Worthy.Bible » STRONG » 1 Samuel » Chapter 31 » Verse 10

1 Samuel 31:10 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

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

Cross Reference

2 Samuel 21:12-14 STRONG

And David H1732 went H3212 and took H3947 the bones H6106 of Saul H7586 and the bones H6106 of Jonathan H3083 his son H1121 from the men H1167 of Jabeshgilead, H3003 H1568 which had stolen H1589 them from the street H7339 of Bethshan, H1052 where the Philistines H6430 had hanged H8511 H8518 them, when H3117 the Philistines H6430 had slain H5221 Saul H7586 in Gilboa: H1533 And he brought up H5927 from thence the bones H6106 of Saul H7586 and the bones H6106 of Jonathan H3083 his son; H1121 and they gathered H622 the bones H6106 of them that were hanged. H3363 And the bones H6106 of Saul H7586 and Jonathan H3083 his son H1121 buried H6912 they in the country H776 of Benjamin H1144 in Zelah, H6762 in the sepulchre H6913 of Kish H7027 his father: H1 and they performed H6213 all that the king H4428 commanded. H6680 And after H310 that God H430 was intreated H6279 for the land. H776

Commentary on 1 Samuel 31 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 31

1Sa 31:1-7. Saul Having Lost His Army at Gilboa, and His Sons Being Slain, He and His Armor-bearer Kill Themselves.

1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel—In a regular engagement, in which the two armies met (1Sa 28:1-4), the Israelites were forced to give way, being annoyed by the arrows of the enemy, which, destroying them at a distance before they came to close combat, threw them into panic and disorder. Taking advantage of the heights of Mount Gilboa, [the Israelites] attempted to rally, but in vain. Saul and his sons fought like heroes; but the onset of the Philistines being at length mainly directed against the quarter where they were, Jonathan and two brothers, Abinadab or Ishui (1Sa 14:49) and Melchishua, overpowered by numbers, were killed on the spot.

3-5. the battle went sore against Saul, &c.—He seems to have bravely maintained his ground for some time longer; but exhausted with fatigue and loss of blood, and dreading that if he fell alive into the enemy's hands, they would insolently maltreat him (Jos 8:29; 10:24; Jud 8:21), he requested his armor bearer to despatch him. However, that officer refused to do so. Saul then falling on the point of his sword killed himself; and the armor bearer, who, according to Jewish writers, was Doeg, following the example of his master, put an end to his life also. They died by one and the same sword—the very weapon with which they had massacred the Lord's servants at Nob.

6. So Saul died—(see on 1Ch 10:13; Ho 13:11).

and his three sons—The influence of a directing Providence is evidently to be traced in permitting the death of Saul's three eldest and most energetic sons, particularly that of Jonathan, for whom, had he survived his father, a strong party would undoubtedly have risen and thus obstructed the path of David to the throne.

and all his men, that same day together—his servants or bodyguard (1Ch 10:6).

7. the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley—probably the valley of Jezreel—the largest and southernmost of the valleys that run between Little Hermon and the ridges of the Gilboa range direct into the Jordan valley. It was very natural for the people in the towns and villages there to take fright and flee, for had they waited the arrival of the victors, they must, according to the war usages of the time, have been deprived either of their liberty or their lives.

1Sa 31:8-10. The Philistines Triumph over Their Dead Bodies.

8, 9. on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen—On discovering the corpses of the slaughtered princes on the battlefield, the enemy reserved them for special indignities. They consecrated the armor of the king and his sons to the temple of Ashtaroth fastened their bodies on the temple of Shen, while they fixed the royal heads ignominiously in the temple of Dagon (1Ch 10:10); thus dividing the glory among their several deities.

10. to the wall—(2Sa 21:12)—"the street" of Beth-shan. The street was called from the temple which stood in it. And they had to go along it to the wall of the city (see Jos 17:11).

1Sa 31:11-13. The Men of Jabesh-gilead Recover the Bodies and Bury Them at Jabesh.

11-13. the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done—Mindful of the important and timely services Saul had rendered them, they gratefully and heroically resolved not to suffer such indignities to be inflicted on the remains of the royal family.

12. valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons—Considering that Beth-shan is an hour and a half's distance, and by a narrow upland passage, to the west of the Jordan (the whole being a journey from Jabesh-gilead of about ten miles), they must have made all haste to travel thither to carry off the headless bodies and return to their own side of the Jordan in the course of a single night.

burnt them—This was not a Hebrew custom. It was probably resorted to on this occasion to prevent all risk of the Beth-shanites coming to disinter the royal remains for further insult.