12. Bones of Saul. It was the tender devotion of Rizpah that caused David to show this respect for the descendants of Saul (see 13). Wishing to show that he cherished no enmity against the former king, David brought the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-gilead and gave them an honorable burial in the ancient family sepulcher.
The street. Literally, “the broad open place,” “the plaza.” According to 1 Sam. 31:10-12 the Philistines fastened the bodies of Saul and his sons to the “wall of Bethshan,” evidently on the section of the wall facing the public square. It was from this place that they were recovered at night by the men of Jabesh-gilead (1 Sam. 31:11-13).