2 Samuel 1:2
in 2 Samuel 1On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
KJV
It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA man came out of the camp - The whole account which this young man gives is a fabrication: in many of the particulars it is grossly self-contradictory. There is no fact in the case but the bringing of the crown, or diadem, and bracelets of Saul; which, as he appears to have been a plunderer of the slain, he found on the field of battle; and he brought them to David, and told the lie of having despatched Saul, merely to ingratiate himself with David.
This site's exposition
after the death of Saul
on 2 Samuel 1:1-2
David returns to Ziklag from his own war against Amalek in chapter 30 the same week an Amalekite walks into his camp with news of Saul, so the unfinished war of Exodus 17 and Deuteronomy 25 stands behind the scene before the man opens his mouth. His rent clothes and earth upon his head are the standard signs of mourning across the ancient world, though the narrator lets the reader judge for himself whether the grief is real. Two quiet days at Ziklag close before the third day brings the man from Gilboa.
This site's exposition
a man with torn clothes
He bows to David as to a king. Matthew Henry notes that the man hoped to be the first to honour David as sovereign and became the first man David sentenced to death. John Gill reads Saul’s camp as the men who had fought beside Saul.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), pleasing himself with the fancy that he had the honour to be the first that did him homage as his sovereign, but it proved he was the first that received from him sentence of death as his judge. He told David he came from the camp of Israel, and intimated the bad posture it was in when he said he had escaped out of it, having much ado to get away with his life,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
a man came out of the camp from Saul--As the narrative of Saul's death, given in the last chapter, is inspired, it must be considered the true account, and the Amalekite's story a fiction of his own, invented to ingratiate himself with David, the presumptive successor to the throne.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י׀ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י | hashelishi | <the> third | H7992 → | 107 times |
| וְהִנֵּה֩ | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בָּ֤א | ba' | [was] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| מֵעִ֣ם | meim | from with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וּבְגָדָ֣יו | uvegadav | and garments his | H899 → | 217 times |
| קְרֻעִ֔ים | keruim | [were] torn | H7167 → | 63 times |
| וַאֲדָמָ֖ה | vaadamah | and earth | H127 → | 225 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשׁ֑וֹ | rosho | head his | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וַיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּבֹא֣וֹ | bevoo | when came he | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיִּפֹּ֥ל | vaiyipol | and he fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| אַ֖רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ׃ | vaiyishtachu | and he bowed down | H7812 → | 172 times |
וַיְהִ֣י׀and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י<the> third
hashelishiH7992 →107 times
וְהִנֵּה֩and there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אִ֨ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בָּ֤א[was] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙the camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
מֵעִ֣םfrom with
meimH5973 →1050 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וּבְגָדָ֣יוand garments his
uvegadavH899 →217 times
קְרֻעִ֔ים[were] torn
keruimH7167 →63 times
וַאֲדָמָ֖הand earth
vaadamahH127 →225 times
עַל־[was] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשׁ֑וֹhead his
roshoH7218 →599 times
וַיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְּבֹא֣וֹwhen came he
bevooH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיִּפֹּ֥לand he fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
אַ֖רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ׃and he bowed down
vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Esther 5:1On the third day, Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king’s quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the…
it leads to
- Esther 6:4
“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.
- Esther 4:16
“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast…
- Revelation 3:21
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- 1 Peter 3:3–5
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
- Esther 6:4
Through
Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- Genesis 37:34
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Genesis 37:29
Through
1 Samuel 4:12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
it leads to
- Joshua 7:6
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
- Joshua 7:6
Through
2 Samuel 4:10when someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 1:2–16
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
- 2 Samuel 1:2–16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.