2 Samuel 1:21
1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! 1
For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; 2
the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. 3
2 Samuel 6:17
6:17 They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place 4 in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord.
2 Samuel 24:22
24:22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes 5 and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges 6 and harnesses 7 for wood.
2 Samuel 24:25
24:25 Then David built an altar for the Lord there and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings. And the Lord accepted prayers for the land, and the plague was removed from Israel.
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.
4 tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”
5 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
6 sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.
7 tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”