1 Samuel 31:13
ESV
And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
NIV
Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
NASB
And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
CSB
Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
NLT
Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
KJV
And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
NKJV
Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
What does 1 Samuel 31:13 mean?
At great personal risk, the valiant men of Jabesh-gilead traveled from their town to Beth-shan on an overnight, secret raid. They rescued the remains of Saul and his sons from the wall the Philistines had pinned them to (1 Samuel 31:10–11). Perhaps they did so out of gratitude for the time Saul had saved their city from the Ammonites at the very beginning of his reign as king (1 Samuel 11).The men return to Jabesh and burn the remains. Now, they bury the bones under a local tamarisk tree. Official business and special events apparently often took place under the shade of tamarisk trees, which grow well in the sandy soil of the region. Abraham planted one in Beersheba in connection with calling out to God (Genesis 21:33), and Saul held court under a tamarisk tree at Gibeah (1 Samuel 22:6). David will take the bones of Saul and his sons and rebury them in the tomb of Saul's father Kish in the land of Benjamin (2 Samuel 21:12–14).
King Saul and three of his sons, including Jonathan, are dead. David will be king over Israel, but it will take a while. First, the elders of Judah will claim David as their king (2 Samuel 2:4). Saul's nephew and general, Abner, will install Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over the rest of Israel (2 Samuel 2:8–9). The two sides will fight for two years until Abner sleeps with Saul's concubine. To take the wife or concubine of a king—living or dead—is to claim to take the king's place. Ish-bosheth knows this and confronts Abner. Abner gets angry and switches to David's side. David's commander, Joab, murders Abner because Abner had, reluctantly, killed Joab's brother. Two of Ish-bosheth's men murder Ish-bosheth, but David has them executed for killing an innocent man in his bed (2 Samuel 2–4).
Finally, David is king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3). Despite his incredible devotion to Saul and his refusal to take his God-given throne by doing harm to God's anointed, David's entire reign will be filled with war and violence.
