1 Samuel 31:3

3 The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.

1 Samuel 31:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 31:3

And the battle went sore against Saul
Pressed heavy upon him; he was the butt of the Philistines, they aimed at his person and life:

and the archers hit him;
or "found him" ^F1; the place where was, and directed their arrows at him:

and he was sore wounded of the archers;
or rather "he was afraid" of them, as the Targum, for as yet he was not wounded; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, and is the sense Kimchi and Ben Melech give of the word: he was not afraid of death, as Abarbinel observes, he chose to die; but he was afraid he should be hit by the archers in such a way that he should not die immediately, and should be taken alive and ill used; the Philistines, especially the Cherethites, were famous for archery; (See Gill on Zephaniah 2:5).

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (whaumyw) "et inveserust cum", Pagninus, Montanus.

1 Samuel 31:3 In-Context

1 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled.

2 But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

3 The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he himself was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded.

4 He said to the young man carrying his weapons, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that these godless Philistines won't gloat over me and kill me." But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it.

5 The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his own sword and died with Saul.