Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 1:11
Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that [were] with him:
11. on ] “On” used as we now use “of.” Cp. 1Sa 27:11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
2-12. a man came out of the campfrom SaulAs the narrative of Saul’s death, given in the lastchapter, is inspired, it must be considered the true account, and theAmalekite’s story a fiction of his own, invented to ingratiatehimself with David, the presumptive successor to the throne. David’squestion, “How went the matter?” evinces the deep interesthe took in the war, an interest that sprang from feelings of high andgenerous patriotism, not from views of ambition. The Amalekite,however, judging him to be actuated by a selfish principle,fabricated a story improbable and inconsistent, which he thoughtwould procure him a reward. Having probably witnessed the suicidalact of Saul, he thought of turning it to his own account, andsuffered the penalty of his grievously mistaken calculation (compare2Sa 1:9; 1Sa 31:4;1Sa 31:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When David took hold on his clothes,…. Not on the young man’s but his own:
and rent them; on bearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan, see
Ge 37:34; from whence the Jews l gather, that a man is bound to rend his clothes for a prince, and for the father of the sanhedrim, since Saul, they say, was the prince, and Jonathan the father of that court:
and likewise all the men that [were] with him; rent their clothes also, in imitation of him; the same custom obtained among the Gentiles on mournful occasions m.
l T. Bab. Moed. Katon, fol. 26. 1. m “—–it scissa veste Latinus”. Virgil. Aeneid. 12. prope finem.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 12 And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13 And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. 14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD‘s anointed? 15 And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. 16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD‘s anointed.
Here is, I. David’s reception of these tidings. So far was he from falling into a transport of joy, as the Amalekite expected, that he fell into a passion of weeping, rent his clothes (v. 11), mourned and fasted (v. 12), not only for his people Israel and Jonathan his friend but for Saul his enemy. This he did, not only as a man of honour, in observance of that decorum which forbids us to insult over those that are fallen, and requires us to attend our relations to the grave with respect, whatever we lost by their life or got by their death, but as a good man and a man of conscience, that had forgiven the injuries Saul had done him and bore him no malice. He knew it, before his son wrote it (Pro 24:17; Pro 24:18), that if we rejoice when our enemy falls the Lord sees it, and it displeases him; and that he who is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished, Prov. xvii. 5. By this it appears that those passages in David’s psalms which express his desire of, and triumph in, the ruin of his enemies, proceeded not from a spirit of revenge, nor any irregular passion, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God and the public good; for by what he did here, when he heard of Saul’s death, we may perceive that his natural temper was very tender, and that he was kindly affected even to those that hated him. He was very sincere, no question, in his mourning for Saul, and it was not pretended, or a copy of his countenance only. His passion was so strong, on this occasion, that it moved those about him; all that were with him, at least in complaisance to him, rent their clothes, and they fasted till even, in token of their sorrow; and probably it was a religious fast: they humbled themselves under the hand of God, and prayed for the repairing of the breaches made upon Israel by this defeat.
II. The reward he gave to him that brought him the tidings. Instead of preferring him, he put him to death, judged him out of his own mouth, as a murderer of his prince, and ordered him to be forthwith executed for the same. What a surprise was this to the messenger, who thought he should have favour shown him for his pains. In vain did he plead that he had Saul’s order for it, that it was a real kindness to him, that he must inevitably have died; all those pleas are overruled: “Thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed (v. 16), therefore thou must die.” Now,
1. David herein did not do unjustly. For, (1.) The man was an Amalekite. This, lest he should have mistaken it in his narrative, he made him own a second time, v. 13. That nation, and all that belonged to it, were doomed to destruction, so that, in slaying him, David did what his predecessor should have done and was rejected for not doing. (2.) He did himself confess the crime, so that the evidence was, by the consent of all laws, sufficient to convict him; for every man is presumed to make the best of himself. If he did as he said, he deserved to die for treason (v. 14), doing that which, it is probable, he heard Saul’s own armour-bearer refuse to do; if not, yet by boasting that he had done it he plainly showed that if there had been occasion he would have done it, and would have made nothing of it; and, by boasting of it to David, he showed what opinion he had of him, that he would rejoice in it, as one altogether like himself, which was an intolerable affront to him who had himself once and again refused to stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed. And his lying to David, if indeed it was a lie, was highly criminal, and proved, as sooner or later that sin will prove, lying against his own head.
2. He did honourably and well. Hereby he demonstrated the sincerity of his grief, discouraged all others from thinking by doing the like to ingratiate themselves with him, and did that which might probably oblige the house of Saul and win upon them, and recommend him to the people as one that was zealous for public justice, without regard to his own private interest. We may learn from it that to give assistance to any in murdering themselves, directly or indirectly, if done wittingly, incurs the guilt of blood, and that the lives of princes ought to be, in a special manner, precious to us.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Messenger Executed, vs. 11-16
The news of Saul’s and Jonathan’s death saddened David deeply, and to indicate it, he tore his clothes and wept. All his men, too, were upset, for they still loved their country and may have had friends and relatives in the battle. There was mourning, weeping, and fasting for Saul and Jonathan and for the many of Israel who had fallen in the battle. The sadness of the day reached into the land of Philistia, where most everyone rejoiced, but in Ziklag it was different.
After a while David turned from his grief to the messenger, again inquiring of his identity and learning that he was an Amalekite. David was in no mood for sympathy for the young Amalekite. Although he claimed to be a stranger (or alien) living in Israel he was of the ages long enemy of Israel. His nation was to have been destroyed by Saul (I Samuel, ch.. 15), failure to do which was one of the things which led to his rejection by the Lord. Furthermore David had just had a bad experience with the Amalekites, who had burned Ziklag and made away with David’s people. He had just returned from an exhausting rescue of them. It was not a good day for Amalekites.
David now charged this bearer of bad news with murder of the Lord’s anointed according to his own testimony. Without further ado David commanded one of his men to fall on the Amalekite and execute him for the deed. The death blow was dealt, and as he lay bleeding to death David charged him with having brought about his own death through his killing of Saul.
The story of the Amalekite, however, was fabricated by him to secure the favor of David. The actual particulars of Saul’s death are recorded by inspiration in First Samuel, chapter 31. Most likely the young Amalekite found the body of Saul lying on the battlefield after his suicide, took the crown and bracelet from it, and brought them to David expecting to receive a rich reward from the new king. His falsehood and greed brought his death.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
11. David took hold on his clothes, and rent them The sign of most bitter humiliation and grief. See references.
Likewise all the men David’s anguish was contagious, so that all his attendants caught the spirit of his sorrow, and wept with him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(11) Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: (12) And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
There can be no question but that this lamentation of David was real and sincere. And I take occasion here from to remark, and it is in my esteem a remark of no small importance, that what we meet with in David’s Psalms, where he many times expresses himself harshly against his enemies, (as particularly Psa 10 9th, which see) these expressions are to be considered, for the most part, as leveled against the enemies of God and of his church; and not the private foes of David. Very frequently he spake as under the Spirit of prophecy; and the Reader will do well upon all occasions of this sort, to make a proper distinction between the private feelings of the man, and the public Spirit of the Prophet. See Psa 139:19-22 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Sa 1:11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that [were] with him:
Ver. 11. Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them. ] Which manner was taken up at first by extremity of passion, without any regard to the decency of whole apparel, or damage by tearing them; and afterwards, by the example of some eminent persons, drawn into common practice. This David and his men did cordially, as there was cause, for the public; though for their own particular there was no such great reason.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
men. Hebrew. ‘enosh. App-14,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
rent: 2Sa 3:31, 2Sa 13:31, Gen 37:29, Gen 37:34, Act 14:14
likewise: Rom 12:15
Reciprocal: Gen 44:13 – General Est 4:1 – rent Psa 35:14 – I behaved Psa 59:10 – let Ecc 3:7 – time to rend Joe 2:13 – your garments