2 Samuel 1:9

9 Then he said to me, Come here to my side, and put me to death, for the pain of death has me in its grip but my life is still strong in me.

2 Samuel 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:9

And he said unto me again, stand, I pray thee, upon me, and
slay me
Which it can hardly be thought Saul would say; since he might as well have died by the hands of the uncircumcised Philistines, which he endeavoured to avoid, as by the hands of an Amalekite:

for anguish is come upon me;
or trembling, as the Targum, not through fear of death, but through fear of falling into the hands of the Philistines, and of being ill used by them. Some render the words, "my embroidered coat", or "breastplate", or "coat of mail", holds me F7, or hinders me from being pierced through with the sword or spear; so Ben Gersom F8:

because my life [is] yet whole in me:
for though he had been wounded by the archers, yet he did not apprehend he had received any mortal wound, but his life was whole in him; and therefore feared he should fall into their hands alive, and be ill treated by them.


FOOTNOTES:

F7 (Ubyh) "tunica scutulata", Braunius; "ocellata chlamys", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "thorax villosus seu pelliceus", Texelii Phoenix, p. 210.
F8 Vid. Braunium de Vest. Sacredot. Heb. l. 1. c. 17. sect. 9.

2 Samuel 1:9 In-Context

7 And looking back, he saw me and gave a cry to me. And answering him I said, Here am I.
8 And he said to me, Who are you? And I said, I am an Amalekite.
9 Then he said to me, Come here to my side, and put me to death, for the pain of death has me in its grip but my life is still strong in me.
10 So I put my foot on him and gave him his death-blow, because I was certain that he would not go on living after his fall: and I took the crown from his head and the band from his arm, and I have them here for my lord.
11 Then David gave way to bitter grief, and so did all the men who were with him:
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