The Meaning of 2 Samuel 1:23 Explained

2 Samuel 1:23

KJV: Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

YLT: Saul and Jonathan! They are loved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they have not been parted. Than eagles they have been lighter, Than lions they have been mightier!

Darby: Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their lives, Even in their death were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

ASV: Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided: They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Saul  and Jonathan  [were] lovely  and pleasant  in their lives,  and in their death  they were not divided:  they were swifter  than eagles,  they were stronger  than lions. 

What does 2 Samuel 1:23 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 1:17-27 - The Song Of The Bow
This noble poem is unrivaled. It is a perfect model of a funeral dirge. It is in poetry what Händel's Dead March in Saul is in music. The psalmist is borne along both by art and affection. He could not have composed this song unless he had been a consummate artist, and unless he had drunk deep of that divine love which believes, bears, hopes and endures all things and never fails.
He forgets all that he has suffered. His love refuses to consider anything but what has been pleasant and lovely in his liege lord. And for Jonathan there is a special stanza. A brother soul! The Philistines had felt David's might, but his friend had tasted his sweetness! Terrible as a whirlwind in flight, yet winsome as a woman! But if human love can impute only good to those who are the objects of its affection, what will not God's love say of us, feel toward us and impute to us! Here is a clue to the exceeding riches of the love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 1

1  The Amalekite who accused himself of Saul's death is slain
17  David laments Saul and Jonathan with a song

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 1:23 mean?

Saul and Jonathan [were] beloved and pleasant in their lives and in their death not they were divided than eagles they were swifter than lions they were stronger
שָׁא֣וּל וִיהוֹנָתָ֗ן הַנֶּאֱהָבִ֤ים וְהַנְּעִימִם֙ בְּחַיֵּיהֶ֔ם וּבְמוֹתָ֖ם לֹ֣א נִפְרָ֑דוּ מִנְּשָׁרִ֣ים קַ֔לּוּ מֵאֲרָי֖וֹת גָּבֵֽרוּ

שָׁא֣וּל  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
וִיהוֹנָתָ֗ן  and  Jonathan 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהֹונָתָן  
Sense: a son of king Saul and a friend of David.
הַנֶּאֱהָבִ֤ים  [were]  beloved 
Parse: Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: אָהַב  
Sense: to love.
וְהַנְּעִימִם֙  and  pleasant 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: נָעִים 
Sense: pleasant, delightful, sweet, lovely, agreeable.
בְּחַיֵּיהֶ֔ם  in  their  lives 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וּבְמוֹתָ֖ם  and  in  their  death 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מָוֶת  
Sense: death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead.
נִפְרָ֑דוּ  they  were  divided 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: פָּרַד  
Sense: to separate, divide.
מִנְּשָׁרִ֣ים  than  eagles 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural
Root: נֶשֶׁר  
Sense: eagle, vulture, griffon-vulture.
קַ֔לּוּ  they  were  swifter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
מֵאֲרָי֖וֹת  than  lions 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֲרִי 
Sense: lion.
גָּבֵֽרוּ  they  were  stronger 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: גָּבַר  
Sense: to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great.