2 Samuel 1:23

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:17-27

When David had rent his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted, for the death of Saul, and done justice upon him who made himself guilty of it, one would think he had made full payment of the debt of honour he owed to his memory; yet this is not all: we have here a poem he wrote on that occasion; for he was a great master of his pen as well as of his sword. By this elegy he designed both to express his own sorrow for this great calamity and to impress the like on the minds of others, who ought... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:23

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives ,.... To one another, had no quarrel or difference with each other, only on the account of David; otherwise they agreed together in the court, and in the camp, in their councils, and in their conduct: and in their death they were not divided ; neither from the people, nor from one another; Jonathan stuck close by his father to the last; which is observed to clear him from any imputation of conspiracy against him: they were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:11-27

The facts of the section are: 1 . Having become assured, through the testimony of the Amalekite, of the defeat of Israel in the death of Saul and Jonathan, David and his men spent the rest of the day in mourning. 2 . On the morrow David examines the Amalekite as to the particulars of Saul's death, and being shocked at the sin and shame of slaying the Lord's anointed, he condemns the man to death. 3 . Being left to his own reflections on the sad event which had happened to Israel,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:19-27

David's lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. In this lamentation there is— I. A DECLARATION OF THE CAUSE OF MOURNING . "O pride of Israel, on thy high places slain! Alas! fallen are the heroes." ( 2 Samuel 1:19 .) This is the keynote. It contains "the theme of the entire ode." 1 . Men of rich endowments are the ornament, beauty, and glory of a people. 2 . Such men are sometimes stricken down suddenly and under unexpected circumstances. "Not on the level... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:23

Lovely and pleasant. The words of the Authorized Version contain a beautiful antithesis, which, however, does not exist in the Hebrew, which celebrates the close union of father and son in life as well as in death. "Saul and Jonathan, the lovely and pleasant, Neither in their lives nor in their death were they divided." Notwithstanding Saul's rash vow, Jonathan had ever been his father's faithful friend and companion, nor had his affection for David made him untrue to the ties of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 1:23

2 Samuel 1:23. Saul and Jonathan were lovely Hebrew, הנאהבים , hanneehabim, were loved, namely, by each other, and by the people. And pleasant in their lives Amiable and obliging in their carriage and conversation, both toward one another and toward others: for, as for Saul’s fierce behaviour toward Jonathan, it was only a sudden passion, by which his ordinary temper was not to be measured; and as for his carriage toward David, it proceeded from that jealousy, and those reasons of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 1:1-27

1:1-4:12 CIVIL WAR AFTER SAUL’S DEATHMourning for Saul and Jonathan (1:1-27)David learnt of Saul’s death from one of Saul’s own men, an Amalekite who had become a citizen of Israel (1:1-4; see v. 13). The man clearly thought that by adding a few details to the story and by bringing Saul’s crown to David, he could win David’s favour (5-10; cf. 4:10).As long as Saul lived, David had regarded him as the Lord’s anointed king and had consistently refused to harm him (cf. 1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 2 Samuel 1:23

swifter . . . stronger . Figure of speech Hyperbole. App-6 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - 2 Samuel 1:23

2 Samuel 1:23. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives— David means in this verse to express the union of Saul and Jonathan by friendship in life, and by the same common fate in death; and he does not by any means appear to design a commendation of the loveliness or excellency of their lives in any other respect. Dr. Lowth, in his poetical paraphrase, has finely expressed the meaning; Nobile par, quos junxit amor, quos gloria junxit, Unaque nunc fato jungit acerba dies.... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 2 Samuel 1:1-27

1. David’s discovery of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths ch. 11 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 record the transition that took place in the royal leadership of Israel. 1 Samuel 31 contains the factual account of Saul’s death. One writer saw no reason why both accounts could not be true. [Note: See Leon Wood, Israel’s United Monarchy, p. 168] read more

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