(17) В¶ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (18) (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
Probably David, in the first paroxysms of his grief, expressed himself in a strain like those pathetic parts of the elegy which follow. What this book of Jasher means is not generally understood. It hath never been handed down to the Church. And whether the Bow which he commanded to be taught, means the bow of the battle, or of music, I cannot say. The use of the bow was known long before David's time. Jacob, in his dying moments, spake of the bow of Joseph his son. No doubt in his instance it meant the spiritual armory in Jesus's salvation. But whether David meant it so I know not. See Genesis 49:24.