c See note at 10.11.
d For this meaning of holeh, cf. Amos 6.6.
e-e Septuagint reads “as an enemy.”
f-f Cf. Isa. 11.14; but meaning of Heb. uncertain.
g-g Lit. “Far be it from me!”
h-h Septuagint reads “bearers of the ephod”; cf. note at 2.28.
i-i Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b The meaning of many parts of 23.19 ff. is uncertain. The events described in 23.19–24.22 are partly paralleled in chapter 26, with variations.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Lit. “to cover his feet.”
c Vv. 5b-6 read will after 8a.
d-d Lit. “David’s heart struck him.”
e-e So several mss. and ancient versions; cf. v.5. Most mss. and editions read “Saul’s corner.”
f Understanding the Heb. as an ellipsis of wattahos ‘eni (cf., e.g., Deut.7.16).
gLit. “[my] father,” cf. 2 Kings 5.13.
h-h Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “the generosity you have shown me.”
a Septuagint reads “Maon,” cf. v. 2 and 23.24,25.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Septuagint reads “wine,” and cf. v. 18.
d-d The phrase is intended to avoid the imprecation of David against himself; it is lacking in the Septuagint.
e-e Lit. “one who pees against a wall.”
f-f Lit. “and spoke for”; cf. Song of Songs 8.8.
a Cf. 23.19 and note.
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain; cf. 17.20.
c Cf. Amos 5.21.
d So many mss.; other mss. and editions omit.
a Septuagint reads “Telam” (cf. “Telaim” in 15.4; and “Telem” in Josh. 15.24).
b Change of vocalization yields “brought it”; cf. v. 11.
c So some mss. and Targum; Septuagint and 4QSama read “Whom.”
d I.e., the part of the Negeb occupied by these clans.
e-e Cf. note at 13.4.
a The rest of this chapter would read well after chapters 29 and 30.
b A kind of oracle; see note at Exod. 28.30 and 1 Sam. 14.41.
c Some Septuagint mss. read “Saul.”
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e-e Some mss. and Septuagint read “to you.”
a-a Meaning of phrase uncertain.
b-b A euphemism for “our heads.”
c Lit. “go out and come in.”
d-d Meaning of parts of verse uncertain. Septuagint reads “and go to the place that I have assigned you; and harbor no evil thought in your heart, for you are acceptable to me.”
a See note at 2.28.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c So some mss. and versions; most mss. and editions read “me.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Septuagint reads “after.”
e Called Bethul in Josh. 19.4.
a 1 Chron. 10 reproduces this chapter, with minor variations.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Lit. “the archers, men with the bow.”
c-c Construed as hophal form; cf. 1 Kings 2.34.
d-d Lacking in the Septuagint; 1 Chron. 10.6 reads “all his house.”
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain. 1 Chron. 10.7 reads “in the valley.”
f-f Septuagint and 1 Chron. 10.9 read “among their idols.”
g-g 1 Chron. 10.11 reads “all [the inhabitants of] Jabesh-gilead heard all that.”
h 1 Chron. 10.12 reads “brought them.”
II Samuel
1 After the death of Saul—David had already returned from defeating the Amalekites—David stayed two days in Ziklag. 2On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes rent and earth on his head; and as he approached David, he flung himself to the ground and bowed low. 3David said to him, “Where are you coming from?” He answered, “I have just escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4“What happened?” asked David. “Tell me!” And he told him how the troops had fled the battlefield, and that, moreover, many of the troops had fallen and died; also that Saul and his son Jonathan were dead. 5“How do you know,” David asked the young man who brought him the news, “that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6The young man who brought him the news answered, “I happened to be at Mount Gilboa, and I saw Saul leaning on his spear, and the chariots and horsemen closing in on him. 7He looked around and saw me, and he called to me. When I responded, ‘At your service,’ 8he asked me, ‘Who are you?’ And I told him that I was an Amalekite. 9Then he said to me, ‘Stand over me, and finish me off, a-for I am in agony and am barely alive.’-a 10So I stood over him and finished him off, for I knew that a-he would never rise from where he was lying.-a Then I took the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11David took hold of his clothes and rent them, and so did all the men with him. 12They lamented and wept, and they fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the soldiers of the LORDb and the House of Israel who had fallen by the sword. 13David said to the young man who had brought him the news, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.” 14“How did you dare,” David said to him, “to lift your hand and kill the LORD’s anointed?” 15Thereupon David called one of the attendants and said to him, “Come over and strike him!” He struck him down and he died. 16And David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I put the LORD’s anointed to death.’ ”
17And David intoned this dirge over Saul and his son Jonathan— 18a-He ordered the Judites to be taught [The Song of the] Bow.-a It is recorded in the Book of Jashar.c
19Your glory, O Israel,
Lies slain on your heights;
How have the mighty fallen!
20Tell it not in Gath,
Do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
Lest the daughters of the Philistine rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
21O hills of Gilboa—
Let there be no dew or rain on you,
d-Or bountiful fields,-d
For there the shield of warriors lay rejected,
The shield of Saul,
Polished with oil no more.
22From the blood of slain,
From the fat of warriors—
The bow of Jonathan
Never turned back;
The sword of Saul
Never withdrew empty.
23Saul and Jonathan,
Beloved and cherished,
Never parted
In life or in death!
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions!
24Daughters of Israel,
Weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in crimson and finery,
Who decked your robes with jewels of gold.
25How have the mighty fallen
In the thick of battle—
Jonathan, slain on your heights!
26I grieve for you,
My brother Jonathan,
You were most dear to me.
Your love was wonderful to me
More than the love of women.
27How have the mighty fallen,
The e-weapons of war-e perished!
2 Sometime afterward, David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” The LORD answered, “Yes.” David further asked, “Which one shall I go up to?” And the LORD replied, “To Hebron.” 2So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 3David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in the towns about Hebron. 4The men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the House of Judah.
David was told about the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul. 5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed of the LORD because you performed this act of faithfulness to your lord Saul and buried him. 6May the LORD in turn show you true faithfulness; and I too will reward you generously because you performed this act. 7Now take courage and be brave men; for your lord Saul is dead and the House of Judah have already anointed me king over them.”
8But Abner son of Ner, Saul’s army commander, had taken Ish-boshetha son of Saul and brought him across to Mahanaim 9and made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites,b Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. 10Ish-boshetha son of Saul was forty years old when he became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. But the House of Judah supported David. 11The length of time that David reigned in Hebron over the House of Judah was seven years and six months.
12Once Abner son of Ner and the soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon, 13and Joab son of Zeruiah and the soldiers of David [also] came out.c They confronted one another at the pool of Gibeon: one group sat on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool. 14Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men come forward and sportd before us.” “Yes, let them,” Joab answered. 15They came forward and were counted off, twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve of David’s soldiers. 16Each one grasped his opponent’s heade [and thrust] his dagger into his opponent’s side; thus they fell together. That place, which is in Gibeon, was called Helkathhazzurim.f
17A fierce battle ensued that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were routed by David’s soldiers. 18The three sons of Zeruiahgwere there— Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was swift of foot, like a gazelle in the open field. 19And Asahel ran after Abner, swerving neither right nor left in his pursuit of Abner. 20Abner looked back and shouted, “Is that you, Asahel?” “Yes, it is,” he called back. 21Abner said to him, “Turn to the right or to the left, and seize one of our boys and strip off his tunic.” But Asahel would not leave off. 22Abner again begged Asahel, “Stop pursuing me, or I’ll have to strike you down. How will I look your brother Joab in the face?” 23When he refused to desist, Abner struck him in the belly with b-a backward thrust-b of his spear and the spear protruded from his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And all who came to
