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Commentary on 2 Samuel 1 verses 17–27
When David had rent his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted, for the death of Saul, and done justice upon him who made himself guilty of it, one would think he had made full payment of the debt of honour he owed to his memory; yet this is not all: we have here a poem he wrote on that occasion; for he was a great master of his pen as well as of his sword. By this elegy he designed both to express his own sorrow for this great calamity and to impress the like on the minds of others, who ought to lay it to heart. The putting of lamentations into poems made them, 1. The more moving and affecting. The passion of the poet, or singer, is, by this way, wonderfully communicated to the readers and hearers. 2. The more lasting. Thus they were made, not only to spread far, but to continue long, from generation to generation. Those might gain information by poems that would not read history. Here we have,
I. The orders David gave with this elegy (Sa2 1:18): He bade them teach the children of Judah (his own tribe, whatever others did) the use of the bow, either. 1. The bow used in war. Not but that the children of Judah knew how to use the bow (it was so commonly used in war, long before this, that the sword and bow were put for all weapons of war, Gen 48:22), but perhaps they had of late made more use of slings, as David in killing Goliath, because cheaper, and David would have them now to see the inconvenience of these (for it was the archers of the Philistines that bore so hard upon Saul, Sa1 21:3), and to return more generally to the use of the bow, to exercise themselves in this weapon, that they might be in a capacity to avenge the death of their prince upon the Philistines, and to outdo them at their own weapon. It was a pity but those that had such good heads and hearts as the children of Judah should be well armed. David hereby showed his authority over and concern for the armies of Israel, and set himself to rectify the errors of the former reign. But we find that the companies which had now come to David to Ziklag were armed with bows (Ch1 12:2); therefore, 2. Some understand it either of some musical instrument called a bow (to which he would have the mournful ditties sung) or of the elegy itself: He bade them teach the children of Judah Kesheth, the bow, that is, this song, which was so entitled for the sake of Jonathan's bow, the achievements of which are here celebrated. Moses commanded Israel to learn his song (Deu 31:19), so David his. Probably he bade the Levites teach them. It is written in the book of Jasher, there it was kept upon record, and thence transcribed into this history. That book was probably a collection of state-poems; what is said to be written in that book (Jos 10:13) is also poetical, a fragment of an historical poem. Even songs would be forgotten and lost if they were not committed to writing, that best conservatory of knowledge.
II. The elegy itself. It is not a divine hymn, nor given by inspiration of God to be used in divine service, nor is there any mention of God in it; but it is a human composition, and therefore was inserted, not in the book of Psalms (which, being of divine original, is preserved), but in the book of Jasher, which, being only a collection of common poems, is long since lost. This elegy proves David to have been,
1.A man of an excellent spirit, in four things: -
(1.)He was very generous to Saul, his sworn enemy. Saul was his father-in-law, his sovereign, and the anointed of the Lord; and therefore, though he had done him a great deal of wrong, David does not wreak his revenge upon his memory when he is in his grave; but like a good man, and a man of honour, [1.] He conceals his faults; and, though there was no preventing their appearance in his history, yet they should not appear in this elegy. Charity teaches us to make the best we can of every body and to say nothing of those of whom we can say no good, especially when they are gone. De mortuis nil nisi bonum - Say nothing but good concerning the dead. We ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of making personal reflections upon those who have been injurious to us, much more drawing their character thence, as if every man must of necessity be a bad man that has done ill by us. Let the corrupt part of the memory be buried with the corrupt part of the man - earth to earth, ashes to ashes; let the blemish be hidden and a veil drawn over the deformity. [2.] He celebrates that which was praiseworthy in him. He does not commend him for that which he was not, says nothing of his piety or fidelity. Those funeral commendations which are gathered out of the spoils of truth are not at all to the praise of those on whom they are bestowed, but very much the dispraise of those who unjustly misplace them. But he has this to say in honour of Saul himself, First, That he was anointed with oil (Sa2 1:21), the sacred oil, which signified his elevation to, and qualification for, the government. Whatever he was otherwise, the crown of the anointing oil of his God was upon him, as is said of the high priest (Lev 21:12), and on that account he was to be honoured, because God, the fountain of honour, had honoured him. Secondly, That he was a man of war, a mighty man (Sa2 1:19-21), that he had often been victorious over the enemies of Israel and vexed them whithersoever he turned, Sa1 14:47. His sword returned not empty, but satiated with blood and spoil, Sa2 1:22. His disgrace and fall at last must not make his former successes and services to be forgotten. Though his sun set under a cloud, time was when it shone brightly. Thirdly, That take him with Jonathan he was a man of a very agreeable temper, that recommended himself to the affections of his subjects (Sa2 1:23): Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant. Jonathan was always so, and Saul was so as long as he concurred with him. Take them together, and in the pursuit of the enemy, never were men more bold, more brave; they were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. Observe, Those that were most fierce and fiery in the camp were no less sweet and lovely in the court, as amiable to the subject as they were formidable to the foe; a rare combination of softness and sharpness they had, which makes any man's temper very happy. It may be understood of the harmony and affection that for the most part subsisted between Saul and Jonathan: they were lovely and pleasant one to another, Jonathan a dutiful son, Saul an affectionate father; and therefore dear to each other in their lives, and in their death they were not divided, but kept close together in the stand they made against the Philistines, and fell together in the same cause. Fourthly, That he had enriched his country with the spoils of conquered nations, and introduced a more splendid attire. When they had a king like the nations, they must have clothes like the nations; and herein he was, in a particular manner, obliging to his female subjects, Sa2 1:24. The daughters of Israel he clothed in scarlet, which was their delight.
(2.)He was very grateful to Jonathan, his sworn friend. Besides the tears he shed over him, and the encomiums he gives of him in common with Saul, he mentions him with some marks of distinction (Sa2 1:25): O Jonathan! thou wast slain in thy high places! which (compared with Sa2 1:19) intimates that he meant him by the beauty of Israel, which, he there says, was slain upon the high places. He laments Jonathan as his particular friend (Sa2 1:26): My brother, Jonathan; not so much because of what he would have been to him if he had lived, very serviceable no doubt in his advancement to the throne and instrumental to prevent those long struggles which, for want of his assistance, he had with the house of Saul (had this been the only ground of his grief it would have been selfish), but he lamented him for what he had been: "Very pleasant hast thou been unto me; but that pleasantness is now over, and I am distressed for thee." He had reason to say that Jonathan's love to him was wonderful; surely never was the like, for a man to love one who he knew was to take the crown over his head, and to be so faithful to his rival: this far surpassed the highest degree of conjugal affection and constancy. See here, [1.] That nothing is more delightful in this world than a true friend, that is wise and good, that kindly receives and returns our affection, and is faithful to us in all our true interests. [2.] That nothing is more distressful than the loss of such a friend; it is parting with a piece of one's self. It is the vanity of this world that what is most pleasant to us we are most liable to be distressed in. The more we love the more we grieve.
(3.)He was deeply concerned for the honour of God; for this is what he has an eye to when he fears lest the daughters of the uncircumcised, that are out of covenant with God, should triumph over Israel, and the God of Israel, Sa2 1:20. Good men are touched in a very sensible part by the reproaches of those that reproach God.
(4.)He was deeply concerned for the public welfare. It was the beauty of Israel that was slain (Sa2 1:19) and the honour of the public that was disgraced: The mighty have fallen (this is three times lamented, Sa2 1:19, Sa2 1:25, Sa2 1:27), and so the strength of the people is weakened. Public losses are most laid to heart by men of public spirit. David hoped God would make him instrumental to repair those losses and yet laments them.
2.A man of a fine imagination, as well as a wise and holy man. The expressions are all excellent, and calculated to work upon the passions. (1.) The embargo he would fain lay upon Fame is elegant (Sa2 1:20): Tell it not in Gath. It grieved him to the heart to think that it would be proclaimed in the cities of the Philistines, and that they would insult over Israel upon it, and the more in remembrance of the triumphs of Israel over them formerly, when they sang, Saul has slain his thousands; for this would now be retorted. (2.) The curse he entails on the mountains of Gilboa, the theatre on which this tragedy was acted: Let there be no dew upon you, nor fields of offerings, Sa2 1:21. This is a poetical strain, like that of Job, Let the day perish wherein I was born. Not as if David wished that any part of the land of Israel might be barren, but, to express his sorrow for the thing, he speaks with a seeming indignation at the place. Observe, [1.] How the fruitfulness of the earth depends upon heaven. The worst thing he could wish to the mountains of Gilboa was barrenness and unprofitableness to man: those are miserable that are useless. It was the curse Christ pronounced on the fig-tree, Never fruit grow on thee more, and that took effect - the fig-tree withered away: this, on the mountains of Gilboa, did not. But, when he wished them barren, he wished there might be no rain upon them; and, if the heavens be brass, the earth will soon be iron. [2.] How the fruitfulness of the earth must therefore be devoted to heaven, which is intimated in his calling the fruitful fields fields of offerings. Those fruits of their land that were offered to God were the crown and glory of it: and therefore the failure of the offerings is the saddest consequent of the failure of the corn. See Joe 1:9. To want that wherewith we should honour God is worse than to want that wherewith we should sustain ourselves. This is the reproach David fastens upon the mountains of Gilboa, which, having been stained with royal blood, thereby forfeited celestial dews. In this elegy Saul had a more honourable interment than that which the men of Jabesh-Gilead gave him.
"And he commanded that the children of Judah be taught the bow, etc." [2 Samuel 1:18] This was written about David when he was mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan: And he commanded that the children of Judah be taught the bow, he did this because he knew that the Philistines abounded in archers, and Saul had perished particularly by their arrows, so he wanted his soldiers to learn the same art of war to defeat them. As for the following: As it is written in the book of the just, they assert that the very book cannot be found anywhere today, not even among the Hebrews, just as the book of the wars of the Lord mentioned in the book of Numbers; nor the songs of Solomon, nor his wisest discussions on the nature of trees, all herbs, likewise beasts, birds, reptiles, and fish; or what is said in the book of the Chronicles: The rest of Solomon's deeds, former and later, are written in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the books of Ahijah the Shilonite. In the vision of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam son of Nebat (II Chron. IX), and many such volumes which are proven to have existed in Scripture but are acknowledged as no longer extant today. Judah was indeed ravaged by the Chaldeans, and even the library, formerly gathered, was consumed by enemy fire along with other provincial treasures. From this, the few books that now remain in the holy Scriptures were later restored through the efforts of Ezra the priest and prophet. Hence it is written about him: Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses (I Esdras VII). Ready indeed, because he discovered quicker forms of letters than the Hebrews had up to that time. And in the letter of the king of Persia: Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greetings (Ibid.).
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SUMMARY
2 Samuel 1:18 is a pivotal parenthetical insertion within David's profound "Song of the Bow," a lament for the fallen King Saul and his beloved son Jonathan. Amidst his deep personal grief and the nation's crisis, this verse reveals David's immediate, pragmatic leadership: he instructs that the "children of Judah" be thoroughly trained in archery, a vital military skill. The verse further authenticates this directive by noting its inclusion in "the book of Jasher," an ancient, respected non-canonical historical record, underscoring the significance and historical grounding of David's command.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The primary literary device at play in 2 Samuel 1:18 is the Parenthetical Note. This verse intentionally interrupts the emotional flow of David's lament, providing a crucial explanatory aside that offers vital context and validation for his actions. The effect is to provide a swift, insightful glimpse into David's immediate priorities and practical leadership, even amidst profound grief, without diminishing the emotional intensity of the "Song of the Bow." It functions as a purposeful Interruption that grounds the lament in a practical, historical reality. Furthermore, the explicit reference to the "book of Jasher" employs Historical Reference as a powerful means of authentication, lending credibility and authoritative weight to David's command. Finally, the "bow" itself functions as a potent Symbolism, representing military prowess, national defense, and the enduring legacy of Jonathan's exceptional skill and bravery.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse, though concise, offers profound theological insights into the nature of leadership, the importance of preparedness, and the preservation of legacy within God's unfolding plan. David's immediate concern for military training, even in the throes of national mourning, beautifully illustrates a foundational biblical principle: effective leadership requires both spiritual sensitivity and astute practical foresight. God often works through human diligence, preparation, and strategic planning, even as He orchestrates ultimate victory and sovereignly guides history. The act of teaching the bow ensures that the skills and legacy of past heroes, particularly Jonathan, are not lost but are intentionally passed on to future generations, underscoring the critical importance of mentorship, continuity, and intergenerational wisdom in God's covenant community. The reference to the "book of Jasher" also serves as a subtle reminder that God's truth can be affirmed and recorded through various means, even outside the canonical scriptures, though the Bible remains the ultimate and authoritative Word of God for all matters of faith and life.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
David's response to tragedy in 2 Samuel 1:18 provides a compelling model for navigating life's inevitable sorrows and challenges with purpose, foresight, and resilience. It teaches us that authentic leadership, whether within a family, a community, a workplace, or a church, involves not only the necessary process of mourning losses but also the proactive and strategic preparation for the future. Even in our deepest grief or moments of crisis, we are called to look beyond our immediate circumstances and consider the needs of those who will follow, diligently equipping them with the necessary skills, wisdom, and spiritual fortitude for the challenges that lie ahead. This might manifest as investing in robust education, intentionally mentoring the next generation, or diligently developing our own spiritual and practical capacities. Just as David ensured the physical readiness of the tribe of Judah, we are spiritually called to cultivate a profound sense of preparedness, ensuring that we are "ready in season and out of season" to proclaim the Word and live out our faith (2 Timothy 4:2). We are to learn from the rich tapestry of the past, honor the legacies of those who have faithfully gone before us, and build wisely for the future, trusting implicitly that God sovereignly uses our diligence and faithfulness for His greater redemptive purposes.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the "Book of Jasher" and why is it mentioned here?
Answer: The "Book of Jasher" (Hebrew: Sefer HaYashar, meaning "Book of the Upright" or "Book of the Just One") was an ancient, non-canonical collection of national poems or historical records that was known and respected in ancient Israel. It is mentioned twice in the Old Testament: here in 2 Samuel 1:18 and also in Joshua 10:13, where it records the sun standing still for Joshua. Its mention in 2 Samuel 1:18 serves to authenticate David's directive to teach the use of the bow, indicating that this command was a significant event that was recorded in a publicly recognized historical document of the time. While not considered part of the inspired biblical canon, it was a source that biblical writers occasionally referred to for historical confirmation of events and traditions known to their audience.
Why did David command the teaching of the bow immediately after mourning Saul and Jonathan?
Answer: David's command, though seemingly an abrupt interruption to his profound lament, reveals his deep sense of leadership and unwavering responsibility. In the immediate aftermath of a devastating military defeat and the death of the king, Israel was left vulnerable and in a state of crisis. David, as the emerging leader destined to unite the nation, understood the critical and urgent need for military preparedness. Teaching the "children of Judah" (his own tribe, which would form the foundational core of his future kingdom) the use of the bow was a practical, strategic, and immediate move to ensure national security and resilience. Furthermore, it served as a poignant and enduring tribute to Jonathan, who was renowned for his exceptional archery skills, as highlighted in 2 Samuel 1:22. This command ensured that Jonathan's legacy was honored and perpetuated through the training of the next generation. It powerfully demonstrates David's remarkable ability to balance profound personal grief with the urgent practical and strategic needs of his people and the nation.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While 2 Samuel 1:18 speaks of David's practical and strategic leadership in equipping his people with essential military skills for earthly battles, it finds its ultimate and glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the perfect King, Leader, and Warrior. David, though a great and divinely appointed king, could only prepare his people for temporary earthly security and physical conflicts. Christ, however, equips His people for eternal victory and for the spiritual warfare that defines the Christian life. He is the ultimate Teacher, not of a physical bow, but of the spiritual armor and divine weapons necessary for navigating and triumphing in a fallen world (Ephesians 6:10-18). Just as David ensured the legacy of Jonathan's skill was passed on, Christ ensures the eternal legacy of His perfect sacrifice on the cross and His triumphant resurrection, empowering believers with His Holy Spirit to live victoriously over sin, death, and the powers of darkness. He is the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), the ultimate warrior who decisively conquers sin and death, providing true, lasting, and eternal security that far transcends any earthly military preparedness. Through His authoritative teaching, His perfect example, and the indwelling power of His Spirit, He trains our hands for spiritual battle, enabling us to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy and to live lives that profoundly reflect His righteousness, power, and glory (Psalm 144:1).