You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
All Commentaries on 2 Samuel 1:21 Go To 2 Samuel 1
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
What a virtuous action was that when David wished rather to spare the king his enemy, though he could have injured him! How useful, too, it was, for it helped him when he succeeded to the throne. For all learned to observe faith in their king and not to seize the kingdom but to fear and reverence him. Thus, what is virtuous was preferred to what was useful, and then usefulness followed from what was virtuous. But that he spared him was a small matter; he also grieved for him when slain in war and mourned for him with tears, saying, “You mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain fall upon you; you mountains of death, for there the shield of the mighty is cast away, the shield of Saul. It is not anointed with oil but with the blood of the wounded and the fat of the warriors. The bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and very dear, inseparable in life, and in death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with your ornaments, who put on gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was wounded even to death. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me. Your love came to me like the love of women. How have the mighty fallen and the longed-for weapons perished!” What mother could weep thus for her only son as he wept here for his enemy? Who could follow his benefactor with such praise as that with which he followed the man who plotted against his life? How affectionately he grieved, with what deep feeling he bewailed him! The mountains dried up at the prophet’s curse, and a divine power filled the judgment of him who spoke it. Therefore the elements themselves paid the penalty for witnessing the king’s death.
