2 Samuel 1:13

13 David said to the young man who had told him, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I'm the son of a [resident] foreigner, an 'Amaleki."

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 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and likewise all the men who were with him.
12 They wailed and cried, and they fasted until evening for Sha'ul, for Y'honatan his son, for ADONAI's people and for the house of Isra'el; because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who had told him, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I'm the son of a [resident] foreigner, an 'Amaleki."
14 David asked him, "How is it that you weren't afraid to raise your hand to destroy ADONAI's anointed?"
15 David called one of his young men and said, "Go over to him, and kill him." The man struck him down, and he died.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.