¹²all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak¹ in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. ¹ Or, _terebinth_. =12.= _took away_] i.e. from the walls of Beth-shan (so Peshitṭa). _to Jabesh_] Samuel adds “and burned them there.” The Chronicler omits this statement perhaps because he inferred that the bones were not _destroyed_ by this burning; compare 2 Samuel xxi. 12‒14 (the bones of Saul and Jonathan brought from Jabesh in David’s reign and re-interred in the family sepulchre) or more probably because burning was not a usual funeral rite among the Jews (compare 2 Chronicles xvi. 14, note), and indeed was regarded with abhorrence (compare Amos ii. 1). _under the oak_] margin, _terebinth_. Large trees, being rare in Palestine, frequently serve as landmarks; compare Judges iv. 5; 1 Samuel xxii. 6 (“tamarisk tree” Revised Version). _fasted seven days_] Fasting involved abstinence from food during daylight. David fasted “till the evening” in mourning for Saul (2 Samuel i. 12) and for Abner (2 Samuel iii. 35). The fast of Jabesh was a sevenfold fast. =13, 14= (peculiar to Chronicles). THE MORAL OF THE OVERTHROW OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL. Such reflexions as these are characteristic of the Chronicler; compare 2 Chronicles xii. 2 (note), xxii. 7, xxiv. 24, xxv. 27. They are not so frequent in Samuel and Kings. ¹³So Saul died for¹ his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire _thereby_, ¹ Or, _in_. =13.= _his trespass_] compare 2 Chronicles xxvi. 16. The reference is to Saul’s sacrifice (1 Samuel xiii. 13, 14), and disobedience (1 Samuel xv. 23). _asked counsel ... spirit_] i.e. of the witch of Endor, 1 Samuel xxviii. 7 ff. ¹⁴and inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. =14.= _and inquired not of the LORD_] Compare xiii. 3. The Chronicler presumably does not count inquiries made too late; compare 1 Samuel xxviii. 6 (Saul inquires of the Lord, but receives no answer). CHAPTER XI. =1‒3= (= 2 Samuel v. 1‒3). DAVID MADE KING OVER ALL ISRAEL. The remaining chapters of the first book of Chronicles are occupied with the reign of David, who is represented as a king fulfilling the Chronicler’s highest ideals of piety and prosperity. For some general remarks on the difference between the picture thus given and the David of Samuel see the note on xxviii. 1. ¹Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. =1.= _Then_] Render =And=.