2 Samuel 1:2

2 Three days later a man showed up unannounced from Saul's army camp.

2 Samuel 1:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:2

It came to pass on the third day
After the battle was fought, in which Saul was slain:

that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul;
that is, from them who were in the camp with Saul, for he was dead. Some say ^F4 this was Doeg the Edomite, which is not likely that he should come with such tidings to David; besides, if he was Saul's armourbearer, as others say, see ( 1 Samuel 31:4 ) ; he died with Saul; nor his son, as others ^F5, which is not at all probable, though his being an Edomite is no objection, since the Amalekites were of the race of Edom:

with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head:
in token of mourning, and was the bringer of bad tidings, see ( 1 Samuel 4:12 ) ;

and [so] it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and
did obeisance;
as being the rising sun, Saul's successor, and now king.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Pesikta in Jarchi in loc.
F5 Tanchuma in Yalkut in loc. Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 lib. Reg. fol. 77. C.

2 Samuel 1:2 In-Context

1 Shortly after Saul died, David returned to Ziklag from his rout of the Amalekites.

2 Three days later a man showed up unannounced from Saul's army camp.

3 David asked, "What brings you here?" He answered, "I've just escaped from the camp of Israel."

4 "So what happened?" said David. "What's the news?" He said, "The Israelites have fled the battlefield, leaving a lot of their dead comrades behind. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."

5 David pressed the young soldier for details: "How do you know for sure that Saul and Jonathan are dead?"