1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.4 When he approached David, the man5 threw himself to the ground.6
sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
5
tnHeb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.