2 Samuel 1

This is the first chapter of 2 Samuel. It continues the narratives of 1 Samuel 31, in which Saul and his sons die in the battle on Mount Gilboa, and 1 Samuel 30, in which David fights the Amalekites from Ziklag at about the same time.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 On the third day after David returns to Ziklag from defeating the Amalekites, a man arrives from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and earth upon his head. He reports the defeat of the army and the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.
• Verses 5–10 When David asks how he knows this, the man claims that on Mount Gilboa he killed Saul at Saul's own request, and he presents Saul's crown and bracelet to David.
• Verses 11–12 David and the men with him tear their clothes and weep and fast until evening.
• Verses 13–16 David confirms that the man is an Amalekite and, on the basis of the man's own claim to have killed the LORD's anointed, orders one of his young men to put him to death.
• Verses 17–27 David composes a lament for Saul and Jonathan and directs that it be taught to the people of Judah. The song, known as the "Song of the Bow," is said to be recorded in the Book of Jasher.

Key Verses

• 2 Samuel 1:14 "How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" — This verse shows that David's refusal to harm Saul held firm to the very end.
• 2 Samuel 1:19 "How are the mighty fallen!" — Repeated in verses 19, 25, and 27, this refrain forms the framework of the lament.
• 2 Samuel 1:26 "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women." — This verse reveals the depth of the relationship between David and Jonathan.

Characters and Places

• David: Not yet king, he is living at Ziklag.
• Saul and Jonathan: The first king of Israel and his son, who fell in battle on Mount Gilboa.
• The Amalekite: He identifies himself as the son of a stranger (a resident foreigner) living in Israel (Amalek).
• Ziklag: The town David had received from the Philistine king and where he was living.
• Mount Gilboa: The mountain where Saul and Jonathan fell in battle.
• Gath and Ashkelon: Cities of the Philistines.
• Book of Jasher: An ancient record no longer extant, also mentioned in Joshua 10:13.

Points for Reflection

• In 1 Samuel 31:4, Saul falls on his own sword and dies. For this reason, many interpreters conclude that the Amalekite fabricated his story to win David's favor. Some scholars hold that the two accounts reflect different traditions.
• Many have noted an irony in an Amalekite claiming responsibility for Saul's death, given that Saul was rejected for failing to utterly destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15).
• The reference in verse 21 to the shield of Saul, "as though he had not been anointed with oil," is interpreted by some as alluding to the custom of oiling shields, and by others as an expression that also calls to mind the anointing Saul had received.
• Verse 26 has traditionally been read as describing friendship and loyalty grounded in the covenant of 1 Samuel 18:1–3. Some modern interpreters argue for a different meaning, but the major denominations in the Korean church generally follow the traditional interpretation.
• The expression "Tell it not in Gath" also appears in Micah 1:10. The New Testament does not directly quote this chapter.

In the Korean Church

This chapter is frequently used, along with 1 Samuel 18–20, in sermons and Sunday school lessons on the friendship of David and Jonathan. Verse 14 is also sometimes applied to pastoral authority as teaching that one must not "strike the anointed." Such applications have been criticized for going beyond the context of a passage that concerns the office of king.