Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Parallel translations
- WEB They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
- KJV And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
- NKJV Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
- NASB And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
- NLT Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They bury Saul's bones under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh and fast seven days. The book of 1 Samuel closes in mourning.
Overview
The burial and seven-day fast give Saul a measure of dignity at the end and express genuine grief over Israel's loss. The somber close leaves the nation leaderless and humbled, waiting for the king God has prepared. David will later honor these men for their kindness, and the story opens toward the establishment of his God-given reign, ultimately pointing to the everlasting kingdom of Christ, the true and faithful King.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Sam 21:12–14he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.
- Gen 50:10When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days.
- 1 Sam 22:6Soon Saul learned that David and his men had been discovered. At that time Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with his spear in hand and all his servants standing around him.
- 2 Sam 1:12They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
- 2 Sam 2:4–5Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
- Gen 35:8Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 31:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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