Jabesh in the Bible

So they asked, "Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?" Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering.

When they took roll call, they noticed none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.

So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors against Jabesh Gilead. They commanded them, "Go and kill with your swords the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins -- they had never had sexual relations with a male. They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around.

But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was severely oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He put out the right eye of all of them, and he would not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Not one was left of the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, did not put out, except for seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and went to Jabesh Gilead.

Nahash the Ammonite marched against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us and we will serve you."

The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you."

Now Saul was walking behind the oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, "What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?" So they told him about the men of Jabesh.

They said to the messengers who had come, "Here's what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: 'Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.'" When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy.

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.

When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people of Judah. David was told, "The people of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul."

So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and told them, "May you be blessed by the Lord because you have shown this kindness to your lord Saul by burying him.

he went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh Gilead. (They had secretly taken them from the plaza at Beth Shan. It was there that Philistines publicly exposed their corpses after they had killed Saul at Gilboa.)

Then conspired against him, Shallum son of Jabesh, and smote him before the people, and slew him, - and reigned in his stead.

Shallum the son of Jabesh, began to reign, in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah, - for the space of a month in Samaria.

Then came up Menahem son of Gadi, from Tirzah, and entered Samaria, and smote Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, - and slew him, and reigned in his stead.

And, when all Jabesh-Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

then rose up all the men of valour, and took away the corpse of Saul, and the corpses of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, - and buried their bodies under the terebinth, in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.