal status of a ‘sojourner’ (or ‘a resident alien’) ger was distinguished from that of a foreigner (nekar) ...He was protected by the community law, but at the same time bound by legal obligations and penalties as described in Lev. 24:42…” ~Tsumura
ARDavid had already settled the question of the injustice of assassinating Saul as evidenced in 1 Sam. 24:6 and 26:9.
ASNASB = “cut down,” NIV = “strike down,” ESV = “execute” The Hebrew word has more to do with getting in the way of, imposing oneself upon, engaging with, than with the outcome of the encounter.
ATThe Qere suggests spelling “blood” singular instead of plural. It makes no difference in English, since we don’t pluralize “blood.” 66 of the occurrences of the word “blood” in the Hebrew O.T. are plural; the other 233 are singular. Possibly the plural adds a connotation of guilt for murder.
AUThe verb is only found 5 other places in the Hebrew O.T. (2 Sam. 3:33; 2 Chron. 35:25; Jer. 9:17; Ezek. 27:32; 32:16). This is the first instance of this form of poetry in the Bible. Perhaps it is something David invented or at least developed. (Perhaps even picked up from Philistine culture? Did Philistines use bows instead of fingers to play their harps, and could David have incorporated bowing into his harp technique as a result of his sojourn in Philistia? That would be an interesting thing to study and find out.) At any rate, all other instances of this noun and verb in the Bible occur after after 1 Sam.
AVNASB = “told,” NIV = “ordered,” ESV uses the most central meaning of the Hebrew word with “said”
AWThe Hebrew word qeshet means “bow,” RV, ASV, NKJV, NASB = “[song of the] bow,” NIV = “[this lament of the] bow,” Vulgate = arcum,” Wycliffe = “weilyng,” Geneva = “to shoote,” LXX (except for the Alexandrian edition) & ESV omit the word altogether.
AX“Mentioned
only here and in Josh. 10:13… a collection of ancient poems
commemorating events of national importance.” ~Goldman
(Soncino Books of the Bible)
“a prebiblical
written source that also included Josh. 10:12-13, and according to
the Septuagint text, Solomon’s poem in 1 K. 8:12-13.”
~Tsumura
Willett: “Iasher signifieth, the iust or
righteous: so called as some thinke of the persons whereof that
booke intreated, namely of the acts of the Patriarchs and iust men.
Some of the matter, because it contained a true narration of such
things as were written therein. But it is more like to beare the
name of Ieshurun, which is the name of Israel, Deut. 32.15. and the
Prophet Isai calleth Israel by the same name, c. 44. v. 2. which
word also signifieth, the righteous people: this booke was called
Iasher, because it was as a publike chronicle and record of Israel…
which was continued from time to time by the Prophets, which is now
wanting [missing], as many such historicall bookes are.”