2 Samuel 1:17

DAVID'S LAMENTATION FOR SAUL AND JONATHAN

"And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher. He said:

"Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!

"Tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

"Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no rain upon you, nor upsurging of the deep! for there was the shield of the mighty defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed with oil.

"From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

"Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

"Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you daintily in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon thy high places.

"I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

"How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished"."

"Lamented ... lamentation" (2 Samuel 1:17). "These words must be understood in the technical sense of a funeral dirge or a mournful elegy."[12]

It is of interest that David's eulogy of Saul made no reference to his faults and sins. As Matthew Henry said, "This was proper, because, although there was no preventing such things from appearing in Saul's history, yet they were very properly left out of his eulogy."[13]

"The Book of Jasher" (2 Samuel 1:18). This book has not come down to us, but it once existed; and, "It was evidently one of the sources used by the author of the Books of Samuel"[14]

"How are the mighty fallen!" (2 Samuel 1:19). This expression has been repeated countless times at the funerals of great men. Here it begins and closes this remarkable dirge.

"Tell it not in Gath" (2 Samuel 1:20). The great pity of such a defeat as Israel had suffered would be, of course, the cause of great exultation and rejoicing in the cities of the Philistines; and here, "David deprecates the spread of such news."[15] "In course of time, this expression became a proverb (Micah 1:10)."[16]

"Ye mountains of Gilboa" (2 Samuel 1:21). Here a curse is pronounced upon the mountains which were the scene of Saul's death. "This curse still seems to lie upon the mountains of Gilboa, for they are still naked and sterile."[17]

"The bow of Jonathan turned not back" (2 Samuel 1:22). In this and the following verse, David praises the fallen warriors. With their weapons they took a great toll of the enemy; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

"Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul" (2 Samuel 1:24). Here the women of Israel are commanded to grieve over the loss of him who had adorned them in scarlet and placed ornaments of gold upon their apparel. "This shows that great advances in prosperity and culture had come to Israel during the years of Saul's monarchy."[18]

"I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan" (2 Samuel 1:26). In the latter part of the lamentation, David speaks lovingly of his friend Jonathan.

Many scholars have praised the beauty of this lamentation. Porter has this: "It is a passage of great literary beauty even in translation; its haunting cadences in the King James Version give it an imperishable place in English literature."[19]

"And the weapons of war (are) perished" (2 Samuel 1:27). This is not a reference to such things as swords, bows, and arrows. "The parallelism suggests that the weapons of war are Saul and Jonathan themselves."[20]