And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
They took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, then they fasted for seven days.
The people of Jabesh-gilead honored Saul and his sons by properly burying their remains and mourning for them with a traditional seven-day fast.
📚 Historical Context
This verse concludes the account of how the men of Jabesh-gilead rescued the bodies of King Saul and his sons from the Philistines, who had hung them on the wall of Beth-shan after defeating Israel in battle. The people of Jabesh-gilead remembered how Saul had once saved their city from the Ammonites early in his reign, so they courageously retrieved the bodies for proper burial. The seven-day fast was a traditional period of mourning in ancient Israel.
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