2 Samuel 21:12-14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:10-14

Here we have, I. Saul's sons not only hanged, but hanged in chains, their dead bodies left hanging, and exposed, till the judgment ceased, which their death was to turn away, by the sending of rain upon the land. They died as sacrifices, and thus they were, in a manner, offered up, not consumed all at once by fire, but gradually by the air. They died as anathemas, and by this ignominious usage they were represented as execrable, because iniquity was laid upon them. When our blessed Saviour was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:12

And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabeshgilead ,.... Which, according to Bunting F20 Travels, &c.; p. 122, 143. , was fifty two miles from Jerusalem; though perhaps David did not go thither in person to fetch them, but by his messengers, see 2 Samuel 21:14 , which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa ; the history of all... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:13

And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son ,.... Which had been buried there under an oak, 1 Chronicles 10:12 , and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged ; the seven sons of Saul, who had been lately hanged; who either had hung so long that their flesh was consumed, and the bones dropped upon the ground, from whence they gathered them; or they took them down and burnt the flesh off of them, and took the bones to bury them, which was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:14

And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son ,.... Together with those who had been hanged: buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah ; a city in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:28 , in the sepulchre of Kish his father ; the father of Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1 ; and which, according to Fuller F23 Pisgah-Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 258. , and the position of it in his map, was not far from the hill on which the seven sons of Saul were hanged: and they performed all that the king... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:12

Took the bones of Saul - The reader will recollect that the men of Jabesh-gilead burned the bodies of Saul and his sons, and buried the remaining bones under a tree at Jabesh. See 1 Samuel 31:12 , 1 Samuel 31:13 . These David might have digged up again, in order to bury them in the family sepulcher. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

A story of deferred retribution. The facts are: 1 . A famine continuing for three years, and inquiry being made of the Lord by David, he is informed that it was in consequence of Saul's sin in slaying the Gibeonites. 2 . David, asking of the Gibeonites what he shall do for them by way of atonement for the wrong done, is informed that they seek not gold or the life of any man of Israel, but require that seven of Saul's family should be put to death, and hung up in Gibeah of Saul. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:1-14

( GIBEON , GIBEAH .) Famine. "And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year" ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ). [ Summary of the remaining portion (or appendix) of this book: 1 . The famine. 2 . Victorious acts in wars with the Philistines ( 2 Samuel 21:15-22 ). 3 . David's song of thanksgiving (looking backward); 2 Samuel 22:1-51 4. 2 Samuel His last prophetic words (looking forward); 2 Samuel 23:1-7 . These two lyrical and prophetic productions... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:8-14

( GIBEAH .) Rizpah. "And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth," etc. (verse. 10; 2 Samuel 3:7 ). The days of harvest had come; but not the fruits of harvest. The heaven was brass, and the earth iron ( Deuteronomy 28:23 ). The misery of famine was accompanied by a sense of Divine wrath on account of sin. The guilt of blood was on the land, and especially on "the house of Saul," for the destruction of the Gibeonites. Nothing would satisfy the demand of the sorrowing... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:12

The street of Beth-shan; Hebrew, the broad place, or square, just inside the gate, where the citizens met for business. It was upon the wall of this square that the Philistines had hanged the bodies of Saul and of his sons ( 1 Samuel 31:12 ). The men of Jabesh-Gilead; Hebrew, the lords or owners of Jabesh-Gilead. The phrase occurs also in 1 Samuel 23:11 , 1 Samuel 23:12 of the citizens of Keilah, and is found also in the Books of Joshua and Judges. (For the brave exploit of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:14

The bones of Saul and Jonathan. The Septuagint adds, "and the bones of them that were hanged." As it is expressly said in 2 Samuel 21:13 that these bones were collected, we cannot doubt but that the remains of the seven grandsons were interred with those of Saul and Jonathan, in the tomb of Kish, their common ancestor. But whether the Septuagint has preserved words that have dropped out of the Hebrew text, or has added them to make the fact plain, is more than we can answer. Zelah .... read more

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