Discovery Box2 Samuel 1:2 
Context1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 1 When he approached David, the man 2 threw himself to the ground. 3
2 Samuel 1:11
Context1:11 David then grabbed his own clothes 4 and tore them, as did all the men who were with him.
1 sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.
3 tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”
4 tc The present translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
