2 Samuel 1:13

13 And David said to the young man, that told to him, Of whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a man comeling, of a man of Amalek. (And David said to the young man, who told him the news, Where art thou from? And he answered, I am the son of a newcomer, or of a foreigner, I am an Amalekite.)

2 Samuel 1:13 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:13

And David said unto the young man that told him, whence [art]
thou?
&c.] From what place, or of what people and nation art thou? though Abarbinel thinks it neither respects place nor people, but that David thought he was another man's servant; so that the sense of the question is, to what man did he belong?

and he answered, I [am] the son of a stranger, an Amalekite;
he was not any man's servant, but the son of a proselyte, of one that was by birth and nation an Amalekite, but proselyted to the Jewish religion; he might know of what nation he originally was, by the account he had given of what passed between him and Saul, ( 2 Samuel 1:8 ) ; though the mind of David might so disturbed as not to advert to it; or if he did, he might be willing to have it repeated for confirmation's sake.

2 Samuel 1:13 In-Context

11 Forsooth David took and rent his clothes, and (likewise) [all] the men that were with him;
12 and they wailed, and wept, and fasted till to eventide, on Saul, and Jonathan, his son, and on the people of the Lord, and on the house of Israel, for they had felled by sword. (and they wailed, 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, that told to him, Of whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a man comeling, of a man of Amalek. (And David said to the young man, who told him the news, Where art thou from? And he answered, I am the son of a newcomer, or of a foreigner, I am an Amalekite.)
14 And David said to him, Why dreadest thou not to send thine hand, that thou shouldest slay the christ of the Lord? (And David said to him, Why fearest thou not, to put forth thy hand to kill the Lord's anointed?)
15 And David called one of his young men, and said, Go thou, and fall on him. And he smote that young man, and he was dead (And he struck that young man, and he died).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.