2 Samuel 1:21

1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,

may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! ¹ 

For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; ² 

the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. ³ 

2 Samuel 9:10

9:10 You will cultivate ⁴  the land for him – you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce ⁵  and it will be ⁶  food for your master’s grandson to eat. ⁷  But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will be a regular guest at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

2 Samuel 17:20

17:20 When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied to them, “They crossed over the stream.” Absalom’s men ⁸  searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. ⁹ 

[1:21]  ¹ tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).

[1:21]  ² tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (ga’al). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.

[1:21]  ³ tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew mss, rather than מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh) of the MT. Although the Syriac Peshitta understands the statement to pertain to Saul, the point here is not that Saul is not anointed. Rather, it is the shield of Saul that lies discarded and is no longer anointed. In ancient Near Eastern practice a warrior’s shield that was in normal use would have to be anointed regularly in order to ensure that the leather did not become dry and brittle. Like other warriors of his day Saul would have carefully maintained his tools of trade. But now that he is dead, the once-cared-for shield of the mighty warrior lies sadly discarded and woefully neglected, a silent but eloquent commentary on how different things are now compared to the way they were during Saul’s lifetime.

[9:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “work.”

[9:10]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text implies, but does not actually contain, the words “its produce” here.

[9:10]  ⁶ tc The words “it will be,” though present in the MT, are absent from the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.

[9:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he will eat it.”

[17:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referents (Absalom’s men) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:20]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.