2 Samuel 1:11

11 Then David took hold of his clothes, and rent them; and so did all the men who were with him;

2 Samuel 1:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:11

When David took hold on his clothes
Not on the young man's but his own:

and rent them;
on bearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan, see ( Genesis 37:34 ) ; from whence the Jews ^F12 gather, that a man is bound to rend his clothes for a prince, and for the father of the sanhedrim, since Saul, they say, was the prince, and Jonathan the father of that court:

and likewise all the men that [were] with him;
rent their clothes also, in imitation of him; the same custom obtained among the Gentiles on mournful occasions ^F13.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 T. Bab. Moed. Katon, fol. 26. 1.
F13 "-----it scissa veste Latinus". Virgil. Aeneid. 12. prope finem.

2 Samuel 1:11 In-Context

9 And he said to me, 'Stand beside me and slay me; for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.'

10 So I stood beside him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen; and I took the crown which was on his head and the armlet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."

11 Then David took hold of his clothes, and rent them; and so did all the men who were with him;

12 and they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

13 And David said to the young man who told him, "Where do you come from?" And he answered, "I am the son of a sojourner, an Amal'ekite."