2 Samuel 1:14

1:14 David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

2 Samuel 22:51

22:51 He gives his chosen king magnificent victories; ¹ 

he is faithful to his chosen ruler, ² 

to David and to his descendants forever!”

2 Samuel 1:16

1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

2 Samuel 19:21

19:21 Abishai son of Zeruiah replied, “For this should not Shimei be put to death? After all, he cursed the Lord’s anointed!”

2 Samuel 23:1

David’s Final Words

23:1 These are the final words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man raised up as

the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ³ 

Israel’s beloved ⁴  singer of songs:

2 Samuel 1:21

1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,

may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! ⁵ 

For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; ⁶ 

the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. ⁷ 

¹ tc The translation follows the Kethib and the ancient versions in reading מַגְדִּיל (magdil, “he magnifies”) rather than the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss of the MT which read מִגְדּוֹל (migdol, “tower”). See Ps 18:50.

² tn Heb “[the one who] does loyalty to his anointed one.”

¹ tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”

² tn Or “pleasant.”

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”).

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.

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.