2 Samuel 1:8

8 And he said to me, "Who are you?' I answered him, "I am an Amalekite.'

2 Samuel 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:8

And he said unto me, who [art] thou?
&c.] Being willing to know whether a friend or an enemy, which by his coming behind him he could not tell:

and I answered him, I [am] an Amalekite:
which he might be; but it is not likely he should tell Saul he was, which would not recommend him to him; though indeed he was now in such circumstances, that the Amalekites had nothing to fear from him; and if he was slain by him, as Josephus ^F6 affirms he was, it seems to be a just retaliation on him for sparing any of that race, contrary to the will of God.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. sect. 7.

2 Samuel 1:8 In-Context

6 The young man reporting to him said, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him.

7 When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, "Here sir.'

8 And he said to me, "Who are you?' I answered him, "I am an Amalekite.'

9 He said to me, "Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.'

10 So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."