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2 SAMUEL 1

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS *

* Although they are not inspired, paragraph divisions are the key to understanding and following the original author's intent. Each modern translation has divided and summarized the paragraphs. Every paragraph has one central topic, truth, or thought. Each version encapsulates that topic in its own distinct way. As you read the text, ask yourself which translation fits your understanding of the subject and verse divisions.

In every chapter we must read the Bible first and try to identify its subjects (paragraphs), then compare our understanding with the modern versions. Only when we understand the original author's intent by following his logic and presentation can we truly understand the Bible. Only the original author is inspired - readers have no right to change or modify the message. Bible readers do have the responsibility of applying the inspired truth to their day and their lives.

Note that all technical terms and abbreviations are explained fully in the following documents: Hebrew Grammatical Tems, Textual Criticism, and Glossary.

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. There seem to be two accounts of Saul's death, 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 (see specific notes in commentary).
   
   
2. Often scholars use these doublets to assert
   1. multiple authors
   2. later editors
   3. inaccurate history
      However, doublets are common in Herbrew literature (i.e., John Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture.
   
   
3. From my perspective 1 Samuel 31 is historical and 2 Samuel 1 is a fabrication. The difficulty in this statement is, where did this young Amalekite get the royal crown and bracelet? The Philistines had searched the battle field for spoil, "the next day." (1 Sam. 31:8).
   
   
4. However, the main symbol of Saul's leadership was his spear (see note in commentary). This Amalekite did not know this.
   
   
5. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 6.14.7, tries to combine the two stories into one account.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1:1-10
  ¹Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag. ²On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. ³Then David said to him, "From where do you come?" And he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel." ⁴David said to him, "How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also." ⁵So David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?" ⁶The young man who told him said, "By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. ⁷When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, 'Here I am.' ⁸He said to me, 'Who are you?' And I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.' ⁹Then he said to me, 'Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.' ¹⁰So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."

1:1 "Now" One wonders how the "now" of 1 Sam. 31:1 is related to the "now" of 2 Sam. 1:1 (i.e., David's battle with the Amalekites, who burned and plundered Ziklag, and the defeat of Israel's army).

▣ "the slaughter of the Amalekites" This is described in 1 Samuel 30.

1:2 "on the third day" It is always difficult to know how ANE people marked time. It is not as clear as the English appears.

▣ "clothes torn and dust on his head" These were signs of mourning (see v. 12 for more signs).

SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES

1:3 "I have escaped from the camp of Israel" Is he implying he was part of Saul's army? As an Amalekite, I think not.

Probably he was a scavenger seeking booty from the dead soldiers on both sides.

Notice he says, "by chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa." Really, he happened to be in the midst of a battle!

1:6-10 For a good brief discussion of how Saul died, see Hard Sayings of the Bible, p. 218, or Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 101-102.

1:6 "the chariots and horsemen pursued him closely" Saul made a crucial military mistake by attempting to engage the Philistines on the flat plains where their chariots could function. He left himself no way of escape. This is probably why he ran to Mount Gilboa.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARIOTS

1:7 "Here I am" This is a Semitic idiom for a servant's availability to a superior's request (cf. Gen. 22:1,7,11; 27:1; 31:11; 46:2; Exod. 3:4; 1 Sam. 3:4,5,6,8,10; 22:12; 2 Sam. 1:7).

The MT has the NOUN (BDB 990, KB 1402) which may mean

1. cramp ‒ BDB
2. giddiness ‒ BDB
3. confusion ‒ BDB
4. feebleness ‒ KB
5. frailness ‒ KB
6. trembling ‒ Targums

This word occurs only here in the OT.

This refers to 1 Sam. 30:3. The LXX even specifies that he was shot in the abdomen by archers.

▣ "life" This is the Hebrew word nephesh (BDB 659), which means life force. For a further word study see notes at Gen. 35:18 and Lev. 17:11.

1:10 "after he had fallen" This same VERB (BDB 656, KB 709, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) is used several times in this context.

1. 1 Sam. 31:1 ‒ to fall in battle
2. 1 Sam. 31:4,5 ‒ to commit suicide
3. 1 Sam. 31:8 ‒ same as #1
4. 2 Sam. 1:2 ‒ pay homage
5. 2 Sam. 1:4 ‒ same as #1
6. 2 Sam. 1:10 ‒ in a weak state or fall to the ground
7. 2 Sam. 1:12 ‒ same as #1
8. 1:19,25,27 ‒ shame of losing the battle

▣ "the crown. . .the bracelet" This is the first mentioning of these items in Samuel.

1. crown ‒ BDB 634
2. bracelet ‒ BDB 858

If they were prominent symbols of Saul's kingship, why are they never mentioned in his coronation. The key symbol of kingship was Saul's spear/javelin (v. 6; 1 Sam. 22:6; 26:7,16,22). Why did he not recover this?

▣ "and I have brought them here to my lord" One wonders if

1. he came across David's camp by accident
2. if he wanted to gain favor with David

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1:11-16
  ¹¹Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. ¹²They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" And he answered, "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite." ¹⁴Then David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" ¹⁵And David called one of the young men and said, "Go, cut him down." So he struck him and he died. ¹⁶David said to him, "Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the Lord's anointed.'"

1:11-12 See note on signs of mourning at 2 Sam. 1:2.

1:12 Notice the things David and his men mourned over.

1. death of Saul
2. death of Jonathan
3. death of the army of Saul
4. tragedy of the desertion and loss of face and territory by Israel to the Philistines

It is surprising that Saul's other sons are not mentioned or the armor bearer.

▣ "until morning" Remember, the Hebrew day starts with the evening (cf. Gen. 1:5).

SPECIAL TOPIC: DAY (yom)

1:13 This young man's origin did not help him with David! David had just rescued his family and his men's families from Amalekites (1 Samuel 30).

1:14 This man claimed to have killed YHWH's anointed king which David, himself was afraid to do. The young man had no sense of the impropriety of what he claimed to have done (cf. v 16). I still think this man's story was a fabrication.

SPECIAL TOPIC: "ANOINTING" IN THE BIBLE

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1:17-27
 ¹⁷Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.
 ¹⁹ "Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
 How have the mighty 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.
 ²¹O mountains of Gilboa,
 Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings;
 For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
 The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
 ²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
 The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
 And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
 ²³Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life,
 And in their death they were not parted;
 They were swifter than eagles,
 They were stronger than lions.
 ²⁴O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
 Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
 Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
 ²⁵How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
 Jonathan is slain on your high places.
 ²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
 You have been very pleasant to me.
 Your love to me was more wonderful
 Than the love of women.
 ²⁷How have the mighty fallen,
 And the weapons of war perished!"

1:17 "David chanted with this lament" David, the singer and poet of Israel, wrote and sang this funeral dirge (vv. 19-27).

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

1:18-27 Songs about events in Israel's history were used as teaching tools for the next generation. They were the first genre of Israel recording her history. Israel transmitted her traditions initially by songs, later the historical books of Deuteronomy ‒ Chronicles, and the writings of the prophets (or their servants or followers). See John Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture, which documents how oral cultures pass on their history and traditions.

For a good brief discussion of funeral laments/dirges, see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 60-61.

1:18 "the song of the bow" The MT has only "the people of Judah should be taught the bow." The word "bow" is missing in the LXX. The Peshitta has "teach the children of Judah the use of the bow." However, the UBS Text Project supports the MT's inclusion of "the bow" with a "B" rating (some doubt).

The bow may refer to

1. how Saul was killed by the Philistine archers (1 Samuel 31; LXX)
2. a tribute to Jonathan's use of his bow in battle (2 Sam. 1:22)
3. a call for Judah to prepare for war (Peshitta)
4. the funeral dirge for Saul and Jonathan

▣ "the book of Jashar" The word "Jashar" (BDB 449) means "upright." This was a scroll of war poems (cf. Josh. 10:13). It has been lost but a few quotes remain.

Since the word "Jashar" means "upright" or "just" some translations have "the book of the just" or "the book of heroes."

This song was still quoted in the Maccabean period (cf. 1 Macc. 9:20-21).

1:19 "Your beauty" This is parallel to "the mighty." It could refer to

1. Saul (v. 21)
2. Jonathan (v. 25)
3. Israel's army

The phrase "the mighty have fallen" is repeated in vv. 25,27. It is possibly a repeated poetic liturgy!

▣ "on your high places" In context this seems to refer to Mount Gilboa, where Saul and his sons died (cf. v. 25).

1:20 2 Samuel 1:20 has two NEGATED IMPERFECTS, both used in a JUSSIVE sense. The cities of Gath and Ashkelon are Philistine city-states. The Philistines rejoiced over their victory!

The "daughters" may denote the young women who welcomed back the victorious Philistine army with songs and dance (i.e., as did Miriam in Exod. 15:20 and the women of Israel for David in 1 Sam. 18:7; 21:11; 29:5).

1:21 This is a curse formula for no precipitation to fall on Mount Gilboa.

▣ "the shield of the mighty" Remember only Saul and Jonathan had military weapons. The Philistines controlled their iron age technology very closely.

Shields were often covered in leather. This leather was soaked in oil so that

1. flaming arrows would sink into the leather and be extinguished (cf. Isa. 21:5)
2. it would not crack and deteriorate

1:22 Both Jonathan and Saul killed many Philistines.

1:23 Animal characteristics are used as imagery and hyperbole of Saul and Jonathan.

1:24 Saul is lauded for his leadership in Israel that brought some degree of financial rewards (i.e., usually connected to YHWH's blessing of David, Saul's servant).

1:26 David and Jonathan had a very close friendship (cf. 1 Sam. 18:1; 20:17). This imagery is not meant to imply homosexuality, which was condemned in the law of Moses.

Maybe David was thinking of all the trouble he had with his wives.

1. Michal taken from him and given to another man by Saul (1 Sam. 30:5)
2. David's two wives captured by Amalekites as booty (1 Sam. 30:5)

SPECIAL TOPIC: HOMOSEXUALITY

1:27 The Philistines captured Saul's and Jonathan's weapons and they confiscated all the agricultural implements used as weapons by Israel's soldiers (cf. 1 Sam. 31:8).

Many commentators think "the weapons" referred to Saul and Jonathan themselves.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How did Saul die (1 Samuel 31 or 2 Samuel 1)?
2. Why was Saul's confrontation with the Philistines on the plains so disastrous?
3. How did laments serve as
   1. teaching
   2. history
4. Why is David's lament called "the bow"?

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