And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard, &c.— Beth-shan was a city in the tribe of Manasseh, not far from Jordan and the sea of Gennesareth, to which the men of Jabesh might march in a night's time, and accomplish their design. The Jabethites had great obligations to Saul. He delivered them at the beginning of his reign from the fury of Nahash, chap. 1 Samuel 11:11. They resolved, therefore, to rescue his body and those of his sons from the disgrace to which the Philistines exposed them. A band of valiant men among them marched away in the night, came to Beth-shan, and happily atchieved their design: a pleasing example of gratitude, which is by no means so common among nations as it ought to be; upon which account it is, that Aristotle says, the temples of the graces were built in the midst of the cities of Greece, to admonish all the Greeks to be grateful. The historian adds, that after the men of Jabesh had carried off the bodies, they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there; which creates some difficulty, as it was the custom of the Jews to embalm, and not to burn; and particularly as in the parallel passages there is not the least mention of their having done any other than buried their bones or bodies. See the note on 2 Samuel 2:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:12. The Chaldee and other versions render it, and they burnt or kindled a light or lamp over them there, as they are accustomed to burn over kings: upon which a rabbi observes, that this has reference to a custom delivered down from their ancestors, of burning the beds and other utensils of the dead upon their graves, or to the burning of spices over them. See Jeremiah 34:5. It seems by far the most probable, that something of this kind was done, and is implied in the text, as we have not anywhere the least trace of burning the bodies of the dead among the Jews. See Lamy.
REFLECTIONS.—When the Philistines return to strip the slain, to their great joy they find their enemy Saul a breathless corpse, and his sons fallen with him. Hereupon we have,
1. The insult offered to the dead body of Saul. They cut off his head, which (see 1 Chronicles 10:10.) they stuck up as a trophy of their victory in the house of their god Dagon; placed his armour in the temple of Ashtaroth; then took the trunk and the bodies of his sons, and ignominiously fastened them with nails to the wall of Beth-shan, or hung them on gibbets upon the wall. Thus the insult, that Saul wished by self-murder to avoid, overtook him.
2. They proclaimed their victory through the land, and set apart a day of solemn thanksgiving to praise their idols, to whom they ascribed their success. Note; Blind idolaters often shew more gratitude to, and dependance upon, stocks and stones, than they who pretend to worship the true God express to the living Jehovah; therefore, in the day of judgment these shall rise up to condemn them.
3. The men of Jabesh-gilead, fired with indignation at the insult shewn to the royal corpses, as well as mindful of their particular obligations to Saul, boldly adventure to cross Jordan, and by night take down, unperceived, the bodies from the wall of Beth-shan. Thus closes this First Book of Samuel, where Israel's sun sets in blood, and darkness and despair seem to cover the land: but we shall find the morning break upon us in the opening of the next book; and the bright sun of David, the glorious type of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, arising to cheer the desolate valleys of Judah, and shining forth in his meridian splendor, whilst all their enemies are led captive at his chariot-wheels!