1 Samuel 31:3

3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

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 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

2 The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.

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