A famine threatens the land, due to King Saul's attempt to put the Gibeonites to death. The Gibeonites, you remember, had made a peace treaty with Joshua in the early days of Israel's entrance to the land. The Gibeonites ask for 7 of Saul's descendants to give their lives in exchange for the king's actions. This is granted. Afterwards, the bones of Saul, Jonathan and those recently executed are buried in the family plot; and the famine lifts.
War with Philistia breaks out again; and David leads the nation to battle. The fear of the troops, however, is that David will be lost; so this marks the last battle in which David is on the field. The Philistines are defeated. Among them are 4 descendants of "the giants" perhaps alluding to relatives of Goliath. David rejoices in this victory with a song of praise and deliverance.
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