Verse 14. - The bones of Saul and Jonathan. The Septuagint adds, "and the bones of them that were hanged." As it is expressly said in ver. 13 that these bones were collected, we cannot doubt but that the remains of the seven grandsons were interred with those of Saul and Jonathan, in the tomb of Kish, their common ancestor. But whether the Septuagint has preserved words that have dropped out of the Hebrew text, or has added them to make the fact plain, is more than we can answer. Zelah. Nothing more is known of this place than that it was in the tribe of Benjamin.
21:10-14 That a guilty land should enjoy many years of plenty, calls for gratitude; and we need not wonder misused abundance should be punished with scarcity; yet how few are disposed to ask of the Lord concerning the sinful cause, while numbers search for the second causes by which he is pleased to work! But the Lord will plead the cause of those who cannot or will not avenge themselves; and the prayers of the poor are of great power. When God sent rain to water the earth, these bodies were buried, for then it appeared that God was entreated for the land. When justice is done on earth, vengeance from heaven ceases. God is pacified, and is entreated for us through Christ, who was hanged on a tree, and so made a curse for us, to do away our guilt, though he was himself guiltless.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son,.... Together with those who had been hanged:
buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah; a city in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:28,
in the sepulchre of Kish his father; the father of Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1; and which, according to Fuller (w), and the position of it in his map, was not far from the hill on which the seven sons of Saul were hanged:
and they performed all that the king commanded; that is, David's messengers and servants did; they fetched the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabeshgilead, and buried them with those of his seven sons hanged, in the burying place of his father Kish, and made a general mourning for them; for the Jews say (x), that by David's order Saul's coffin was carried through every tribe, and men, women, and children, came out and expressed concern:
and after that God was entreated for the land; not after the burial of the said persons, but after the seven men were hanged up; by this the wrath of God was appeased, which was seen by his sending rain and fruitful seasons, so that the famine ceased.
(w) Pisgah-Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 258. (x) Bemidbar Rabba, ut supra. (fol. 190. 1.)
buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah; a city in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:28,
in the sepulchre of Kish his father; the father of Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1; and which, according to Fuller (w), and the position of it in his map, was not far from the hill on which the seven sons of Saul were hanged:
and they performed all that the king commanded; that is, David's messengers and servants did; they fetched the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabeshgilead, and buried them with those of his seven sons hanged, in the burying place of his father Kish, and made a general mourning for them; for the Jews say (x), that by David's order Saul's coffin was carried through every tribe, and men, women, and children, came out and expressed concern:
and after that God was entreated for the land; not after the burial of the said persons, but after the seven men were hanged up; by this the wrath of God was appeased, which was seen by his sending rain and fruitful seasons, so that the famine ceased.
(w) Pisgah-Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 258. (x) Bemidbar Rabba, ut supra. (fol. 190. 1.)