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2 Samuel 1

2 Samuel 1:5

Saul’s Death Reported to David · 2 Samuel 1:1–16
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Translations

Modern
Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
Traditional
And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?
Literal
And David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”
Latin
Dixitque David ad adolescentem qui nuntiabat ei: Unde scis quia mortuus est Saul, et Jonathas filius ejus?

Original

Hebrew
English
Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

Notes

2 Samuel 1:1–16

An unnamed Amalekite went to David, claiming that he had killed Saul. This claim was false. Saul had taken his own life(1 Samuel 31:4–6).

The Amalekite may have hoped that David would reward him for clearing the way for David to become king. Instead, David ordered him to be killed for harming the Lord’s anointed (the person God had chosen).

2 Samuel 1:1–27

The forty years of Saul’s reign ended in tragedy. The Philistines struck a devastating blow against his people. They killed Saul’s sons and later mutilated Saul’s body after he took his own life (1 Samuel 31). After these tragic events, the story begins to focus on David and his rise as a leader.

Parallels

1 Samuel 31:1–6 1 Chronicles 10:1–6

People

David: Anointed king of Israel, ancestor of Jesus Christ Jonathan: Eldest son of King Saul and friend of David Saul: First king of Israel, anointed by Samuel

Glossary

Baanah David Samuel, Books of First and Second

Topics

David: King of Israel: Kills the Murderer of Saul