שמואל ב, פרק א׳, פסוק כ״ה

The lament reaches a profound peak of pain and shock over the fallen warriors, ultimately focusing on the unimaginable personal loss of Jonathan. Repeating cries of grief is a classic feature of mourning, used by the mourner to express the absolute depth of sadness [מצודת דוד]. The heroes did not die while trying to escape or during a retreat. Instead, they were the first to be killed, fighting with remarkable bravery right in the heart of the battlefield [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Conversely, another perspective suggests that dying in the thick of the fight simply reveals that their time to pass away had come, making the battle merely the tool through which their ultimate fate was carried out [אלשיך].

The greatest sense of shock, however, is directed at the death of Jonathan upon the mountain heights. Mountains naturally serve as a fortress and a point of strength for a warrior [רש״י, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This creates a striking military paradox. Typically, even a weak fighter gains a significant strategic advantage when fighting from an elevated position. This advantage should have been absolute for a hero like Jonathan, fighting in a mountainous terrain where he intimately knew every path and entrance. Therefore, his defeat under such favorable conditions is deeply puzzling and almost beyond belief [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג]. Beyond the military surprise, his death is also a spiritual wonder, as he fell despite being a complete person without sin [אלשיך]. Finally, a more visual interpretation paints a tragic picture of the battlefield, suggesting that Jonathan ultimately fell upon the bodies of his own warriors, who had sacrificed their lives alongside him in the struggle [מלבי״ם].