John Gill

So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.

“Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice,.... In doleful shrieks, and loud lamentations: and wept, until they had no more power to weep; till nature was quite exhausted, and no moisture left; so the Vulgate Latin version, "till tears…”

David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.

“And David's two wives were taken captives,.... Which is observed as one cause of his particular distress, and another follows in 1Sa 30:6, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite: that is, who had been his wife; for he was now…”

And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters.

“And David was greatly distressed,.... Partly for the loss of his two wives, and partly because of the mutiny and murmuring of his men: for the people spake of stoning him; as the Israelites did of Moses and Aaron, Num 14:10; the reason of this…”

So David and his six hundred men went to the Brook of Besor, where some stayed behind

“So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him,.... Encouraged by the oracle of the Lord: and came to the brook Besor; which Adrichomius (q) places in the tribe of Simeon; it is thought to be near Gaza.”

a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and…

“And they gave him a piece of cake of figs,.... That were dried and pressed together, and made into cakes: and two clusters of raisins; or dried grapes, as the Targum: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him; he seemed to…”

So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.

“And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away,.... The wives and children of the Israelites, and their goods, excepting the provisions they had eaten: and David rescued his two wives; which is particularly observed, because a special concern of his.”

to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa;

“And to them which were in Aroer,.... Not Aroer in the tribe of Gad beyond Jordan, where David is never said to be, but some city of this name in the tribe of Judah; the Greek version of Jos 15:22, instead of Adadah, has Arouel…”

to those in Racal and in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites;

“And to them which were in Rachal,.... Another city of the tribe of Judah, but nowhere else spoken of: and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites: which lay to the south of Judah, 1Sa 27:10, and to them which were in…”

to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach;

“And to them which were in Hormah,.... This was a city also in the tribe of Judah; of which see Jos 15:30, and to them which were in Chorashan; or the lake of Ashan, which was in the same tribe, see Jos 15:42, and to…”

and to those in Hebron and in all the places where David and his men had roamed.

“And to them which were in Hebron,.... A noted city in the tribe of Judah, in the mountainous part of it, and a city of refuge, and where David was afterwards anointed, first king over Judah, and then over Israel, 2Sa 2:4, and to all…”

Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!”

“Then said Saul unto his armourbearer,.... Who, the Jews (b) say, was Doeg the Edomite, promoted to this office for slaying the priests: draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; for if he was wounded, yet not mortally, and it is certain he did…”

So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.

“So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer,.... Only with this difference, his three sons died honourably in the field of battle, but he and his armourbearer destroyed themselves.”

They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

“And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth,.... A temple dedicated to their deities, called by this name; of which See Gill on Jdg 2:13; Nothing was more common with the Gentiles than to place in their temples the arms they took from…”

When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

“And the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead,.... Who lived on the other side Jordan, about eight miles from Bethshan, according to Fuller (p): heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; not only that they had got the victory over him, and routed his army…”

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

“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…”