2 Samuel 1:1-16

An Amalekite’s account of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths 1:1-16

The young Amalekite must have been a mercenary soldier who had joined Saul’s army. It seems more likely that this man’s account of Saul’s death was not accurate, rather than that he had had some hand in killing Saul, in view of 1 Samuel 31:1-6 and 1 Chronicles 10. [Note: See Robert P. Gordon, I & II Samuel: A Commentary, pp. 208-9; and Bill T. Arnold, "The Amalekite’s Report of Saul’s Death: Political Intrigue or Incompatible Sources?" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32:3 (1989):289-98. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 6:14:7, believed the Amalekite was telling the truth.] He was able to take Saul’s crown and bracelet and probably returned to David with his story to ingratiate himself with him.

Mount Gilboa stood some 80 miles north of Ziklag, so it probably took the young man three or four days to make the trip. The average traveler in Bible times would normally cover about 20 miles per day walking. Ironically God had commanded Saul to annihilate the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:3), and David had just returned from slaughtering a portion of them (2 Samuel 1:1; 1 Samuel 30). Now one of them claimed to have killed the king who disobeyed God by not killing all the Amalekites.

"Since most, if not all, readers would be aware of the partially fictitious nature of the Amalekite’s story, it seems that its primary function was to counter any possible rumors or accusations leveled against David." [Note: Arnold A. Anderson, 2 Samuel, p. 10.]

One writer saw in Saul’s "leaning on his spear" (2 Samuel 1:6) ". . . a parable of his tendency to rely on human effort rather than on divine resources (cf. Isaiah 10:20; Isaiah 31:1, where ’rely’ translates the same Hebrew verb as ’leaning’ does here)." [Note: Ronald F. Youngblood, "1, 2 Samuel," in Deuteronomy-2 Samuel, vol. 3 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 806.]

The biblical writer constructed this chapter chiastically to focus the reader’s attention on the Amalekite’s story and David’s reaction to it (2 Samuel 1:6-12).

A David strikes the Amalekites 2 Samuel 1:1

B David questions an Amalekite 2 Samuel 1:2-5

C The Amalekite tells his story 2 Samuel 1:6-10

C’ David reacts to the Amalekite’s story 2 Samuel 1:11-12

B’ David questions the Amalekite again 2 Samuel 1:13-14

A’ David strikes the Amalekite 2 Samuel 1:15-16

The Amalekite soldier undoubtedly thought David would have been glad Saul had finally died, since Saul was David’s rival for the throne. Compare Doeg the Edomite’s willingness to slay God’s anointed priests at Nob to please Saul (1 Samuel 22:18). However, the news of Saul’s death saddened David instead. Saul was the Lord’s anointed. All 11 references to "the Lord’s anointed," except the one in Lamentations 4:20, appear in 1 and 2 Samuel. This phrase emphasizes the close relationship between Yahweh and the king. Furthermore David’s soul brother Jonathan had died, as had many other Israelite soldiers. David must have had the young Amalekite executed because he believed his story. "Your blood is on your own head" (2 Samuel 1:6) means the blood you have shed is the cause of your own death. [Note: See Charles Mabee, "David’s Judicial Exoneration," Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 92:1 (1980):92-107.]

"The author of Samuel established a deliberate connection between the two stories [i.e., this one and the story of the Benjamite fugitive’s report in 1 Samuel 4:12-17] in order to set up an analogy between the fates of Saul’s house and of Eli’s. . . . The comparison indicates that there is a clear rule of law which connects a leader’s conduct with his fate and the fate of his house. A degenerate leader, whether it is himself who has sinned or his sons, will ultimately be deposed . . . or come to a tragic end, just as Eli and his sons die on the same day, and so do Saul and his." [Note: Moshe Garsiel, The First Book of Samuel: A Literary Study of Comparative Structures, p. 106.]