1 Samuel 31:13

13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

1 Samuel 31:13 in Other Translations

13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

13 Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

13 They then buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted in mourning for seven days.

13 Afterwards, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

1 Samuel 31:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 31:13

And they took their bones, and buried [them] under a tree at
Jabesh
For though they burned the bodies, yet so as to preserve the bones; and these, together with the ashes of the parts burnt, they gathered up, and buried under a tree near this city; this tree is said to be an oak, ( 1 Chronicles 10:12 ) ; so Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, was buried under an oak, ( Genesis 35:8 ) . The Jews generally interred their dead under some oak, as aforementioned writer observes ^F17; pleased perchance with the parallel, as he expresses it, that as these plants, seemingly dead in winter, have every spring an annual resurrection, so men's dry bones shall have new sap put into them at the day of judgment:

and fasted seven days;
not that they ate and drank nothing all that time, but they fasted every day till evening, as the Jews used to do; so long it seems a man may live without eating, but not longer; (See Gill on Exodus 24:18) and (See Gill on 1 Kings 19:8); this they did, as Kimchi thinks, in memory of the seven days Nahash the Ammonite gave them for their relief, in which time Saul came and saved them, ( 1 Samuel 11:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Pisgah-Sight of Palestine b. 2. ch. 2. p. 82.

1 Samuel 31:13 In-Context

11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them.

13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Samuel 21:12-14
• 2. S Genesis 21:33; 1 Samuel 22:6
• 3. 2 Samuel 3:35; 2 Samuel 12:19-23; 2 Samuel 1:12
• 4. S Genesis 50:10