1 Samuel 31:6-13

6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on this side of the valley, and [they] that were on this side of 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.
8 And it came to pass the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent [them] into the land of the Philistines round about, to announce the glad tidings in the houses of their idols, and to the people.
10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 all 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 came to Jabesh, and burned them there.
13 And they took their bones, and buried them under the tamarisk at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 Samuel 31:6-13 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or 'of the Ashtoreths (Astartes).' see Note, Judg. 2.13
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.