Jabesh-Gilead

After a defeat on Mount Gilboa, the Philistines hung King Saul’s body on the wall of Beth-shan. The men of Jabesh-gilead heard of it, and “all the valiant men arose, and went all night” to take down the bodies of Saul and his sons, burn them and bury the bones under a tree, fasting seven days (1 Samuel 31:12-13). Their loyalty is remembered: David later gathers those bones from them and buries them in the tomb of Saul’s father. Read 1 Samuel 31 first, then 2 Samuel 21:12-14. It is a small town honoured for one night of courage.

8 verses

1 Samuel

1 Samuel 31:11

And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;

1 Samuel 31:12

All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

1 Samuel 31:13

And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 21:12

And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

2 Samuel 21:13

And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

2 Samuel 21:14

And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 10:11

And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

1 Chronicles 10:12

They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

A town on the east of Jordan, on the top of one of the green hills of Gilead, within the limits of the half tribe of Manasseh, and in full view of Beth-shan. It is first mentioned in connection with the vengeance taken on its inhabitants because they had refused to come up to Mizpeh to take part with Israel against the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 21:8-14). After the battles at Gibeah, that tribe was almost extinguished, only six hundred men remaining. An expedition went against Jabesh-Gilead, the whole of whose inhabitants were put to the sword, except four hundred maidens, whom they brought as prisoners and sent to “proclaim peace” to the Benjamites who had fled to the crag Rimmon. These captives were given to them as wives, that the tribe might be saved from extinction (Judg. 21).

Read the full entry

This city was afterwards taken by Nahash, king of the Ammonites, but was delivered by Saul, the newly-elected king of Israel. In gratitude for this deliverance, forty years after this, the men of Jabesh-Gilead took down the bodies of Saul and of his three sons from the walls of Beth-shan, and after burning them, buried the bones under a tree near the city (1 Sam. 31:11-13). David thanked them for this act of piety (2 Sam. 2:4-6), and afterwards transferred the remains to the royal sepulchre (21:14). It is identified with the ruins of ed-Deir, about 6 miles south of Pella, on the north of the Wady Yabis.