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 after Saul and after 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 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 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.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons; and all his house died together.
7 When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their 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 sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 They stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the news to their idols, and to the people.
10 They put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon.
11 When all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
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Commentary on 1 Chronicles 10 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 10
This part, 1 Chronicles 10:1 which gives an account of the last battle of Saul with the Philistines, and of his death and burial, is the same with 1 Samuel 31:1 see the notes there; the cause of his death follows in 1 Chronicles 10:13
See Gill on 1 Samuel 31:1.
So Saul died for his transgression,.... See Gill on 1 Samuel 31:13 A violent and dishonourable death, which was suffered on account of the sins he was guilty of:
one was, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not; both in not staying for Samuel the time appointed, and by sparing the Amalekites whom he was bid to destroy, 1 Samuel 13:13.
and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; what he should do with respect to engaging in battle with the Philistines, 1 Samuel 28:8 which to do was contrary to an express command of God, Leviticus 19:31.
And inquired not of the Lord,.... For though he did inquire in some sense in an external, careless, and hypocritical manner, yet not done seriously, sincerely, and heartily, nor with constancy; it was accounted as if he inquired not at all, 1 Samuel 28:6 the Targum adds another reason of his death, because he killed the priests of Nob; but that is not in the text:
therefore he slew him; or suffered him to be slain:
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse; translated the kingdom of Israel out of Saul's family, upon his death, into Jesse's, even unto David; for the sake of which observation this short account is given of the last end of Saul.