Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 31:11

"And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul," — 1 Samuel 31:11 (ASV)

The inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. The memory of the splendid act of valor of their young king Saul, when he bravely rescued their city (1 Samuel 11:1–11) years before, when they were threatened with grave danger by the Ammonites, was still vividly remembered in Jabesh-Gilead, and they were eager to rescue the body of their hero from shame. It was remarkable how that first deed of splendid patriotism, done in the early fervor of his consecration, bore fruit after so many long years.

“Good deeds immortal are—they cannot die;
Unscathed by envious blight, or withering frost,
They live, and bud and bloom, and men partake
still of their freshness, and are strong as a result.”

AYTOUN.

Jabesh-Gilead, a city of Manasseh on the far side of the Jordan River and on the road from Pella to Gerasa, was perhaps about fourteen miles from Beth-shan (see Judges 21:8 and following). Its name still survives in the Wady Yabez, a wadi running down to the east bank of the Jordan. Near the head of this wadi, some ruins named El Deir are still visible, which Robinson identified with Jabesh-Gilead.