1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons.
3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.
10 And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.
11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;
12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
1 Now the Philistines H6430 fought H3898 against Israel: H3478 and the men H582 of Israel H3478 fled H5127 from before H6440 the Philistines, H6430 and fell down H5307 slain H2491 in mount H2022 Gilboa. H1533
2 And the Philistines H6430 followed hard H1692 upon Saul H7586 and upon his sons; H1121 and the Philistines H6430 slew H5221 Jonathan, H3083 and Abinadab, H41 and Malchishua, H4444 Saul's H7586 sons. H1121
3 And the battle H4421 went sore H3513 against Saul, H7586 and the archers H3384 H582 H7198 hit H4672 him; and he was sore H3966 wounded H2342 of the archers. H3384 H582 H7198
4 Then said H559 Saul H7586 unto his armourbearer, H5375 H3627 Draw H8025 thy sword, H2719 and thrust me through H1856 therewith; lest these uncircumcised H6189 come H935 and thrust me through, H1856 and abuse H5953 me. But his armourbearer H5375 H3627 would H14 not; for he was sore H3966 afraid. H3372 Therefore Saul H7586 took H3947 a sword, H2719 and fell H5307 upon it.
5 And when his armourbearer H5375 H3627 saw H7200 that Saul H7586 was dead, H4191 he fell H5307 likewise upon his sword, H2719 and died H4191 with him.
6 So Saul H7586 died, H4191 and his three H7969 sons, H1121 and his armourbearer, H5375 H3627 and all his men, H582 that same day H3117 together. H3162
7 And when the men H582 of Israel H3478 that were on the other side H5676 of the valley, H6010 and they that were on the other side H5676 Jordan, H3383 saw H7200 that the men H582 of Israel H3478 fled, H5127 and that Saul H7586 and his sons H1121 were dead, H4191 they forsook H5800 the cities, H5892 and fled; H5127 and the Philistines H6430 came H935 and dwelt H3427 in them.
8 And it came to pass on the morrow, H4283 when the Philistines H6430 came H935 to strip H6584 the slain, H2491 that they found H4672 Saul H7586 and his three H7969 sons H1121 fallen H5307 in mount H2022 Gilboa. H1533
9 And they cut off H3772 his head, H7218 and stripped off H6584 his armour, H3627 and sent H7971 into the land H776 of the Philistines H6430 round about, H5439 to publish H1319 it in the house H1004 of their idols, H6091 and among the people. H5971
10 And they put H7760 his armour H3627 in the house H1004 of Ashtaroth: H6252 H1045 and they fastened H8628 his body H1472 to the wall H2346 of Bethshan. H1052
11 And when the inhabitants H3427 of Jabeshgilead H3003 H1568 heard H8085 of that which the Philistines H6430 had done H6213 to Saul; H7586
12 All the valiant H2428 men H376 H381 arose, H6965 and went H3212 all night, H3915 and took H3947 the body H1472 of Saul H7586 and the bodies H1472 of his sons H1121 from the wall H2346 of Bethshan, H1052 and came H935 to Jabesh, H3003 and burnt H8313 them there.
13 And they took H3947 their bones, H6106 and buried H6912 them under a tree H815 at Jabesh, H3003 and fasted H6684 seven H7651 days. H3117
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.
3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.
4 Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.
5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto the house of their idols, and to the people.
10 And they put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
1 And the Philistines are fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel flee from the face of the Philistines, and fall wounded in mount Gilboa,
2 and the Philistines follow Saul and his sons, and the Philistines smite Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul.
3 And the battle is hard against Saul, and the archers find him -- men with bow -- and he is pained greatly by the archers;
4 and Saul saith to the bearer of his weapons, `Draw thy sword, and pierce me with it, lest they come -- these uncircumcised -- and have pierced me, and rolled themselves on me;' and the bearer of his weapons hath not been willing, for he is greatly afraid, and Saul taketh the sword, and falleth upon it.
5 And the bearer of his weapons seeth that Saul `is' dead, and he falleth -- he also -- on his sword, and dieth with him;
6 and Saul dieth, and three of his sons, and the bearer of his weapons, also all his men, on that day together.
7 And they see -- the men of Israel, who `are' beyond the valley, and who `are' beyond the Jordan -- that the men of Israel have fled, and that Saul and his sons have died, and they forsake the cities and flee, and Philistines come in, and dwell in them.
8 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the Philistines come to strip the wounded, and they find Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa,
9 and they cut off his head, and strip off his weapons, and send into the land of the Philistines round about, to proclaim tidings `in' the house of their idols, and `among' the people;
10 and they place his weapons `in' the house of Ashtaroth, and his body they have fixed on the wall of Beth-Shan.
11 And they hear regarding it -- the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead -- that which the Philistines have done to Saul,
12 and all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,
13 and they take their bones, and bury `them' under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and fast seven days.
1 And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.
3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers came up with him; and he was much terrified by the archers.
4 Then said Saul to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was much afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
5 And when his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and [they] that were on this side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
8 And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent [them] into the land of the Philistines round about, to announce the glad tidings in the houses of their idols, and to the people.
10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burned them there.
13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
2 The Philistines followed hard on Saul and on his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.
3 The battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.
4 Then said Saul to his armor bearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it.
5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 It happened on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 They cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the news to the house of their idols, and to the people.
10 They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
13 They took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel: and the men of Israel went in flight before the Philistines, falling down wounded in Mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they put to death Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
3 And the fight was going badly for Saul, and the archers came across him, and he was wounded by the archers.
4 Then Saul said to the servant who had the care of his arms, Take out your sword and put it through me, before these men without circumcision come and make sport of me. But his servant, full of fear, would not do so. Then Saul took out his sword, and falling on it, put an end to himself.
5 And when his servant saw that Saul was dead, he did the same, and was united with him in death.
6 So death overtook Saul and his three sons and his servant on the same day.
7 And when the men of Israel across the valley and on the other side of Jordan saw that the army of Israel was in flight and that Saul and his sons were dead, they came out of their towns and went in flight; and the Philistines came and took them for themselves.
8 Now on the day after, when the Philistines came to take their goods from the dead, they saw Saul and his three sons dead on the earth in Mount Gilboa.
9 And cutting off his head and taking away his war-dress, they sent word into the land of the Philistines round about, to take the news to their gods and to the people.
10 His war-dress they put in the house of Astarte; and his body was fixed on the wall of Beth-shan.
11 And when the people of Jabesh-gilead had news of what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 All the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there.
13 And their bones they put in the earth under a tree in Jabesh; and for seven days they took no food.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 31
Commentary on 1 Samuel 31 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Death and Burial of Saul and His Sons - 1 Samuel 31:1-13
The end of the unhappy king corresponded to his life ever since the day of his rejection as king. When he had lost the battle, and saw his three sons fallen at his side, and the archers of the enemy pressing hard upon him, without either repentance or remorse he put an end to his life by suicide, to escape the disgrace of being wounded and abused by the foe (1 Samuel 31:1-7). But he did not attain his object; for the next day the enemy found his corpse and those of his sons, and proceeded to plunder, mutilate, and abuse them (1 Samuel 31:8-10). However, the king of Israel was not to be left to perish in utter disgrace. The citizens of Jabesh remembered the deliverance which Saul had brought to their city after his election as king, and showed their gratitude by giving an honourable burial to Saul and his sons (1 Samuel 31:11-13). There is a parallel to this chapter in 1 Chronicles 10:1-14, which agrees exactly with the account before us, with very few deviations indeed, and those mostly verbal, and merely introduces a hortatory clause at the end (1 Chronicles 10:13, 1 Chronicles 10:14).
The account of the war between the Philistines and Israel, the commencement of which has already been mentioned in 1 Samuel 28:1, 1 Samuel 28:4., and 1 Samuel 29:1, is resumed in 1 Samuel 31:1 in a circumstantial clause; and to this there is attached a description of the progress and result of the battle, more especially with reference to Saul. Consequently, in 1 Chronicles 10:1, where there had been no previous allusion to the war, the participle נלחמים is changed into the perfect. The following is the way in which we should express the circumstantial clause: “Now when the Philistines were fighting against Israel, the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and slain men fell in the mountains of Gilboa” (vid., 1 Samuel 28:4). The principal engagement took place in the plain of Jezreel. But when the Israelites were obliged to yield, they fled up the mountains of Gilboa, and were pursued and slain there.
1 Samuel 31:2-6
The Philistines followed Saul, smote (i.e., put to death) his three sons (see at 1 Samuel 14:49), and fought fiercely against Saul himself. When the archers ( בּקּשׁת אנשׁים is an explanatory apposition to המּורים ) hit him , i.e., overtook him, he was greatly alarmed at them ( יחל , from חיל or חוּל ),
(Note: The lxx have adopted the rendering καὶ ἐτραυμάτισαν εἰς τὰ ὑποχόνδρια , they wounded him in the abdomen, whilst the Vulgate rendering is vulneratus est vehementer a sagittariis . In 1 Chronicles 10:3 the Sept. rendering is καὶ ἐπόνεσεν ἀπὸ τῶν τόξων , and that of the Vulgate et vulneraverunt jaculis . The translators have therefore derived יחל from חלל = חלה , and then given a free rendering to the other words. But this rendering is overthrown by the word מאד , very, vehemently, to say nothing of the fact that the verb חלל or חלה cannot be proved to be ever used in the sense of wounding. If Saul had been so severely wounded that he could not kill himself, and therefore asked his armour-bearer to slay him, as Thenius supposes, he would not have had the strength to pierce himself with his sword when the armour-bearer refused. The further conjecture of Thenius, that the Hebrew text should be read thus, in accordance with the lxx, המּררים אל ויּחל , “he was wounded in the region of the gall,” is opposed by the circumstance that ὑποχόνδρια is not the gall or region of the gall, but what is under the χόνδρος , or breast cartilage, viz., the abdomen and bowels.)
and called upon his armour-bearer to pierce him with the sword, “ lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and play with me ,” i.e., cool their courage upon me by maltreating me. But as the armour-bearer would not do this, because he was very much afraid, since he was supposed to be answerable for the king's life, Saul inflicted death upon himself with his sword; whereupon the armour-bearer also fell upon his sword and died with his king, so that on that day Saul and this three sons and his armour-bearer all died; also “ all his men ” (for which we have “all his house” in the Chronicles), i.e., not all the warriors who went out with him to battle, but all the king's servants, or all the members of his house, sc., who had taken part in the battle. Neither Abner nor his son Ishbosheth was included, for the latter was not in the battle; and although the former was Saul's cousin and commander-in-chief (see 1 Samuel 14:50-51), he did not belong to his house or servants.
1 Samuel 31:7
When the men of Israel upon the sides that were opposite to the valley (Jezreel) and the Jordan saw that the Israelites (the Israelitish troop) fled, and Saul and his sons were dead, they took to flight out of the cities, whereupon the Philistines took possession of them. עבר is used here to signify the side opposite to the place of conflict in the valley of Jezreel, which the writer assumed as his standpoint (cf. 1 Samuel 14:40); so that העמק עבר is the country to the west of the valley of Jezreel, and היּרדּן עבר the country to the west of the Jordan, i.e., between Gilboa and the Jordan. These districts, i.e., the whole of the country round about the valley of Jezreel, the Philistines took possession of, so that the whole of the northern part of the land of Israel, in other words the whole land with the exception of Peraea and the tribe-land of Judah, came into their hands when Saul was slain.
On the day following the battle, when the Philistines tripped the slain, they found Saul and his three sons lying upon Gilboa; and having cut off their heads and plundered their weapons, they went them (the heads and weapons) as trophies into the land of the Philistines, i.e., round about to the different towns and hamlets of their land, to announce the joyful news in their idol-temples (the writer of the Chronicles mentions the idols themselves) and to the people, and then deposited their weapons (the weapons of Saul and his sons) in the Astarte-houses. But the corpses they fastened to the town-wall of Beth-shean, i.e., Beisan, in the valley of the Jordan (see at Joshua 17:11). Beth-azabbim and Beth-ashtaroth are composite words; the first part is indeclinable, and the plural form is expressed by the second word: idol-houses and Astarte-houses , like beth-aboth (father's-houses: see at Exodus 6:14). On the Astartes , see at Judges 2:13. It is not expressly stated indeed in 1 Samuel 31:9, 1 Samuel 31:10, that the Philistines plundered the bodies of Saul's sons as well, and mutilated them by cutting off their heads; but ראשׁו and כּליו , his (i.e., Saul's) head and his weapons , alone are mentioned. At the same time, it is every evident from 1 Samuel 31:12, where the Jabeshites are said to have taken down from the wall of Beth-shean not Saul's body only, but the bodies of his sons also, that the Philistines had treated the corpses of Saul's sons in just the same manner as that of Saul himself. The writer speaks distinctly of the abuse of Saul's body only, because it was his death that he had chiefly in mind at the time. To the word וישׁלּחוּ we must supply in thought the object ראשׁו and כּליו from the preceding clause. גּויּת and גּויּת (1 Samuel 31:10 and 1 Samuel 31:12) are the corpses without the heads. The fact that the Philistines nailed them to the town-wall of Beth-shean presupposes the capture of that city, from which it is evident that they had occupied the land as far as the Jordan. The definite word Beth-ashtaroth is changed by the writer of the Chronicles into Beth-elohim , temples of the gods; or rather he has interpreted it in this manner without altering the sense, as the Astartes are merely mentioned as the principal deities for the idols generally. The writer of the Chronicles has also omitted to mention the nailing of the corpses to the wall of Beth-shean, but he states instead that “they fastened his skull in the temple of Dagon,” a fact which is passed over in the account before us. From this we may see how both writers have restricted themselves to the principal points, or those which appeared to them of the greatest importance (vid., Bertheau on 1 Chronicles 10:10).
When the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead heard this, all the brave men of the town set out to Beth-shean, took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall, brought them to Jabesh, and burned them there. “ But their bones they buried under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days ,” to mourn for the king their former deliverer (see 1 Samuel 11:1-15). These statements are given in a very condensed form in the Chronicles (1 Samuel 31:11, 1 Samuel 31:12). Not only is the fact that “they went the whole night” omitted, as being of no essential importance to the general history; but the removal of the bodies from the town-wall is also passed over, because their being fastened there had not been mentioned, and also the burning of the bodies. The reason for the last omission is not to be sought for in the fact that the author of the Chronicles regarded burning as ignominious, according to Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9, but because he did not see how to reconcile the burning of the bodies with the burial of the bones. It was not the custom in Israel to burn the corpse, but to bury it in the ground. The former was restricted to the worst criminals (see at Leviticus 20:14). Consequently the Chaldee interpreted the word “burnt” as relating to the burning of spices, a custom which we meet with afterwards as a special honour shown to certain of the kings of Judah on the occasion of their burial (2 Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 21:19; Jeremiah 34:5). But this is expressed by שׂרפה לו שׂרף , “to make a burning for him,” whereas here it is stated distinctly that “they burnt them.” The reason for the burning of the bodies in the case of Saul and his sons is to be sought for in the peculiarity of the circumstances; viz., partly in the fact that the bodies were mutilated by the removal of the heads, and therefore a regular burial of the dead was impossible, and partly in their anxiety lest, if the Philistines followed up their victory and came to Jabesh, they should desecrate the bodies still further. But even this was not a complete burning to ashes, but merely a burning of the skin and flesh; so that the bones still remained, and they were buried in the ground under a shady tree. Instead of “under the (well-known) tamarisk” ( eshel ), we have האלה תּחת (under the strong tree) in 1 Chronicles 10:11. David afterwards had them fetched away and buried in Saul's family grave at Zela, in the land of Benjamin (2 Samuel 21:11.). The seven days' fast kept by the Jabeshites was a sign of public and general mourning on the part of the inhabitants of that town at the death of the king, who had once rescued them from the most abominable slavery.
In this ignominious fate of Saul there was manifested the righteous judgment of God in consequence of the hardening of his heart. But the love which the citizens of Jabesh displayed in their treatment of the corpses of Saul and his sons, had reference not to the king as rejected by God, but to the king as anointed with the Spirit of Jehovah, and was a practical condemnation, not of the divine judgment which had fallen upon Saul, but of the cruelty of the enemies of Israel and its anointed. For although Saul had waged war almost incessantly against the Philistines, it is not known that in any one of his victories he had ever been guilty of such cruelties towards the conquered and slaughtered foe as could justify this barbarous revenge on the part of the uncircumcised upon his lifeless corpse.