1 Samuelchapter 31

The Death of Saul — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

A.Gilboa: Saul and his sons fallvv. 1-7

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 followed hard after 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 it through me, 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. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. 7 When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.

B.Fastened to the wall, and the men of Jabesh come by nightvv. 8-13

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. 11 When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

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Chapter summary

The book ends where chapter 28 said it would.

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The book ends where chapter 28 said it would. Israel flees before the Philistines and falls slain in mount Gilboa; the pursuit overtakes Saul, and Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua are killed. The archers find Saul and he is sore wounded; he asks his armor-bearer to run him through lest the uncircumcised abuse him, and when the man will not, Saul falls upon his own sword. The Philistines cut off his head, put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth, and fasten his body to the wall of Beth-shan. The valiant men of Jabesh-gilead, whose eyes he saved in his first act as king, march all night to take the bodies down, and fast seven days.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Samuel, Nathan, Gad — 1 Samuel overview

A. 1–7 Gilboa: Saul and his sons fall
B. 8–13 Fastened to the wall, and the men of Jabesh come by night

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

2 Samuel 15 verses
- 2 Samuel 1:6“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.
- 2 Samuel 1:9Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
- 2 Samuel 1:12They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
- 2 Samuel 1:20Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
- 2 Samuel 1:21O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.
- Read 2 Samuel 1 →
1 Chronicles 103 verses
- 1 Chronicles 10:1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- 1 Chronicles 10:5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died.
- 1 Chronicles 10:8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
- Read 1 Chronicles 10 →
1 Samuel 282 verses
- 1 Samuel 28:4The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa.
- 1 Samuel 28:19Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
- Read 1 Samuel 28 →
1 Samuel 112 verses
- 1 Samuel 11:1Soon Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
- 1 Samuel 11:15So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
- Read 1 Samuel 11 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Leviticus 262 verses
- Leviticus 26:32And I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who dwell in it will be appalled.
- Leviticus 26:36As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Read Leviticus 26 →
2 Samuel 21 verse
- 2 Samuel 2:4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
- Read 2 Samuel 2 →
1 Chronicles 81 verse
- 1 Chronicles 8:33Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
- Read 1 Chronicles 8 →
1 Samuel 141 verse
- 1 Samuel 14:49Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. His two daughters were named Merab (his firstborn) and Michal (his younger daughter).
- Read 1 Samuel 14 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.