דברי הימים א, פרק י׳, פסוק י״ב

A profound display of loyalty and self-sacrifice unfolds as the men of Jabesh Gilead embark on a daring rescue mission to restore the lost honor of their first king. The operation required immense courage. A group of bold warriors infiltrated a Philistine city to retrieve the royal remains that had been publicly displayed as a spectacle [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. After successfully securing the bodies, the men brought them back to their own city of Jabesh Gilead [רש"י].

They then laid the king to rest. While historical accounts often speak of burying bones, this is merely a standard expression for interring the entire body, rather than just a skeleton [חומת אנך]. The burial took place under a barren tree [מצודת ציון], situated within a special estate in Jabesh [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Following the burial, the men observed a seven-day fast. Their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives, going far beyond what the rest of the Israelites were prepared to do, was rooted in a deep sense of gratitude. Years earlier, when Nahash the Ammonite threatened Jabesh Gilead, the city was given a seven-day ultimatum. During that agonizing week, the residents fasted and hoped for salvation, and Saul arrived to rescue them. In a poignant tribute to that event, the men of Jabesh now fasted for seven days to honor his memory [רש"י, רד"ק].

Beyond this historical tribute, the fast also served as the traditional seven-day mourning period. The people of Jabesh Gilead shared a familial bond with Saul's tribe of Benjamin. This blood tie traced back to the distant aftermath of the incident of the concubine at Gibeah, when the daughters of Jabesh Gilead were given in marriage to the men of Benjamin [רש"י].