David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan

This is a lamentation, written by David, for Saul and Jonathan at the time of their death. Notice how David demonstrates a gracious, forgiving attitude in this lament, especially toward King Saul.  (David and Jonathan were always loyal toward each other.)

In this passage David was focused on the good aspects of Saul’s (and Jonathan’s) life.

Philippians 4:8 NLT
⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

2 Samuel 1:17-27 NLT
¹⁷ Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.
¹⁹ Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills!
Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
²⁰ Don’t announce the news in Gath,
don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice
and the pagans will laugh in triumph.
²¹ O mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain.
For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled;
the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.
²² The bow of Jonathan was powerful,
and the sword of Saul did its mighty work.
They shed the blood of their enemies
and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes.
²³ How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan!
They were together in life and in death.
They were swifter than eagles,
stronger than lions.
²⁴ O women of Israel, weep for Saul,
for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing,
in garments decorated with gold.
²⁵ Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies dead on the hills.
²⁶ How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan!
Oh, how much I loved you!
And your love for me was deep,
deeper than the love of women!
²⁷ Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

Examine the Scriptures

2 Samuel 1:17-27 NLT
David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan 

¹⁷ Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, 

A funeral song
A song
A sad song
A lamentation
A lament

• It was a common practice in the ancient Near East to compose laments for fallen leaders and/or heroes.

Scripture also records a lament written by David for Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief (3:33-34)

and one written for his son Absalom (18:33).

In spite of frequently being treated badly by Saul, David chose to remember Saul in a positive light in this lament. 

¹⁸ and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah.

• All of Israel was expected to learn this funeral song (this lamentation). 

It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar. 

Jonathan’s bow is mentioned in verse 22.

The Book of Jashar is thought to have been a collection of poetry, probably odes and psalms in praise of Israel’s heroes and exploits. It vanished during the Babylonian captivity. (International Dictionary of the Bible).

Joshua 10:13 also refers to this book.

Joshua 10:13 NLT
¹³ So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.
Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.

The Book of Jashar is not now and never has been a part of the Bible, but it does contain portions of scripture such as the Song of the Bow.

• The Book of Jashar is an account of Israel’s wars as well as other events that took place during the early history of the Hebrews (perhaps written in poetic form). 

¹⁹ Your pride and joy,

Referring to Saul and Jonathan who, up to this time, had experienced many military victories over Israel’s enemies.

David’s description focused more on Saul’s royal position than on his personal characteristics. 

O Israel, lies dead on the hills!

Note: Some translations say “A gazelle lies slain” but most translations do not use this phrase. (Gazelle is a symbol of youthful elegance and symmetry.)

This refers to Saul and Jonathan being killed in battle. 

 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!

Israel’s mighty heroes have fallen.

David’s focus is on the good qualities and achievements of Saul and Jonathan. 

²⁰ Don’t announce the news in Gath,
don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,

Gath and Ashkelon are Philistine cities.

Gath in the East and Ashkelon in the West represent the Philistine territory.

or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice 

• In ancient war culture, young women sometimes celebrated victories in song.

1 Samuel 18:6-7 NLT
⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. ⁷ This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!”

Exodus 15:20-21 NLT
²⁰ Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. ²¹ And Miriam sang this song:
“Sing to the Lord,
for he has triumphed gloriously;
he has hurled both horse and rider
into the sea.”

and the pagans will laugh in triumph.

• David does not want the Philistines to rejoice over Saul’s death.

David did not want the Philistines to glorify their false god, Dagon, while mocking Israel’s God, Yahweh. 

²¹ O mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain.

Rain is considered to be a blessing from God to make for a good harvest of grain.

Isaiah 30:23 NLT
²³ Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.

David does not want this blessing to take place where Saul and Jonathan were killed.

• David evoked a cure on the place of Saul and Jonathan’s death. 

For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled;
the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.

The shield of Saul symbolizes his military exploits as king.

Leather shields were treated with oil to keep them in good condition.  A properly oiled shield was more effective than a “dry” shield.  Since Saul was dead he will no longer be oiling his shield.

A dried out shield was a symbol of defeat and death. 

²² The bow of Jonathan was powerful,
and the sword of Saul did its mighty work.
They shed the blood of their enemies
and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes.

The bow was used by Jonathan and the sword was used by Saul.  Both men used their weapon with power, accuracy, and effectiveness.

These two soldiers killed many of Israel’s enemies.

• Saul and Jonathan were both military heroes, but neither to the degree that David was.

1 Samuel 18:6-7 NLT
⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. ⁷ This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands!” 

²³ How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan!

David demonstrated a gracious, forgiving attitude by including Saul in this comment.    

• David demonstrated a gracious, forgiving attitude in his lament. 

They were together in life and in death.

Father and son died together in battle.

Jonathan was loyal to his father, the Lord’s anointed king, and the nation of Israel in spite of the way his father treated both him and David. 

They were swifter than eagles,
   stronger than lions. 

Again, David focuses on the good qualities of Saul and Jonathan.

• David focused on the good qualities of Saul and Jonathan. 

²⁴ O women of Israel, weep for Saul,
for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing,
in garments decorated with gold.

David credited Saul for bringing luxury and bounty to Israel.

• Saul’s reign had been good for Israel economically. 

²⁵ Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies dead on the hills.

Now the focus is on Jonathan alone.

²⁶ How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan!
Oh, how much I loved you!
And your love for me was deep,
deeper than the love of women!

Jonathan had always been loyal to David.

Jonathan’s loyalty and friendship to David involved personal risk and sacrifice.

• The commitment shared between David and Jonathan was a noble, loyal, and selfless devotion. 

²⁷ Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!
Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

• David had a remarkable respect for the King and a deep love for Jonathan.

David expressed genuine sorrow over the deaths of Jonathan and Saul.

In this passage David was focused on the good aspects of Saul’s (and Jonathan’s) life.

Philippians 4:8 NLT
⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.