Daily Tanach Sunday Shmuel 2 Chapter 21: Shaul and his son Yehonason are reburied and the famine ceases

1.      Shaul and his son Yehonason are reburied and the famine ceases:

• Dovid was informed that which Ritzpah the daughter of Ayah, the concubine of Shaul did [to protect the corpses from the animals and birds, and he learned from her a lesson as to how to treat a dead body with respect].
• Gathering the bones: Dovid went, and he took the bones of Shaul and the bones of his son Yehonason, from the property of Yaveish Gilad who had originally stolen the bodies from Beit Shean, from the area where they were hung by the Philistines on the day that the Philistines had killed Shaul in Gilboa. He gathered the bones of Shaul and the bones of his son Yehonason, as well as the bones of the seven descendants who were hung.
• The burial: Dovid buried the bones of Shaul and of his son Yehonason [as well as of the seven descendants[1]] in the land of Benjamin, in the area called Tzeila, by the grave site of his father Kish.

2.      The famine ends:

• The people did all that the king had instructed [regarding eulogizing Shaul throughout all the cities of Israel[2]], and so Hashem answered the prayers of the Jewish people and removed the famine from the land.

3.      The wars of Dovid against the Philistines:

• The battle in Nov and death of Yishvi the giant: There was a further war between the Jewish people and the Philistines. Dovid went together with his servants to battle the Philistines and Dovid was exhausted. There was a man named Yishvi who lived in Nov, who was a descendant of the giant Harafa. The casing of his spear weighed 300 copper coins, and they had new swords, and desired to kill Dovid. Avishaiy the son of Tzeruyah helped Dovid to smite the Philistine, and he killed him. On that day the men of Dovid swore saying that from now on he will no longer go out with us to war in order so the candle of Israel not be extinguished.
• The battle in Gov and death of Saf and Goliath the giant: Afterwards there was a further war against the Philistines in the town of Gov. In that war, Sibchaiy Hachushasi killed Saf, who was from the children of Harafah. The war with the Philistines continued in the city of Gov, and Elchanan the son of Yairi Orgim from Beis Lechem [i.e. Dovid[3]] had killed Goliath the Gitite.
• The battle in Gath and the death of the giant: There was a further battle in the city of Gath. There was a certain man there who was very tall and had 24 fingers, six on each foot and six on each hand. He was also a child of Harafah. He blasphemed the Jewish people and was smitten by Yehonason the son of Shimi, the brother of Dovid. All four of these giants were children of Harafah in Gath, and they all fell in the hands of Dovid and the hands of his servants.

[1] Metzudos Dovid 21:14

[2] Rashi 21:14

[3] Rashi 21:19