21When David reached the two hundred men who were too faint to follow David and who had been left at the Wadi Besor, they came out to welcome David and the troops with him; David came forward with the troops and greeted them. 22But all the mean and churlish fellows among the men who had accompanied David spoke up, “Since they did not accompany us,c we will not give them any of the spoil that we seized— except that each may take his wife and children and go.” 23David, however, spoke up, “You must not do that, d-my brothers, in view of-d what the LORD has granted us, guarding us and delivering into our hands the band that attacked us. 24How could anyone agree with you in this matter? The share of those who remain with the baggage shall be the same as the share of those who go down to battle; they shall share alike.” 25So from that day on it was made a fixed rule for Israel, continuing to the present day.
26When David reached Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah b-[and] to his friends,-b saying, “This is a present for you from our spoil of the enemies of the LORD.” 27[He sent the spoil to the elders] in Bethel,c Ramoth-negeb, and Jattir; 28in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa; 29in Racal, in the towns of the Jerahmeelites, and in the towns of the Kenites; 30in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach; 31and to those in Hebron—all the places where David and his men had roamed.
31 aThe Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and [many] fell on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines pursued Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, sons of Saul. 3The battle raged around Saul, and b-some of the archers-b hit him, and he c-was severely wounded-c by the archers. 4Saul said to his arms-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, so that the uncircumcised may not run me through and make sport of me.” But his arms-bearer, in his great awe, refused; whereupon Saul grasped the sword and fell upon it. 5When his arms-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6Thus Saul and his three sons and his arms-bearer, d-as well as all his men,-d died together on that day. 7And when the men of Israel e-on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan-e saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the towns and fled; the Philistines then came and occupied them.
8The next day the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off his head and stripped him of his armor, and they sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to spread the news f-in the temples of their idols-f and among the people. 10They placed his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they impaled his body on the wall of Beth-shan. 11When g-the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard about it—what-g the Philistines had done to Saul—12all their stalwart men set out and marched all night; they removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and cameh to Jabesh and burned them there. 13Then they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
a-a Heb. “Ramathaim-zophim.”In 1.19, 2.11, 7.17, 15.34, 19.18, etc., the town is called Ramah; and 9.5 ff. shows that it was in the district of Zuph.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c-c Lit. “Thus he did.”
d Septuagint adds “and stood before the LORD.”
e-e Lit. “Remove your wine from you.”
f Cf. note at Gen. 4.1.
g Connected with sha’ul me’el “asked of God”; cf. vv. 17, 27–28.
h-h Septuagint and 4QSama (a Samuel fragment from Qumran) read “the utterance of your mouth.” The translators express their thanks to Professor Frank M. Cross, Jr., for graciously making available to them copies of his unpublished Samuel fragments.
i-i Septuagint and 4QSama read “a three-year-old [cf. Gen. 15.9] bull and bread”; cf. v. 25.
j From the same root as that of the verb rendered “asked for” in p. 20.
k Heb. “he”; cf. 2.11. A reading in the Talmud (Berakot 61a) implies that Elkanah was there.
a-a Lit. “My horn is high.”
b-b Lit. “My mouth is wide.”
c-c Lit. “And will raise the horn of.”
d See note k at 1.28.
e-e These vessels have not been distinguished precisely.
f-f Targum and Septuagint add “for himself.”
g 4QSama and Septuagint read “repay.”
h 4QSama reads “And.”
i-i Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
i Here a device for obtaining oracles (cf. 14.3; 23.6, 9–12), not a garment as in v. 18 above.
k-k Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “gaze [cf. Septuagint] grudgingly upon the sacrifices and offerings which I have commanded” (connecting ma’on with ‘oyen, “keeping a jealous eye”; see 1 Sam. 18.9); cf. v. 32 and note m below.
l See vv. 15–16.
m Cf. note k-k above.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Septuagint reads “against God.”
b-b A formula of adjuration.
c Heb. “his.”
a Preceding this, Septuagint has “In those days, the Philistines gathered for war against Israel.”
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c I.e., as a sign of mourning.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Septuagint reads differently from our Heb. text; it also mentions mice swarming in the Philistine ships and invading their fields. Cf. the mention of “mice” in 6.4, 18; and the note at 6.1.
a Septuagint continues “and mice invaded their fields”; cf. vv. 4, 5, 18, and note at 5.6.
b-b Or “and you will know why His hand would not turn away from you.” Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Heb. “them.”
d-d Septuagint reads “As they met it.”
e Meaning of vv. 18 and 19 uncertain in part.
f-f Emendation yields “villages, as witness there is.”
g Reading ‘eben with some Heb. mss., Septuagint, and Targum; most mss. and editions ‘abel, “meadow [?].”
h-h Force of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Otherwise unknown; perhaps identical with “Jeshanah”; cf. Septuagint; also 2 Chron. 13.19.
c I.e., “Stone of Help.”
a-a Septuagint reads “cattle.”
a-a Lit. “taller from his shoulders up.”
b This verse explains the term “seer” in v. 11.
c-c Emendation yields “Hurry, for he has just reached (‘attah kayyom ba, so Septuagint) the gate”; cf. v. 18.
d Emendation yields “gate”; cf. v. 18.
e-e Septuagint and Targum read “the plight of My people”; cf. Exod. 3.7.
f Heb. plural.
g-g Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “the broad tail.”
h-h Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
i-i Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Septuagint reads “They spread a bed for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. At&ldots;.”
a Heb. “his.”
b-b Septuagint and Vulgate read “anoints you ruler over His people Israel, and you will govern the people of the LORD and deliver them from the hands of their foes roundabout. And this is the sign for you that the LORD anoints you.”
c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d-d Or “Gibeah.”
e-e Others “prophesying”; cf. Num. 11.25 and note.
f-f See 11.5–15.
g-g To refer to a person merely as “the son (ben) of&ldots;” is slighting; cf. 20, 27, 30, 31; Isa. 7.4.
h So many Heb. mss. and ancient versions. Other mss. and editions read “to Him.”
i Septuagint reads “then he brought up the family of the Matrites by their men and.&ldots;”
j-j Septuagint reads “Has the man come here?”
k-k In contrast to “scoundrels” (v. 27); understanding Heb. hayil as the equivalent of bene hayil, as read by Septuagint and 4QSama.
l-l Lit. “But he was as one who holds his peace.” Septuagint and 4QSama read “About a month later,” connecting with what follows.
a-a Septuagint reads “or a pair of sandals? [cf. Amos 2.6] Testify against me.”
b-b Lit. “against you.”
c Heb. “he.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e Septuagint adds “the Egyptians oppressed them.”
f Septuagint “Barak.”
g When thunderstorms do not occur in the land of Israel.
a The number is lacking in the Heb. text; also, the precise context of the “two years” is uncertain. The verse is lacking in the Septuagint.
b So in oldest mss.; other mss. and editions read “Michmash” throughout the chapter.
c Apparently identical with Gibeah in v. 2.
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e-e Lit. “became
