Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
David avenges the death of Saul by killing the messenger who claimed to have slain him; then, at verse 17, with all Israel he mourns his death with a solemn procession and funeral song.
Vulgate Text: 2 Kings 1:1-27
1. Now it came to pass, after Saul was dead, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and remained in Ziklag two days. 2. And on the third day, there appeared a man coming from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dust upon his head; and when he came to David, he fell upon his face and bowed down. 3. And David said to him: Where do you come from? He said to him: I have fled from the camp of Israel. 4. And David said to him: What is the news? Tell me. He said: The people fled from the battle, and many of the people have fallen and are dead; moreover, Saul and Jonathan his son have perished. 5. And David said to the young man who brought him the news: How do you know that Saul is dead, and Jonathan his son? 6. And the young man who brought him the news said: By chance I came to Mount Gilboa, and Saul was leaning upon his spear; and the chariots and horsemen were pressing close upon him, 7. and turning behind him, he saw me and called. When I had answered: Here I am, 8. he said to me: Who are you? And I said to him: I am an Amalekite. 9. And he said to me: Stand over me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my whole life is still in me. 10. So standing over him, I killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his fall; and I took the diadem that was on his head, and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my lord. 11. Then David took hold of his garments and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him; 12. and they mourned, 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 who had brought him the news: Where are you from? He answered: I am the son of an Amalekite sojourner. 14. And David said to him: Why were you not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 15. And David called one of his servants and said: Go, strike him down. And he struck him, and he died. 16. And David said to him: Your blood be upon your own head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying: I killed the Lord's anointed. 17. Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son (18. and he commanded that the children of Judah be taught the bow, as it is written in the Book of the Just). And he said: Consider, O Israel, for those who have died upon your heights, wounded. 19. The glorious ones of Israel have been slain upon your mountains: how have the mighty fallen? 20. Tell it not in Gath, nor announce it in the streets of Ashkelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. 21. O mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain come upon you, nor let there be fields of first fruits; for there the shield of the mighty was cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. 22. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the arrow of Jonathan never turned back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and graceful in their life, in death also they were not divided; swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. 24. O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with delights, who gave golden ornaments for your adornment. 25. How have the mighty fallen in battle? Jonathan, slain on your heights? 26. I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan, exceedingly beautiful, and lovable beyond the love of women. As a mother loves her only son, so I loved you. 27. How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished?
Verse 2: A Man Coming from Saul's Camp
2. AND ON THE THIRD DAY THERE APPEARED A MAN COMING FROM THE CAMP OF SAUL. — The Rabbis fabricate that this man announcing the death of Saul to David was the son of Doeg the Edomite, just as they pretend that Doeg was the armor-bearer of Saul who killed himself with him, as I said in book I, chapter 31, verse 4.
Verse 8: I Am an Amalekite
8. I AM AN AMALEKITE. — Philo, or rather Pseudo-Philo, in the Biblical Antiquities, says this Amalekite's name was Edab, and that he was the son of Agag, king of the Amalekites, whom Samuel had killed; and that Saul, hearing that this man was an Amalekite, the son of Agag, said: "Behold, now the words of Samuel have come upon me, when he said: 'He who shall be born of Agag will be a stumbling block to you; go, however, and tell David: I killed your enemy; and you shall say to him: Thus says Saul, do not be mindful of my hatred and my injustice.'"
Verse 9: Stand Over Me and Kill Me
9. STAND OVER ME, AND KILL ME — that is, lean the sword over me and thrust it into me, and so kill me. Josephus, book VII, chapters 1 and 2, thinks this young man was telling the truth, as though Saul, from fear and weakness, unable to kill himself with his own sword, had called this young man, who killed him. So also R. Levi. But we should rather believe Sacred Scripture than this young man, who is flattering David, since in book I, chapter 31, verses 2 and 31, it expressly states that Saul killed himself. Therefore this young man lies, saying he killed Saul, in order to curry the favor of David by claiming to have slain his enemy Saul, as say Theodoret, Eucherius, Procopius, Angelomus, Lyranus, Abulensis, Serarius, Torniellus, Salianus, and others. Yet truly he did bring Saul's diadem to David, because after the battle was fought and Saul was slain, he came voluntarily or by chance to Mount Gilboa and there removed the diadem from Saul, as say Abulensis and Cajetan.
FOR ANGUISH HAS SEIZED ME. — The Chaldean has: trembling; the Septuagint: darkness; the Hebrew is שבץ scabats, that is, confinement, constriction, anguish, both of the heart and of the enemies who surround me on every side. Moreover, scabats also signifies a spotted garment, as if enclosed and confined with little eyes, such as the chain mail of soldiers and the Ephod of the high priest, and so the Rabbis take it here, but variously. First, R. Levi explains it of Saul's chain mail, as if Saul were saying: Kill me, because I cannot run myself through on account of the chain mail that covers me. Second, others explain it of the enemies' armor, as if saying: The armored horsemen of the enemy surround and constrict me; hence the Zurich Bible translates: a crown, namely of horsemen, has seized me. Third, others in the Midrash explain it of the priestly Ephod, as if saying: The priests and the high priest Ahimelech, whom I unjustly killed in chapter XXII, hold and terrify me: they exact punishment from me, as though Saul, from consciousness of his crime, recognized that he was being driven to death on account of the slain priests. Abulensis adds, Question V, that Saul saw the shades and specters of the priests clothed in priestly garments, which terrified him; but more plainly our Translator renders scabats as anguish; whence the Chaldean and Septuagint agree with him. Hence also Vatablus translates: trembling, or trepidation, has seized me.
AND YET MY WHOLE LIFE IS STILL IN ME — that is, although I have been severely wounded by archers, as was said in chapter 31, verse 3, yet I am still fully alive, and I fear lest I fall alive into the hands of the enemy, and they torment and kill me shamefully; therefore quickly run me through and kill me. He alludes to the manner of the dying: for they expire gradually, part by part. First the soul withdraws from the eyes, so that they do not see; then from the ears, so that they do not hear, and so it gradually withdraws from the other parts, until it abandons the heart itself; once this happens, the person fully dies. Hence Aristotle says: "The heart in man is the first to live, and the last to die." Conversely, the eyes are the last to come alive and the first to die: for in the embryo, the eyes are formed last. Hence Seneca, epistle 30: "The aged soul," he says, "is on the very edge of the lips, and is not torn from the body with great force." For, as St. Ambrose says: "Death stands before the doors of the old, but lies in ambush for the young."
Verse 14: To Destroy the Lord's Anointed
14. TO DESTROY THE LORD'S ANOINTED — namely Saul, who had been anointed by the Lord through Samuel with chrism, that is with oil, as king of Israel, and therefore was as it were sacred and inviolable.
Verse 16: Your Blood Be upon Your Own Head
16. YOUR BLOOD BE UPON YOUR OWN HEAD — that is, impute the shedding of your blood to yourself and your own head, because you confessed to having killed King Saul: for it is fitting that you atone for the blood of Saul, which you shed, with your own blood and death. For this is the law of retaliation sanctioned by God. You may object: No injury is done to the willing; but Saul wanted and asked to be killed. I respond: first, Saul could not validly will this, nor could he renounce his right in this matter; second, even if, strictly speaking, no injury were done to Saul who wished to be killed, injury was nevertheless done to God, who was the lord of Saul's life, and to the commonwealth of which Saul was the head. So says St. Thomas, III part, Question XLVII, article 6, ad 3.
One may ask whether David lawfully ordered this Amalekite to be killed, since he was not yet king, nor had royal authority. I answer affirmatively. For he had this power, because he knew that after Saul's death the kingdom belonged to him by God's disposition. For he had been anointed king by Samuel to this end, that he might succeed Saul — rejected by God, whether still living, as some hold, or rather dying — in the kingdom. So say Abulensis, Cajetan, Serarius, and others. Add that David had been commissioned by Saul as a military leader, to fight against the enemies of Israel and to kill them: and this Amalekite was an enemy, because he confessed to having killed the king of Israel. Finally, God had commanded that all Amalekites be killed, as we heard in chapter 15; and the accused man himself acknowledged David as king and judge, inasmuch as he had brought to him the diadem, the insignia of royal dignity.
Verse 18: Teaching the Children of Judah the Bow
18. AND HE COMMANDED THAT THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH BE TAUGHT THE BOW. — The Chaldean has: to shoot the bow. Hence Bede, Lyranus, Abulensis, Vatablus, Salianus, and others explain it thus: He commanded that the children of Judah be taught the military art, that is, the art of archery, because the use of arrows was then very common; and the tribe of Judah at this time needed to be the defense of the whole people against the victorious Philistines, as if saying: He exhorted them not to lose heart in adversity, but to prepare themselves for future wars, lest, just as they had now been defeated by the Philistines in the art of archery — since Saul himself had been wounded by them, and the whole army routed and put to flight — so it would happen in the future.
But more aptly, with Serarius, Sanchez, and Mariana, by "bow" one should understand the lamentation itself, or the dirge and funeral song of David; for its title was "the bow," because in it the bow and warlike strength of Saul and Jonathan were praised. In like manner, the Psalms have their titles by which they are named. So among the Greeks a certain Ode was called Harmodius, because it celebrated the heroic deeds of Harmodius. Other Odes were called Daphnis and Niobe, because they praise them. Others are called "flute" and "shield," in Theocritus; so the psalms and hymns customarily sung in the Church we commonly call: Te Deum laudamus, Magnificat, Benedictus, De profundis, Miserere, from their beginning and title or subject. That this is so is clear, first, because otherwise there is no connection here; for what would a bow have to do with David's lamentation? Second, because in the Septuagint it says David composed not simply a dirge, but this dirge, or as our Translator puts it, of this kind; then in the same text there is no other word that corresponds to "bow" except dirge. Moreover, it is added that David said this so as to teach the children of Judah; teach them what? Namely, the dirge itself, which alone they named. Third, Josephus reports that the Jews learned these dirges so diligently that they preserved them even to his own times. Fourth, because in a similar way Jeremiah, when the destruction of Jerusalem was imminent, commands that they teach their children a dirge and the manner of mourning: "Teach," he says in chapter IX, verse 20, "your daughters lamentation, and each one her neighbor a dirge." Such are the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Fifth, because it was customary to teach and learn such songs, as is clear from Deuteronomy chapter XVII, and II Chronicles 35:25, where it is said that Jeremiah composed dirges on the death of King Josiah: "Whose death," it says, "all the singers and songstresses to the present day repeat in lamentation over Josiah."
Tropologically, St. Jerome, and from him Rupert, says: David said this so that the Lord might teach the children of Judah the bow, that is, teach the kings of Judah fortitude, so that they would be strong and attentive in the fear of the Lord and in the commandments of God, lest through disobedience the kings of Judah depart from fortitude and the fear of the Lord, as Saul did, and perish in the same way he had perished. For fortitude is lacking in all who yield to temptations and fall into sins; for if they resisted them bravely, they would not sin. Therefore whoever is tempted most needs fortitude, which he must obtain from God through prayers.
AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE JUST. — "The Book of the Just," says St. Jerome, "is the book of Samuel," where the righteous Prophets are contained, namely Samuel, Gad, and Nathan; in which book it is reported to be written how Saul, departing from the fear of God through his disobedience, perished. But it is unfitting for the same book and author to cite itself; therefore it appears to be a different book. What and of what kind it was, I discussed at Joshua 10:13. In this book, then, this entire dirge of David and funeral ode for Saul was written down, of which only a part is recounted here.
CONSIDER, O ISRAEL, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED UPON YOUR HEIGHTS (the lofty mountains of Gilboa) WOUNDED.
Verse 19: The Glorious Ones of Israel Have Been Slain
19. THE GLORIOUS ONES OF ISRAEL HAVE BEEN SLAIN UPON YOUR MOUNTAINS: HOW HAVE THE MIGHTY FALLEN? — This verse is the same in substance and meaning as the preceding one. Hence for these two verses, there is only one in the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Chaldean. Therefore this double verse arose from a double translation of the Hebrew text. The first from the version of Aquila (which Procopius follows), and therefore some codices of the Vulgate edition, such as the Royal ones, omit it; the second from the version of St. Jerome. The Hebrew literally has: "The glory of Israel on your heights has been wounded; how have the heroes fallen?" So Vatablus. David addresses the land of Israel, as if saying: O glorious land of Israel, on your Mount Gilboa, Saul fell wounded along with Jonathan, who was your glory, desire, and splendor (for all these things are signified by צבי tsebi); for these two were your unconquered heroes. The Chaldean translates: "They stood over Israel, over the house of your fortresses the slayers were exalted, how have the mighty fallen?" The Roman Septuagint has: "Stand, O Israel, over your dead, wounded on the heights; how have the powerful fallen?" For "stand," the Greek is στήσαι, as if saying: stand firm and concentrate fixedly on this consideration; Aquila has ἀκριβῶσον, that is, carefully consider. This song was written in a military spirit, being composed by David the soldier about the robust soldiers Saul and Jonathan.
Verse 21: O Mountains of Gilboa
21. O MOUNTAINS OF GILBOA, LET NEITHER RAIN NOR DEW COME UPON YOU, NOR LET THERE BE (in you) FIELDS OF FIRST FRUITS — from which fruits might grow, whose first fruits would be offered to God according to the law. The mountains of Gilboa, stretching lengthwise from West to East for eleven leagues, are on the border of the half-tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Issachar, beginning from the city of Jezreel, and extending almost to the Jordan. David seems to curse and imprecate barrenness upon the mountains of Gilboa, that is, upon an irrational creature, not insofar as it is God's creature, but insofar as it was the occasion and place of so great a slaughter of Saul and the Hebrews; which is not a sin. See St. Thomas, II-II, Question LXXVI, article 2.
Hear St. Ambrose, book II On Cain, chapter VIII: "Nature," he says, "from the condemnation of the innocent soil, shows the future punishments of the guilty; therefore, on account of human sins, even the elements themselves are condemned. Finally, David wished upon the mountains of Gilboa the punishment of perpetual barrenness."
In like manner Job, chapter III, cursed the day of his birth, as did Jeremiah, chapter 20, verse 14, because that day had been for him the occasion and opening of so many evils: see the comments there. St. Gregory adds, book IV Moralia chapter IV, that by the barrenness of the mountains, men — namely the Jews — are punished; for they by their iniquity deserved that their king should be killed there.
But the truth is that David here did not truly and seriously curse the mountains of Gilboa, nor did he imprecate barrenness upon them; but he spoke playfully in a military fashion, to express his grief of soul, as if saying: It would be just and fitting that you, O mountains of Gilboa, in memory of so great a disaster, should always be deprived of dew and rain, and of crops and fruits, because on you this disaster was brought about. So say Abulensis, Cajetan, and others.
Moreover, Rabanus and the Gloss say that this curse was like a prophecy, which was in fact fulfilled. For the mountains of Gilboa had previously been very fertile, but afterward became extremely barren; and St. Ambrose seems to hold this, book III On Duties IX. For it is certain that the mountains of Gilboa are in many places rocky, arid, and barren, as attested by Bredenbach, Adrichomius, and other chorographers of the Holy Land. But others assert that these mountains were such even before David's time: others think that this barrenness befell them from the time of Elijah, who brought barrenness and drought upon all Israel by his imprecation, III Kings 17:1. So the Master of the Scholastic History. Moreover, Abulensis asserts that he personally knows men upon whom rain has fallen on Mount Gilboa.
Allegorically, St. Gregory, book IV Moralia chapter IV, says: "Gilboa is interpreted as 'a flowing down'; through Saul, who was anointed and died, the death of our Mediator is expressed: not undeservedly do the mountains of Gilboa signify the proud hearts of the Jews, which, as they flow down in the desires of this world, mixed themselves in the death of Christ, that is, the Anointed One. And because in them the anointed king dies bodily, they themselves are dried up from all the dew of grace."
Moreover, Pagninus in the Hebrew Names says: "Gilboa in Hebrew means the same as 'a heap of swelling' or 'of inflation'; for there the wicked fall and rush down, as the proud Lucifer fell from the summit of the heavens, and therefore Saul was slain on Gilboa."
Mystically, St. Bernard, sermon 54 on the Song of Songs, takes the "mountains of Gilboa" to mean demons, and likewise the lukewarm and irreligious; for they are dry and barren of grace and good works. Hear St. Bernard: "The sinner will see and be angry, he will gnash his teeth and waste away. How wretched he is, when he looks up to the heavens, in which he beholds innumerable mountains shining with divine brightness, resounding with divine praises, lofty in glory, abounding in grace! How more wretched, when he looks to the earth, which likewise has very many mountains from the people of His inheritance, solid in faith, lofty in hope, spacious in charity, cultivated with virtues, filled with the fruits of good works, receiving from the dew of heaven, as from the woodland of the Bridegroom, a daily blessing?"
Then St. Bernard continues and amplifies this: "With how much grief and rancor do we think that one most greedy of glory looks upon these glorious mountains all around him, while he sees himself and his own as, by contrast, uncultivated, dark, unfruitful of all good things, so that he feels himself to be the reproach of men, and of the Angels who taunts all, according to that verse in the Psalms: 'This dragon whom You formed to mock him!'"
NOR LET THERE BE FIELDS OF FIRST FRUITS — that is, of fruits, from which first fruits may be selected and offered to God. The Chaldean translates challeta (for which the Latin translator in the Royal Bibles incorrectly put Halcha), that is, a cake or biscuit which was offered as first fruits of produce.
AS THOUGH HE HAD NOT BEEN ANOINTED WITH OIL — supply Saul, who had been anointed by Samuel as king. Some refer "anointed" to the shield — hence R. Solomon and Vatablus think that at the installation of a king, not only the king but also his shield was customarily anointed with oil, so that from this anointing it would become slippery for deflecting the weapons of enemies; but in that case the shields of all soldiers would have had to be anointed, as Abulensis rightly argues in refutation. He too asserts that the shield of the king was customarily anointed, but for another reason, namely, so that his dignity as well as his warlike strength might be represented by this anointing, as if saying: The shield of Saul, once anointed with oil, has now been so smeared with the blood of enemies that the former anointing of God upon it no longer appears; and it is as though it had not been anointed with oil. Isaiah supports this, chapter 21, verse 5, saying: "Arise, O princes, seize (in Hebrew, anoint) your shields," namely, so that they may be polished, burnished, and gleaming. Hence the Chaldean translates: "Wipe clean and make bright your weapons." See the comments there.
Verse 22: The Arrow of Jonathan Never Turned Back
22. FROM THE BLOOD OF THE SLAIN, FROM THE FAT OF THE MIGHTY, THE ARROW OF JONATHAN NEVER TURNED BACK — but penetrated even the strongest and stoutest bodies of the enemy, staining them with their own blood, transfixing and slaying them, as if saying: Jonathan and Saul with their arrows and swords drew and shed much blood, and wounded and killed many. Therefore some less correctly refer the words "from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty" to, and connect them with, the preceding verse, as though these words gave the reason why rain and dew should not descend upon the mountains of Gilboa, namely, because of the shed blood of Saul, Jonathan, and the Hebrews, who were slain there. Moreover, Saul was probably seventy years old, and Jonathan more than forty; for soon his younger brother, namely Ishbosheth, succeeding Saul in the kingdom, was forty years old, as we shall hear in chapter II, verse 10.
Verse 23: In Death Also They Were Not Divided
23. IN DEATH ALSO THEY WERE NOT DIVIDED — as if saying, just as life united Saul and Jonathan, so also did death. For friends rejoice to live together and to die together, because the soul of the lover is more in the beloved friend than in the lover himself. So among the Gauls the Soldurii are celebrated, being the bravest soldiers, who swore mutual fidelity in battle, that they would either conquer or fall together, as Caesar attests in book V of the Gallic War.
Symbolically, the Church in its liturgy applies these words to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, who on the same day, month, and year were crowned with martyrdom by Nero: "Glorious princes of the earth," it says, "as in their life they loved each other, so also in death they were not separated."
"Swifter than eagles, stronger than lions." This is hyperbole, as if saying: Saul and Jonathan were the swiftest and the strongest. A similar epitaph for his Daphnis, that is, for Julius Caesar who was stabbed with twenty-three wounds in the senate house, or for Quintilius Varus, with three legions slain in Germany, Virgil gives in the Eclogues, where among other things he sings thus of him:
"Daphnis, even the Punic lions have groaned at your death, and the wild mountains and forests speak of it. Daphnis first yoked Armenian tigers to the chariot, etc."
And below he asserts that he was translated to heaven among the Gods:
"Radiant Daphnis marvels at the unfamiliar threshold of Olympus, and beneath his feet sees the clouds and stars, etc. Ever shall your honor, your name, and your praises endure."
Verse 26: Lovable Beyond the Love of Women
26. LOVABLE BEYOND THE LOVE OF WOMEN. — Take "love" either actively, as if saying: As much as women are wont to love their spouses and sons, so much did I love you, O Jonathan; or passively, as if saying: As much as women are wont to be loved by their spouses and sons, so much and more were you lovable to me in delights and beloved. So says Theodoret.
Morally, see here, marvel at and imitate how David was unmindful of so many injuries from Saul, and how he did not rejoice at the death of his bitterest enemy, but mourned it so seriously and honored it with so elegant a funeral ode, and therefore deserved to succeed him in the kingdom, and won for himself the favor of the tribe of Judah, which immediately anointed him as their king.
Accordingly, St. Chrysostom, in his homily On Virtue and Vices, teaches that Saul's envy harmed Saul himself, not David; for it brought infamy and death to Saul, but glory and a kingdom to David: "The common crowd," he says, "does not know how much more wretched than others those must be considered who, while thinking they are harming others, run themselves through with swords: which is the utmost madness, to strike oneself and not even know it; but while thinking he is injuring another, he is in fact utterly slaughtering himself." He then demonstrates this by the example and contrast of Saul and David: "Was not the one tormented by distress and an evil demon; while the other was brighter than the sun in his triumphs, and because he especially worshipped God, was renowned above the heavens for his great piety? Was not the one wasting away with envy: while the other, bearing all things easily, was binding all to himself by love?" He adds the reason: "Because the one (Saul) had enlisted soldiers fearsome in arms, while the other, namely David, had enlisted as his ally and helper justice, which is more powerful than innumerable legions." The same Chrysostom, volume II On Saul and David: "If they had had a thousand lives, would they not readily have spent them for their leader, having perceived in reality, from the reverence he showed even to his enemy, what a benevolent spirit he bore toward his own people? Moreover, whoever is mild and gentle toward those by whom he has been troubled, will all the more bear that same disposition toward those who are well-disposed to him. Which thing was indeed for him the greatest pledge of security." And shortly after: "They obeyed David," he says, "no longer as a man, but as an Angel."
Finally, St. Ambrose in the Apology of David, chapter VI: "He avenged the death of his enemy, tearfully enough he bewailed his destruction; and the sovereignty that was owed to him he delayed a long time, knowing that it was owed to him by God's authority. By this alone he taught all men not to seize a kingdom, even if it is owed to them, but to wait for it to be conferred at the proper time. Would that posterity had imitated this man! We would not have endured such bitter wars."