1 Samuel 31:5

5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also impaled himself on his sword and died with Saul.

1 Samuel 31:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 31:5

And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead
By his own hands, and not by the hands of the Amalekite, which the armour bearer would scarcely have suffered:

he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him;
some think that Saul, and his armourbearer, died by the same sword, which was the armourbearer's; and if he was Doeg, they fell probably by the same sword with which the priests of the Lord were murdered at Nob, ( 1 Samuel 22:18 ) ; and it is observed by an historian ^F4, that the murderers of Julius Caesar slew themselves with the same dagger they destroyed him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Sucton. Vit. Caesar. c. 89.

1 Samuel 31:5 In-Context

3 The battle was fierce around Saul. When the archers located him, they wounded him badly.

4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me with it! Otherwise, these uncircumcised men will come and kill me or torture me." But his armor-bearer refused because he was terrified. So Saul took the sword and impaled himself on it.

5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also impaled himself on his sword and died with Saul.

6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his soldiers died together that day.

7 When the Israelites across the valley and across the Jordan learned that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines came and occupied the towns.