Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa 2 Samuel 1:26

There is no salvation (ישועתה) for him in God: – There is no salvation for him in this world, for he cannot escape from the hand of Absalom, neither is there salvation for his soul in the world to come. For this reason it is that he uses the intensive form ישועתה [“salvation”], his meaning being salvation and salvation; for every reduplication of ending is (equivalent) to a duplication of meaning; and in like manner (we have) עזרתה (Ps. 44:27; 63:8; 94:17) (meaning) “great help”; תבואתה (Deut. 33:16); נפלאתה (2 Sam. 1:26) החבאתה (Josh. 6:17) as I have written in the grammatical part of the book Miklol. And so in the Haggadic interpretation (Shoher Tob, ad loc.) it says: “Great ones are saying, i.e. (men) great in the Torah... Doeg the Ab beth Din it was of whom it is said ‘chiefest of Saul's shepherds’ (1 Sam. 21:8); ‘And Ahithophel was counsellor’ (1 Chron. 27:33); ‘and the counsel of Ahithophel which he counselled in those days was as if a man inquired at the oracle of God’ (2 Sam. 16:23). And what was it they were saying? ‘Is it possible! The man who took captive the ewe-lamb and slew the shepherd and caused Israel to fall by the sword, shall there be salvation for him? There is no salvation for him in God!’”

[Addendum 1 to Chapter 5]⁶In Addendum 1 to Chapter 5, the Netziv uses this concept of reciprocal love to explain what King David said of Yonassan: “Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women” (II Sam. 1:26).
[THIS IS WHAT King David said of Yonasan, “Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women.”¹II Sam. 1:26. [King David] did not say “Our love was more wonderful than the love of women,” which would suggest that they loved one another [equally]; David’s love for Yonasan was not as extraordinary. Yonasan drew himself close to David in the greatest possible manner, even though his love for David was much greater in measure [than David’s love for him]. David did not express the same powerful love to Yonassan, for his [David’s] capacity for love was less. It is common that a woman’s love for her husband is greater in measure than her husband’s is for her; nevertheless, her love towards him is powerful since the man expresses his desire for her and pours forth his spirit upon her. David did not express great love for Yonasan, for [his expression of love] was smaller in measure [than Yonasan’s], and thus [David] could not find the emotion to pour his love upon him. Even so, Yonasan loved David with the [deepest] love of the soul, thus the love of Yonasan was [truly] “more wonderful than the love of women.”]

ויספדו שם מספד גדול וכבד מאד. There are 9 different kinds of eulogy. They are:מספד, נהי, צעקה,היליל, נידה, מרזח, קינים, הגה, והי. All these expressions are documented in Scripture. The expression מספד (as here) occurs in Kings I 13,30 ויספדו עליו הוא אחי, “they lamented over it, saying: “alas” my brother.” The word נהי meaning eulogy, appears in Jeremiah 9,18, whereas the expressions צעקה and היליל meaning different types of eulogy occur in Ezekiel 21,14. The expression נידה occurs in Jeremiah 48,17 also meaning eulogy. The word מרזח is used in this sense in Jeremiah 16,5, whereas קינים occurs in that sense Ezekiel 2,6. When the Torah here uses the expression מספד גדול, a great mourning, the meaning is that the various types of eulogies to which we have referred were all used on that occasion. Basically, the Torah teaches that nine different groups of people all participated in the funeral cortege for Yaakov and each made its particular contribution to eulogising and demonstrating their appreciation of the contribution this man had made to mankind, not only to his family. A eulogy is a register of the positive contributions made by the deceased during his lifetime. An example of such a eulogy are the words spoken about King Sha-ul and his son Yonathan by King David: in Samuel II 1,23: הנאהבים והנעימים בחייהם ובמותם לא נפרדו, “who were beloved and pleasant and even in death refused to be parted from Him.” A properly composed eulogy contains elements describing the personal relationship between the survivor and the deceased such as David saying of Yonathan in that same chapter: צר לי עליך אחי יהונתן, “my brother Yonathan you were most dear to me, your love was more wonderful to me, more than the love of women.” King David also taught us something about a eulogy even for people who not always saw eye to eye with the one eulogising him, i.e Avner, at one time almost David’s arch enemy. Nonetheless, in Samuel II 3,33 David proclaims: “Should Avner have died the death of a churl? Your hands were not bound, your feet were not put in fetters; but you fell as one falls before treacherous men!” These examples teach that when eulogising one has to list the good people did, their contributions to life generally, emphasising that with the death of the deceased the survivors have been deprived of those values the deceased stood for. The prophet Ezekiel was even instructed by G’d to eulogise the city of Tzor (Tyre), (Ezekiel 27,2-3) although the major part of that eulogy bemoaned the abuse made by those people of the gifts and luxuries they had enjoyed thanks to G’d’s largesse. The exploits of these people are extolled in spite of their not finding favour in the eyes of the Lord. In verse 27 of that eulogy the fact that all these people, G’d’s creatures, were swept away in the prime of their lives is bemoaned. [The prophet Ezekiel did not say “good riddance.” Ed.] In Moed Katan the Talmud elaborates on the eulogy over the passing of Rabbi Pedot, the speaker commencing with describing the very day on which the sage died as a day which is difficult for the entire Jewish people, as difficult as the day when the sun set on the land of Egypt. This was a reference to Amos 8,9 “Shall not the earth shake for this, and all that dwell in it mourn? Shall it not all rise like the Nile, etc., etc.? I will make the sun set at noon, I will darken the earth on a sunny day, I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into dirges.” The demise of the power of Egypt was, of course, no reason for the Jewish people to mourn, but it was a reason for all the nations who considered Egypt as their patron to do so. There is sort of a formula of how the president of the Sanhedrin has to be eulogised, [to ensure one is not guilty of being remiss in eulogising him sufficiently, a grave sin. Ed.] Part of the formula contains the words: “the finest spices have been buried in the earth (where they cannot give off their fragrance) a man who knew all about the most intricate parts of Torah law such as the various skin eczemas, etc. and ritual impurities connected with oholot, a man able to remove any doubts which bothered Torah scholars of lesser stature. Someone able to explain all manner of hidden depths contained in the Torah.” The mourner continued to liken the deceased to the most outstanding judges in Israel such as Othniel. [The above is an example of a eulogy worthy of the name. Ed.]