1 Samuel 31:13

And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
took	וַיִּקְחוּ֙ vai.yik.Chu	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
bones	עַצְמֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם 'atz.Mo.tei.Hem	H6106	a bone (as strong) · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
buried	וַיִּקְבְּר֥וּ vai.yik.be.Ru	H6912	to inter · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
tree	הָאֶ֖שֶׁל ha.'E.shel	H815	a tamarisk tree · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Jabesh	בְּיָבֵ֑שָׁה be.ya.Ve.shah	H3003	Jobesh · preposition + proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
fasted	וַיָּצֻ֖מוּ vai.ya.Tzu.mu	H6684	to cover over (the mouth) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
seven	שִׁבְעַ֥ת shiv.'At	H7651	seven (as the sacred full one) · noun, common both genders singular construct
days	יָמִֽים ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he m…
2 Samuel 21:12-14 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the st…
1 Samuel 22:6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear…
2 Samuel 1:12 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…
Genesis 35:8 But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth.
2 Samuel 2:4-5 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-g…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 31:8–end

The scripture makes no mention of the souls of Saul and his sons, what became of them after they were dead (secret things belong not to us), but of their bodies only. I. How they were basely abused by the Philistines. The day after the battle, when they had recovered their fatigue, they came to strip the slain, and, among the rest, found the bodies of Saul and his three sons, Sa1 31:8. Saul's armour-bearer perhaps intended to honour his master by following the example of his self-murder, and to show thereby how well he loved him; but, if he had consulted his reason more than his passions, he would have spared that foolish compliment, not only in justice to his own life, but in kindness to hi…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 31:12

valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons--Considering that Beth-shan is an hour and a half's distance, and by a narrow upland passage, to the west of the Jordan (the whole being a journey from Jabesh-gilead of about ten miles), they must have made all haste to travel thither to carry off the headless bodies and return to their own side of the Jordan in the course of a single night. burnt them--This was not a Hebrew custom. It was probably resorted to on this occasion to prevent all risk of the Beth-shanites coming to disinter the royal remains for further insult. Next: (2 Samuel) Introduction

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 31:13

And fasted seven days - To testify their sincere regret for his unfortunate death, and the public calamity that had fallen upon the land. Thus ends the troublesome, and I had almost said the useless, reign of Saul. A king was chosen in opposition to the will of the Most High; and the government of God in effect rejected, to make way for this king. Saul was at first a very humble young man, and conducted himself with great propriety; but his elevation made him proud, and he soon became tyrannical in his private conduct and in his political measures. His natural temper was not good; he was peevish, fretful, and often outrageous; and these bad dispositions, unchecked by proper application to t…

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The Church Fathers

And they fasted for seven days. Literally and rightly for the dead, so that they may reach rest, it is fasted for seven days, which after the six ages of this world, in which we labor in the flesh, the seventh is in that world the age of rest for the souls freed from the flesh, in which the blessed await that glorious time when they may deserve to rise. The figure of this rest and resurrection, and the seventh day in the law, and the seventh or fiftieth year, in which rest of works was given, typologically foretold. The Lord showed the same example of our hope and dispensation of faith, who was crucified on the sixth day of the week, rested on the seventh in the tomb with His body, and on the eighth which is the first day of the week, rose from the dead. But in part of the allegory, regarding the blindness of the Jews who thus far observe the Sabbath carnally, his faithful fellow citizens and kinsmen rightfully retain sorrow and continuous grief in their hearts, as if they are fasting for seven days; because while their brothers and kin are still established in error, they can in no way have full joy. But when they too have fully understood the mystery of the eighth day, that is, of the Lord's and their own resurrection, both together, aided by the grace of Christ, will rejoice in perpetual festivity.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Burial — The first burial we have an account of is that of Sarah (Gen. 23). The first commercial transaction recorded is that of the purchase of a burial-place, for which Abraham weighed to Ephron “four…
Dagon’s house — (1 Sam. 5:2), or Beth-dagon, as elsewhere rendered (Josh. 15: 41; 19:27), was the sanctuary or temple of Dagon. The Beth-dagon of Josh. 15:41 was one of the cities of the tribe of Judah, in the…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Fast — The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called “the fast” (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old…
Jabesh-Gilead — A town on the east of Jordan, on the top of one of the green hills of Gilead, within the limits of the half tribe of Manasseh, and in full view of Beth-shan. It is first mentioned in connection with…
Jonathan — Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are, (1.) A Levite descended from Gershom (Judg. 18:30). His history is recorded in 17:7-13…
Mourn — Frequent references are found in Scripture to, (1.) Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Gen. 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron…
Mourning — One marked feature of Oriental mourning is what may be called its studies publicity and the careful observance of the prescribed ceremonies. (Genesis 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:12)
Saul — Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first…
Tamarisk — Heb. ‘eshel (Gen. 21:33; 1 Sam. 22:6; 31:13, in the R.V.; but in A.V., “grove,” “tree”); Arab. asal. Seven species of this tree are found in Palestine. It is a “very graceful tree, with long feathery…

1 Samuel 31:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 31:8–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 31:12

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 31:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 31:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 31:8–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 31:12

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 31:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Samuel 31:13

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 31:11–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 31:13

Rashi on 1 Samuel 31:12