Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 1:19

"Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!" — 2 Samuel 1:19 (ASV)

The beauty of Israel, in the sense of the glory or ornament of Israel, referring to Saul and Jonathan. The rendering of the Syriac and some commentators, “the gazelle,” as a poetic name for Jonathan, is uncalled for, both because the words are spoken of Saul and Jonathan together, and because there is no evidence elsewhere that Jonathan was so called, nor is there any allusion to him under this figure in the song.

Upon thy high places. — Compare to 2 Samuel 1:21; 2 Samuel 1:25. This line may be considered as the superscription of the whole song.