2 Samuel 1:4

And David said unto him, how went the matter? I pray thee, tell me,.... That is, how went the battle? on which side the victory? and he answered, that the people are fled from the battle; meaning the people of Israel, they had given way, and turned their backs upon their enemies, and were fled: and many of the people also are fallen and dead; fell by the sword in the pursuit of them, and were not only wounded, but were slain, and these great numbers of them: and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also; which are mentioned last, because they fell some of the last; and this part of the account is reserved by the messenger to the last, because it was the article of the greatest importance; the death of these two persons, the one the enemy, and the other the friend of David, and the death of both made way for his accession to the throne.

4 . How went the matter? ] Lit. What was the affair? the same phrase as that used by Eli in 1 Samuel 4:16 . The form of the Amalekite’s answer also closely corresponds to that of the man of Benjamin there. The rout, the slaughter among the people, the death of the leaders, are mentioned in an ascending climax. many of the people ] No contradiction to 1 Samuel 31:6 , where “ all his men” refers to Saul’s immediate body-guard. 2 Samuel 1:4

2-12. a man came out of the camp from Saul—As the narrative of Saul's death, given in the last chapter, is inspired, it must be considered the true account, and the Amalekite's story a fiction of his own, invented to ingratiate himself with David, the presumptive successor to the throne. David's question, "How went the matter?" evinces the deep interest he took in the war, an interest that sprang from feelings of high and generous 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 thought would procure him a reward. Having probably witnessed the suicidal act of Saul, he thought of turning it to his own account, and suffered the penalty of his grievously mistaken calculation (compare 2Sa 1:9 with 1Sa 31:4, 5).

David's inquiry, "How did the thing happen?" refers to the statement made by the messenger, that he had escaped from the army of Israel. In the answer, אשׁר serves, like כּי in other passages, merely to introduce the words that follow, like our namely (vid., Ewald, 338, b.). "The people fled from the fight; and not only have many of the people fallen, but Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead." וגם ... וגם: not only ... but also.

[Bible] David mourneth for the death of Saul and Jonathan: he ordereth the man to be slain who pretended he had killed Saul. 1:1. Now it came to pass, after Saul was dead, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalecites, and abode two days in Siceleg. 1:2. And on the third day, there appeared a man who came out of Saul's camp, with his garments rent, and dust strewed on his head: and when he came to David, he fell upon his face, and adored. 1:3. And David said to him: From whence comest thou? And he said to him: I am fled out of the camp of Israel. 1:4. And David said unto him: What is the matter that is come to pass? tell me: He said: The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people are fallen and dead: moreover Saul and Jonathan his son are slain. 1:5. And David said to the young man that told him: How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son, are dead? 1:6. And the young man that told him, said: I came by chance upon mount Gelboe, and Saul leaned upon his spear: and the chariots and horsemen drew nigh unto him, 1:7. And looking behind him, and seeing me, he called me. And I answered, Here am I. 1:8. And he said to me: Who art thou? And I said to him: I am an Amalecite. 1:9. And he said to me: Stand over me, and kill me: for anguish is come upon me, and as yet my whole life is in me. 1:10. So standing over him, I killed him: for I knew that he could not live after the fall: and I took the diadem that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to thee, my lord. I killed him... This story of the young Amalecite was not true, as may easily be proved by comparing it with the last chapter of the foregoing book. 1:11. Then David took hold of his garments and rent them, and likewise all the men that were with him. 1:12. And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening 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.

In the third, his restoration to the Divine favor, the re-establishment of his kingdom, and the events which signalized the latter part of his reign, 2 Samuel 19-24. An Amalekite comes to David, and informs him that the Philistines had routed the Israelites; and that Saul and his sons were slain, 2 Samuel 1:1-4. And pretends that he himself had despatched Saul, finding him ready to fall alive into the hands of the Philistines, and had brought his crown and bracelets to David, 2 Samuel 1:5-10. David and his men mourn for Saul and his sons, 2 Samuel 1:11, 2 Samuel 1:12. He orders the Amalekite, who professed that he had killed Saul, to be slain, 2 Samuel 1:13-16. David's funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, 2 Samuel 1:17-27. 2SAMUEL 1: 2 on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and showed respect.

Verse 3. - The archers hit him . The literal translation would be, the shooters , men with the bow , found him. The context makes it plain that the meaning is that the arrows of the pursuers rather than the pursuers themselves "found" him, and these made him argue all the rest. To this our Authorized Version has jumped by the one word "hit" him. It is evident from ver. 8 that the Philistines did not find the body of Saul to recognize it till next day. And he was wounded of the archers . The radical meaning of the verb ( חוּל ) is rather "to twist" ( torquere ) or "be twisted," "writhe" ( torqueri ). And the meaning here is in harmony with it, that Saul trembled from fear or writhed with the pain already inflicted of the arrows. Hence the parallel passage couples with this same verb, the adverb מְאֹך . 1 Chronicles 10:3

2 Samuel Chapter 1 And it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David abode two days in Ziklag. And it came to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his garments rent, and earth upon his head; and as soon as he came to David, he fell to the earth and did obeisance. And David said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said to him, What has taken place? I pray thee, tell me. And he said that the people had fled from the battle, and many of the people also had fallen and died, and that Saul and Jonathan his son were dead also. And David said to the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? And the young man that told him said, I happened by chance to be upon mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul leaned on his spear; and behold, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And he looked behind him, and saw me, and called to me. And I said, Here am I. And he said to me, Who art thou? And I said to him, I am an Amalekite. He said to me again, Stand, I pray thee, over me, and slay me; for anguish has seized me; for my life is yet whole in me. So I stood over him, and put him to death, for I knew that he would not live after his fall; and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to my lord.