1 Samuel 31:1-9

Saul and His Sons Slain

1 ¹Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain ²on Mount Gilboa.

2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed ³Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.

3 ⁴The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers * * hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.

4 ⁵Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ⁶these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me." But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. ⁷So Saul took his sword and fell on it.

5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.

6 Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 It came about on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9 They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, ⁸to carry the good news ⁹to the house of their idols and to the people.

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1 Samuel 31:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 31

This chapter gives an account of the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, which had been preparing for, and the issue of it; in which Saul, his three sons, and his servants, were slain, upon which his army fled, and several of his cities were taken, 1Sa 31:1-7; what the Philistines did with his body and his armour, 1Sa 31:8-10; the former of which, together with the bodies of his sons, the men of Jabeshgilead rescued, and burnt them, and buried their bones under a tree at Jabesh, expressing great sorrow and concern, 1Sa 31:11-13.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 9

1. 1 Chronicles 10:1-12
2. 1 Samuel 28:4
3. 1 Chronicles 8:33
4. 2 Samuel 1:6
5. Judges 9:54; 1 Chronicles 10:4
6. Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 14:6; 1 Samuel 17:26, 36
7. 2 Samuel 1:6, 10
8. 2 Samuel 1:20
9. Judges 16:23, 24

Footnotes 4

[a]. Lit "smote"
[b]. Lit "found"
[c]. Lit "morrow"
[d]. Lit "into...around"