2 Samuel 1


2 Samuel 1 is the first chapter of the Second Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the second part of Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains the account of David mourning the death of Saul and his sons, especially Jonathan. This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 which records the rise of David as the king of Israel.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis. Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 with extant verses 4–5, 10–13.
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.

Old Testament references

  • :,

    Places

  • Ashkelon
  • Gath
  • Mount Gilboa
  • Ziklag

    Saul's death was reported to David (1:1–16)

This chapter is a conclusion to the narrative about Saul and David.
It opened with an Amalekite reporting to David about Saul's death which is an entirely different account to the one in 1 Samuel 31:3–5, because this messenger claimed he killed Saul on the dying king's request and as proof he presented the king's crown and armlet to David. The most likely explanation of the discrepancy is that the Amalekite was lying in order to gain favor with David. He came with 'clothes torn and dirt on his head' to show signs of grief, this could have been contrived to give authenticity to his account, as it is more probable that he stumbled on Saul's body when he was searching for plunders in Mount Gilboa, so he immediately stripped him of his crown and armlet, then saw in this an opportunity to get rewards from the next king. However, the messenger describes himself as 'a resident alien', who was bound by the laws of his adopted community, so his disregard for the sanctity of 'the LORD'S anointed' should be punished by death. This narrative confirms once again David's respect for YHWH's anointed, and also exonerates David entirely of the events leading to his succession, that David came innocently to be in possession of Saul's crown and armlet.

Verses 1–2

  • "Ziklag": a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish son of Maoch, king of Gath, and for more than a year was used by David as a base from which he conducted military expeditions. 1 Samuel 30:1–19 recorded that Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines, so David and his men pursued and slaughtered the attackers as noted in this verse.
  • "Clothes torn and dust on his head": outward expressions of grief, a common response to tragic news in the ancient Near East.

    David mourned Saul and Jonathan (1:17–27)

The lament in this section can be attributed to David himself with a very personal expression of grief over the loss of Jonathan. The poem was preserved in an anthology known as the Book of Jashar. It has a kind of refrain 'how the mighty have fallen', occurring in three places, dividing the poem into sections and forming an inclusio bracketing the beginning and the ending. After stating that Israel's 'glory' has fallen, the poet wishes that the news be kept from the cities of the Philistines to prevent their exultation over Judah, followed by curses on Mount Gilboa, the scene of defeat, condemning it to barrenness. Then, David extols Saul and Jonathan as heroes who persevered in battle, were strong and swift and joined in death as father and son. He called the women of Israel to mourn Saul, who had brought them prosperity and luxury. David specially vents his personal grief for Jonathan, and the word 'love' echoes once again the covenant of friendship between the two, before the final refrain in verse 27.

Verse 26

  • "Surpassing the love of women": Targum renders as more than the love of two women, which is David's two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail.

    Commentaries on Samuel

General

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