David and his men have recently defeated the Amelekites and recaptured their families and possessions. This battle occurred while the Philistines were moving to meet Saul and the Israelite army. So David is unaware of Saul's defeat.
2 Samuel 1: 1-4, The mighty have fallen
After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and with dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor."Where have you come from?" David asked him.
He answered, "I have escaped from the Israelite camp."
"What happened?" David asked. "Tell me."
He said, "The men fled from the battle. Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."
A man arrives from Saul's camp with the sad news of death and defeat. He has sought out David knowing that this is important news for David, believing that this is news David wants to hear.
2 Samuel 1: 5-10. "I killed him"
Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
"I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, `What can I do?'
"He asked me, `Who are you?'
"`An Amalekite,' I answered.
"Then he said to me, `Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I'm still alive.'
"So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord."
The man with news makes the mistake of weaving himself into the story, claiming to be the one who killed David's enemy. This Amelekite is speaking to the man who twice had an opportunity to kill Saul and did not. (Robert Alter suggests that this individual was probably a battlefield scavenger who hoped to take advantage of finding a body with a crown and armband.
2 Samuel 1: 11-12, Grief
Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
Despite their flight from Saul, this defeat is bad news for all of Israel. The people weep and grieve, knowing that their first king is gone.
2 Samuel 1: 13-16, "You killed the Lord's anointed!"
David said to the young man who brought him the report, "Where are you from?"
"I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite," he answered.
David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" So he struck him down, and he died.
For David had said to him, "Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, `I killed the LORD's anointed.'"
After grieving, David accuses the man of doing what he, himself, has refused to do numerous times: kill the Lord's anointed. Since the man claimed to have murdered Saul, then he is executed.
2 Samuel 1: 17-22, A lament
David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, and ordered that the men of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
"Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights.
How the mighty have fallen!
"Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
"O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain,
nor fields that yield offerings [of grain].
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul--no longer rubbed with oil.
From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
David has a song in praise of Jonathan and Saul and a lament at their passing. The women in Gath and Ashkelon (Philistine cities) are not to hear of this, as they will rejoice and sing. The mountains of Gilboa are to be dry and desolate, reflecting the emotions of the Israelites.
What is the book of Jashar? It is apparently a now lost book of Hebrew poetry. (See this article at Encyclopedia Britannica.)
Alter points out that shields were rubbed with oil to make them better deflect weapons. He argues that a strange word is used here for the shield, translated by the NIV "no longer rubbed" (with oil.) The word can also mean "unanointed." The one who earlier was anointed by Samuel is now "unanointed", as his shield demonstrates.
2 Samuel 1: 23-27, Weep for the fallen
"Saul and Jonathan-- in life they were loved and gracious,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
"O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
"How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
"How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!"
David's song goes on to describe his grief at the lost of a dear friend and a powerful regime. Just as the daughters of Philistia are not to hear of their victory, the daughters of Israel are to weep. The women of each country are reflecting the emotions of their warriors.
The bond David had as a warrior, fighting alongside Jonathan, is described as "more wonderful than that of women", a phrase communicating the intensity of their friendship. (There is no reason to make that statement sexual; David's relationships with women was probably fairly shallow but his friendship with Jonathan, over many years, was apparently deep.)
No comments:
Post a Comment