2 Samuel 21:12

12 he went and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen the bones from the public square in Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.

2 Samuel 21:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 21:12

And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of
Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabeshgilead
Which, according to Bunting ^F20, was fifty two miles from Jerusalem; though perhaps David did not go thither in person to fetch them, but by his messengers, see ( 2 Samuel 21:14 ) ;

which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the
Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in
Gilboa;
the history of all which see in ( 1 Samuel 31:8-13 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Travels p. 122, 143.

2 Samuel 21:12 In-Context

10 Aiah's daughter Rizpah took funeral clothing and spread it out by herself on a rock. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until the rains poured down on the bodies from the sky, and she wouldn't let any birds of prey land on the bodies during the day or let wild animals come at nighttime.

11 When David was told what Aiah's daughter Rizpah, Saul's secondary wife, had done,

12 he went and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen the bones from the public square in Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa.

13 David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there and collected the bones of the men who had been hanged by the Gibeonites.

14 The bones of Saul and his son Jonathan were then buried in Zela, in Benjaminite territory, in the tomb of Saul's father Kish. Once everything the king had commanded was done, God responded to prayers for the land.