2 Samuel 1:18

(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah [the use] of the bow,.... These words, with what follow in this verse, are rightly put into a parenthesis, since they do not begin nor make any part of

(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) No JFB commentary on this verse.

Also: having mentioned David’ s lamentation in general, before he comes to the particular description of it, he interposeth this verse by way of parenthesis; to signify, that David did not so give up himself to lamentation as to neglect his great business, the care of the commonwealth, which now lay upon him; but took particular care to fortify them against such further losses and calamities as he bewails in the following song; and by his example, and this counsel, to instruct the people, that they should not give up themselves to sorrow and despondency for their great and general loss; but should raise up their spirits, and betake themselves to action. He bade them: David being now actually king upon Saul’ s death, takes his power upon him, and gives forth his commands. The children of Judah: these he more particularly teacheth, because they were the chief, and now the royal tribe, and likely to be the great bulwark to all Israel against the Philistines, upon whose land they bordered; and withal, to be the most friendly and true to him, and to his interest. The use of the bow, i. e. the use of their arms, which are all synecdochically expressed under the name of the bow, which then was one of the chief weapons; and for the dexterous use whereof Jonathan is commended in the following song: which may be one reason why he now gives forth this order, that so they might strive to imitate Jonathan in the military skill, and to excel in it, as he did. It is written; not the following song, as many think, for that is written here, and therefore it was needless to refer us to another book for it; but this foregoing counsel and course which David took to repair the last loss, which is here mentioned but briefly, and in general terms; but, as it seems, more largely and particularly described in the book of Jasher; of which see on .

2 Samuel 1:18 (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah [the use of] the bow: behold, [it is] written in the book of Jasher.)Ver. 18. Also he bade them teach.] Or, And he spake it to teach, &c., sc., in honour of Jonathan, so skilful a bowman, and for their own future defence against the Philistine archers, who had wounded and slain Saul and his sons with these weapons, for which end also, among others, David made this doleful ditty to be sung by all sorts for their instruction and comfort. After the discomfiture of the Athenians in Sicily, those were relieved who could repeat somewhat out of Euripides, the tragedian. The children of Judah the use of the bow.] David was not so overcome with grief but he could think of this, and gave order to have it done for a public good. The Lacedemonians, and before them the Ethiopians, accustomed their youth daily to fling javelins or great stones, to shoot at marks, to run races, &c., before they either ate or drank. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher.] A general chronicle, say some: a brief compend, say others, of the most memorable things touching that nation: and haply called the Book of Jasher, in allusion to the name of Jeshurun, whereby is meant Israel.

(18) The use of the bow.—The words in italics, the use of, are not in the original, and should be omitted. David “bade them teach the children of Judah the bow”: i.e., the following dirge called “the bow,” not merely from the allusion to Jonathan’s bow in 2 Samuel 1:22, but because it is a martial ode, and the bow was one of the chief weapons of the time with which the Benjamites were particularly skilful (1 Chronicles 12:2; 2 Chronicles 14:8; 2 Chronicles 17:17). The word is omitted in the Vatican LXX. He taught this song to “the children of Judah” rather than to all Israel, because for the following seven and a half years, while the memory of Saul was fresh, he reigned only over Judah and Benjamin. In the book of Jasher.—This book is also referred to in Joshua 10:13, and nothing more is really known about it, although it has been the subject of endless discussion and speculation. It is supposed to have been a collection of songs relating to memorable events and men in the early history of Israel, and it appears that this elegy was included among them. The song is in two parts, the first relating to both Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:19-24), the second to Jonathan, alone (2 Samuel 1:25-26), each having at the beginning the lament, “How are the mighty fallen !” and the whole closing with the same refrain (2 Samuel 1:27).

Verse 18. The use of the bow] The use of is not in the Hebrew; it is simply the bow, that is, a song thus entitled. See the observations at the end. 2 Samuel 1:21.

18. also he bade, &c.] And he gave commandment to teach the children of Judah the Bow. The E. V. cannot be right in inserting “the use of,” for the bow was a weapon already in common use. If the text is sound, “the Bow” must be a title given to David’s elegy from the mention of Jonathan’s bow in 2 Samuel 1:22. Somewhat similarly the section of Exodus containing the account of the burning bush is called “the Bush” in Luke 20:37, and the second chapter of the Koran is called “the Cow” from the incidental mention in it of the sacrifice of a cow. It must be noted however that the Vatican MS. of the LXX. omits the word bow, and reads simply “And he commanded to teach [it] to the children of Judah.” Possibly therefore the word over which much discussion has been spent, has found its way into the text through some scribe’s mistake, and should be struck out. The elegy was to be learnt by heart by the people in order to preserve the memory of Saul and Jonathan fresh among them. Compare the direction concerning the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:19), and the title of Psalms 60. behold, it is written in the book of Jasher] The elegy was included in the volume known as The Book of Jashar, or, the Upright. (LXX. βιβλίοντοῦεὐθοῦς; Vulg. liber iustorum.) This book is mentioned only here and in Joshua 10:13. “The Upright” is explained by some to mean Israel as the covenant people of God, and connected in etymology and sense with the title Jeshurun (Deuteronomy 32:15); by others it is referred to the heroes whose praises were celebrated in the book. All that can be inferred from the references to it is that it contained a collection of ancient poems, commemorating remarkable events or great heroes of the national history: so that it formed a “book of Golden Deeds” for the instruction of posterity, a “national anthology” to which additions would be made from time to time as occasion offered.

The use of the bow - Omit “the use of.” “The bow” is the name by which this dirge was known, being so called from the mention of Jonathan’s bow in 2 Samuel 1:22.

18. Teach the children of Judah the use of the bow — Because, say some of the older interpreters, the chiefs of Israel had fallen by the arrows of the enemy, therefore David thought it necessary that