1 Samuel31

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¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

²And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

³And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

⁴Then 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.

⁵And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.

⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

⁷And 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.

⁸And 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.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And they put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

¹¹And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard concerning him that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²all 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.

¹³And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk-tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

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Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Samuel 31.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Saul's defeat and death. (1–7). Saul's body rescued by the men of Jabesh-gilead. (8–13).

vv1-7

We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manner of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee, expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired that the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and he became his own murderer. As it is the grand deceit of the devil, to persuade sinners, under great difficulties, to fly to this last act of desperation, it is well to fortify the mind against it, by a serious consideration of its sinfulness before God, and its miserable consequences in society. But our security is not in ourselves. Let us seek protection from Him who keepeth Israel. Let us watch and pray; and take unto us the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

vv8-13

The Scripture makes no mention what became of the souls of Saul and his sons, after they were dead; but of their bodies only: secret things belong not to us. It is of little consequence by what means we die, or what is done with our dead bodies. If our souls are saved, our bodies will be raised incorruptible and glorious; but not to fear His wrath, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, is the extreme of folly and wickedness. How useless is the respect of fellow-creatures to those who are suffering the wrath of God! While pompous funerals, grand monuments, and he praises of men, honour the memory of the deceased, the soul may be suffering in the regions of darkness and despair! Let us seek that honour which cometh from God only.

Key Words

PhilistinesH6430Hebrew

פְּלִשְׁתִּי: a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth

were fightingH3898Hebrew

לָחַם: to feed on; figuratively, to consume; by implication, to battle (as destruction)

IsraelH3478Hebrew

יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity

menH582Hebrew

אֱנוֹשׁ: a man in general (singly or collectively)

fledH5127Hebrew

נוּס: to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver)

beforeH6440Hebrew

פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)

fellH5307Hebrew

נָפַל: to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)

slainH2491Hebrew

חָלָל: pierced (especially to death); figuratively, polluted

MountH2022Hebrew

הַר: a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)

GilboaH1533Hebrew

גִּלְבֹּעַ: Gilboa, a mountain of Palestine