2 Samuel 1:12 Kommentar

In the close of the foregoing book (with which this is connected as a continuation of the same history) we had Saul's exit; he went down slain to the pit, though we was the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. We are now to look towards the rising sun, and to enquire where David is, and what he is doing. In this chapter we have, I. Tidings brought him to Ziklag of the death of Saul and Jonathan, by an Amalekite, who undertook to give him a particular narrative of it (Sa2 1:1-10). II. David's sorrowful reception of these tidings, (Sa2 1:11, Sa2 1:12). III. Justice done upon the messenger, who boasted that he had helped Saul to dispatch himself (Sa2 1:13-16). IV. An elegy which David penned upon this occasion (Sa2 1:17-27). And in all this David's breast appears very happily free from the sparks both of revenge and ambition, and he observes a very suitable demeanour.

This chapter contains an account of the death of Saul and Jonathan, as related to David by an Amalekite, Sa2 1:1; of the sorrow he and his men were filled with at the news of it, Sa2 1:11; of his order to put to death the messenger that brought the tidings, for his concern in the death of Saul, according to his own testimony, Sa2 1:13; and of a lamentation composed by David on this occasion, Sa2 1:17.

And they mourned and wept,.... Inwardly mourned, and outwardly wept, no doubt sincerely: and fasted until even; ate no food all that day until it was evening, the manner in which fasts used to be kept: for Saul, and for Jonathan his son; it is no wonder that David and his men should mourn for Jonathan, a good man, and a valiant one, and a dear and faithful friend of David's; but it may seem not so clear a thing that they should, mourn for Saul, a wicked man, and a persecutor of David without cause: but it should be observed that he had been reconciled to David, and had not since attempted anything against him; besides, he was his prince, his father-in-law, and the rather he might be grieved for his death, and his men with him, because it was matter of joy to the Philistines, and they would endeavour to avail themselves of it; and especially the manner of his death, that he should be the cause of it himself, and die without repentance, as it might be feared, and quickly after consultation with a witch, and when left of God, if these particulars were known to David: and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; that is, the people of the Lord, even the house of Israel, or who were of the house of Israel; or if they are to be distinguished, the former may respect the people of the Lord who died in battle, for whom mourning was made; and the latter the people that survived, the whole kingdom of Israel, which had sustained a great loss by the slaughter made in this battle, as it follows: because they were fallen by the sword; so many of them.

An Amalekite comes to David, and informs him that the Philistines had routed the Israelites; and that Saul and his sons were slain, Sa2 1:1-4. And pretends that he himself had despatched Saul, finding him ready to fall alive into the hands of the Philistines, and had brought his crown and bracelets to David, Sa2 1:5-10. David and his men mourn for Saul and his sons, Sa2 1:11, Sa2 1:12. He orders the Amalekite, who professed that he had killed Saul, to be slain, Sa2 1:13-16. David's funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, Sa2 1:17-27.

AN AMALEKITE BRINGS TIDINGS OF SAUL'S DEATH. (2Sa. 1:1-16) David had abode two days in Ziklag--Though greatly reduced by the Amalekite incendiaries, that town was not so completely sacked and destroyed, but David and his six hundred followers, with their families, could still find some accommodation.

David's Conduct on Hearing of Saul's Death. His Elegy upon Saul and Jonathan - 2 Samuel 1 David received the intelligence of the defeat of Israel and the death of Saul in the war with the Philistines from an Amalekite, who boasted of having slain Saul and handed over to David the crown and armlet of the fallen king, but whom David punished with death for the supposed murder of the anointed of God (vv. 1-16). David mourned for the death of Saul and Jonathan, and poured out his grief in an elegiac ode (Sa2 1:17-27). This account is closely connected with the concluding chapters of the first book of Samuel.