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2 Samuel 21:14

in 2 Samuel 21

And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land.

KJV

And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 21

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

After that - After those things were done which were before related; that is, after they were hanged up: for by that God was pacified, and not by their burial.

This site's exposition

struck down Saul at Gilboa

on 2 Samuel 21:12-14

David sends for the bones of Saul and Jonathan, and Adam Clarke notes he may have sent messengers. The bones of the seven hanged men are gathered with them, and Saul and Jonathan are buried in the tomb of Kish in Zela. Then “God answered their prayers for the land”.

This site's exposition

answered their prayers for the land

John Wesley ties the answer to their prayers to the death of the seven, which he says pacified God, and places the burial after it. Matthew Henry warns that guilt can pass to a family after the sinner is buried. A like answer closes the book at 24:25.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), and his judgments are not subject to the rules which men's judgments must be subject to. Let parents take heed of sin, especially the sin of cruelty and oppression, for their poor children's sake, who may be smarting for it by the just hand of God when they themselves are in their graves. Guilt and a curse are a bad entail upon a family.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Everything that the king had commanded. To eulogize them in all of the cities of Yisroel.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 21:14:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
They gathered the bones. Of the seven people that were hung there. 21 In verse.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 21:13:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּקְבְּר֣וּand they buried

    vaiyikberuH6912 →133 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עַצְמוֹת־[the] bones of

    ʾatzmot-H6106 →126 times

  • שָׁא֣וּלSaul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • וִיהוֹנָֽתָן־and Jonathan

    vihonaton-H3083 →81 times

  • בְּ֠נוֹson his

    benoH1121 →4930 times

  • בְּאֶ֨רֶץin [the] land of

    beeretzH776 →2504 times

  • בִּנְיָמִ֜ןBenjamin

    binyaminH1144 →166 times

  • בְּצֵלָ֗עat Zela

    betzela'H6762 →

  • בְּקֶ֙בֶר֙in [the] tomb of

    bekeverH6913 →67 times

  • קִ֣ישׁKish

    kishH7027 →

  • אָבִ֔יוfather his

    ʾavivH1 →1212 times

  • וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֔וּand they did

    vaiyaasuH6213 →2628 times

  • כֹּ֥לall

    kolH3605 →5413 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־that

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • צִוָּ֖הhe commanded

    tzivahH6680 →494 times

  • הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וַיֵּעָתֵ֧רand he was entreated

    vaiyeaterH6279 →

  • אֱלֹהִ֛יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • לָאָ֖רֶץfor the land

    laaretzH776 →2504 times

  • אַֽחֲרֵי־after

    ʾacharei-H310 →715 times

  • כֵֽן׃ פthus

    khenH3651 →771 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Joshua 18:28Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.5 works2 Samuel 24:25And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.5 worksJoshua 7:26And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.4 worksDeuteronomy 19:13You must show him no pity. You are to purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, that it may go well with you.3 works1 Samuel 10:2When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’2 works1 Kings 18:40–41Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 3:32When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept.2 works2 Samuel 4:12So David commanded his young men, and they killed Rechab and Baanah. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies by the pool in Hebron, but they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in Abner’s tomb in Hebron.2 worksJoel 2:18–19Then the LORD became jealous for His land, and He spared His people.2 worksJeremiah 14:1–7This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:2 worksJonah 1:15At this, they picked up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.2 worksNumbers 25:13It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”2 worksAmos 7:1–6This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.2 worksExodus 32:27–29He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”2 worksZechariah 6:8Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.”2 worksNumbers 25:11“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal.2 worksEzekiel 16:42So I will lay to rest My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be calm and no longer angry.2 worksJob 37:13Whether for punishment or for His land, He accomplishes this in His loving devotion.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Joshua 7:26

    And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 65:10

      Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.

    • Hosea 2:15

      There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the…

    • Deuteronomy 13:17

      Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

  • Through

    2 Samuel 24:25

    And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 8:20

      Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

    • 2 Samuel 24:14

      David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

    • Lamentations 3:32–33

      Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.

  • Through

    Joshua 18:28

    Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 15:8

      From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 10:2

    When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 9:3–5

      One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.”

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 21 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 21 →