1 Samuel / Chapter 31

1 Samuel 31

13 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

The Philistines engage Israel in battle on Mount Gilboa, and the rout is total. Saul's three sons — Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua — fall in combat. Saul himself is critically wounded by archers and, rather than face capture and humiliation, asks his armor-bearer to kill him. When the armor-bearer refuses in terror, Saul falls on his own sword, and the armor-bearer follows him in death. The next day the Philistines find the bodies, behead Saul, strip his armor, and send word throughout Philistia. They fasten Saul's body to the wall of Beth-shan and place his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth. But the men of Jabesh-gilead — the very people Saul rescued in his first act as king — march through the night, recover the bodies from the wall, burn them at Jabesh, bury the bones under the tamarisk tree, and fast seven days.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

This chapter is the mirror-image of chapter 11. There, Saul burst onto the scene by rescuing Jabesh-gilead from Nahash the Ammonite; here, Jabesh-gilead repays the debt by rescuing Saul's body from the Philistines. The literary structure is an inclusio — Saul's public story begins and ends with the men of Jabesh-gilead. The chapter also records the first explicit suicide in the Hebrew Bible: Saul's falling on his own sword (naphal al-charbo). The narrator offers no theological commentary on the act itself — no condemnation, no approval. The silence is deafening, leaving the reader to reckon with the tragic end of a king who began with such promise. The Philistines' treatment of Saul's body — beheading, armor-stripping, display on the walls of Beth-shan — mirrors what David did to Goliath (chapter 17), creating a grim symmetry: Israel's champion once desecrated a Philistine giant, and now Philistia desecrates Israel's king.

Translation Friction

The central translational tension lies in verse 4, where Saul fears the Philistines will 'thrust him through and abuse him' (or 'make sport of him'). The verb hit'allelu (from alal in the Hithpael) can mean 'to deal wantonly with, to make a toy of, to torture' — the same root used for what the Egyptians did to Israel (Exodus 10:2). Saul's fear is not merely of death but of degradation: being kept alive as a trophy, mocked and mutilated. This raises the question of whether Saul's suicide was despair or a final act of royal dignity — the text does not resolve this. Another friction point: verse 12 says the men of Jabesh-gilead 'burned' the bodies (saraph), which is unusual in Israelite practice where burial, not cremation, was normative. Some scholars argue the burning removed the decomposed flesh so the bones could be properly interred; others see it as an emergency measure to prevent further Philistine desecration. We render saraph straightforwardly as 'burned' and let the translator's note address the anomaly.

Connections

The Jabesh-gilead connection to chapter 11 forms the most prominent literary link — the men Saul once delivered now deliver what remains of him. David's lament over Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1 immediately follows this chapter, and the burning/burial at Jabesh will be revisited when David honors the men of Jabesh-gilead in 2 Samuel 2:4-7. The fastening of bodies to the wall of Beth-shan anticipates the Gibeonite execution of Saul's descendants in 2 Samuel 21, where bodies are again exposed and must be recovered. Saul's armor placed in the temple of Ashtaroth inverts the pattern from chapter 5, where the Philistine god Dagon fell before the captured ark — now it is Israel's king whose spoils adorn a Philistine temple. The death of Jonathan here sets up the covenant loyalty David will show to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9, honoring the oath he swore to Jonathan.

1 Samuel 31:1

וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים נִלְחָמִ֣ים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיָּנֻ֜סוּ אַנְשֵׁ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַיִּפְּל֥וּ חֲלָלִ֖ים בְּהַ֥ר הַגִּלְבֹּֽעַ׃

The Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell, fatally wounded, on Mount Gilboa.

KJV Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The opening conjunction u ('and') connects this chapter directly to the preceding narrative — there is no fresh beginning, only the continuation of a disaster already set in motion. The verb nilchamim ('were fighting') is a participle, indicating ongoing action: the battle is already in progress when the narrative camera arrives.
  2. The phrase vayyippelu chalalim ('they fell as pierced ones') uses the same root chalal that will recur throughout the chapter. The word carries a sense of violent penetration — these men died from sword, spear, or arrow wounds. Mount Gilboa sits at the southeastern edge of the Jezreel Valley, a strategic position whose loss would expose the entire central highlands to Philistine advance.
1 Samuel 31:2

וַיַּדְבְּק֣וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אֶת־שָׁא֖וּל וְאֶת־בָּנָ֑יו וַיַּכּ֣וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים אֶת־יוֹנָתָ֧ן וְאֶת־אֲבִינָדָ֛ב וְאֶת־מַלְכִּי־שׁ֖וּעַ בְּנֵ֥י שָׁאֽוּל׃

The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons. The Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua — Saul's sons.

KJV And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb davaq in military contexts means to pursue so closely that the gap between hunter and hunted collapses. The Philistines are not merely chasing Saul; they have locked onto him. The three sons are named in order: Jonathan (yehonatan, 'the LORD has given'), Abinadab (avinadav, 'my father is generous'), and Malchi-shua (malki-shua, 'my king is salvation' or 'my king is noble'). The irony of these theophoric names — invoking God's giving, generosity, and salvation — against the scene of their violent deaths is a silence the narrator lets speak for itself.
  2. Jonathan's death fulfills the narrative trajectory set in motion when he made his covenant with David (chapter 18, 20). He chose loyalty to David over dynastic succession, and now he dies alongside the father whose throne he voluntarily relinquished. The text does not separate Jonathan's death from his brothers' or grant him a special scene — he dies as a son of Saul, on a battlefield, unnamed in any speech.
1 Samuel 31:3

וַתִּכְבַּ֤ד הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ אֶל־שָׁא֔וּל וַיִּמְצָאֻ֥הוּ הַמּוֹרִ֖ים אֲנָשִׁ֣ים בַּקָּ֑שֶׁת וַיָּ֥חֶל מְאֹ֖ד מֵהַמּוֹרִֽים׃

The battle pressed heavily against Saul, and the archers found him — the bowmen — and he was severely wounded by them.

KJV And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase anashim ba-qashet ('men of the bow') is an appositional clarification of ha-morim ('the shooters') — the narrator specifies that these are archers, long-range killers. Saul is being struck from a distance, unable to close with his enemies. For a warrior-king, this is a particularly degrading way to fall.
  2. The crux of the verse is vayyachel me'od. If from chul ('to writhe, tremble'), Saul is terrified; if from chalal ('to be pierced, wounded'), he is already critically injured. The Septuagint renders it as 'he was wounded' (etraumatisthe), supporting the chalal reading. The ambiguity may be intentional — Saul is both wounded and terrified, his body and his nerve both broken.
1 Samuel 31:4

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁא֣וּל ׀ לְנֹשֵׂ֣א כֵלָ֡יו שְׁלֹ֣ף חַ֠רְבְּךָ֠ וְדׇקְרֵ֨נִי בָ֜הּ פֶּן־יָבֹ֣אוּ הָעֲרֵלִ֤ים הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ וּדְקָרֻ֔נִי וְהִתְעַלְּלוּ־בִ֑י וְלֹ֤א אָבָה֙ נֹשֵׂ֣א כֵלָ֔יו כִּ֥י יָרֵ֖א מְאֹ֑ד וַיִּקַּ֤ח שָׁאוּל֙ אֶת־הַחֶ֔רֶב וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עָלֶֽיהָ׃

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 make sport of me." But his armor-bearer refused — he was too terrified. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.

KJV Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

וַיִּפֹּל עָלֶיהָ vayyippol aleha
"fell on it" — to fall, to collapse, to throw oneself upon, to be cast down

The phrase naphal al-charbo ('fell on his sword') becomes the standard idiom for self-inflicted death in battle across the ancient world. This is its first occurrence in the biblical text. The verb naphal has shadowed Saul's entire career — from prophetic falling (10:10) to this final, fatal fall. The narrator's use of the same verb across such different contexts creates an arc of descent: Saul once fell under the Spirit's power, and now falls under his own.

הָעֲרֵלִים ha-arelim
"uncircumcised men" — uncircumcised, those outside the covenant, the uncut, foreigners to the covenant

The term arel ('uncircumcised') is Israel's primary marker of Philistine otherness. David used it when challenging Goliath (17:26, 36), and Saul uses it here in his final words. Circumcision was the physical sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17), so to be 'uncircumcised' is to stand outside God's covenant community entirely. Saul's last recorded speech invokes the covenant boundary he has spent his reign failing to maintain.

Translator Notes

  1. The construction pen yavo'u ('lest they come') reveals Saul's motive: he is acting to prevent a worse outcome, not choosing death for its own sake. The narrator offers no moral verdict on the act — no 'he sinned' or 'the LORD struck him.' This silence is itself significant, as the Chronicler's account (1 Chronicles 10:13-14) will add explicit theological commentary that the Samuel narrator withholds.
  2. The armor-bearer's refusal (lo avah, 'he was not willing') uses the same construction that described Saul's own refusal to eat in 28:23. The verb avah implies a deep, dispositional unwillingness — the armor-bearer cannot bring himself to strike the LORD's anointed, even at the anointed's own command. This echoes David's repeated refusal to harm Saul in chapters 24 and 26.
1 Samuel 31:5

וַיַּ֥רְא נֹשֵֽׂא־כֵלָ֖יו כִּ֣י מֵ֣ת שָׁא֑וּל וַיִּפֹּ֥ל גַּם־ה֛וּא עַל־חַרְבּ֖וֹ וַיָּ֥מׇת עִמּֽוֹ׃

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

KJV And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The armor-bearer's death mirrors Saul's exactly: vayyippol gam hu al-charbo ('he also fell on his sword'). The phrase vayyamot immo ('he died with him') creates a bond in death that echoes the loyalty oaths of the ancient world — the attendant follows his lord into death. The armor-bearer who could not bring himself to kill Saul can, it seems, bring himself to follow him. The narrator records this second suicide with the same terse silence, offering no commentary.
  2. The word gam ('also, likewise') carries weight: the armor-bearer's death is derivative, an echo of Saul's. He does not die for his own reasons but because his master has died. This pattern of the subordinate dying alongside the king will recur in different forms throughout the David narrative.
1 Samuel 31:6

וַיָּ֣מׇת שָׁא֡וּל וּשְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת בָּנָיו֩ וְנֹשֵׂ֨א כֵלָ֜יו אַ֧ף כׇּל־אֲנָשָׁ֛יו בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא יַחְדָּֽו׃

Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men perished together on that day.

KJV So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The summary verse functions as an obituary for the Saulide dynasty. The phrase kol anashav ('all his men') likely refers to Saul's personal guard or household warriors, not the entire Israelite army — the flight described in verse 7 implies many soldiers survived. The word yachdav ('together') carries a tragic finality: the house of Saul, which rose together, falls together.
  2. This verse forms a structural parallel with the death of Eli's house in chapter 4: there too, father and sons died on the same day, and the ark (symbol of divine presence) was lost to the Philistines. Saul's dynasty ends the way the old priestly dynasty ended — in a single catastrophic day.
1 Samuel 31:7

וַיִּרְא֣וּ אַנְשֵֽׁי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֡ל אֲשֶׁר־בְּעֵ֣בֶר הָעֵמֶק֩ וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר בְּעֵ֜בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֗ן כִּי־נָ֙סוּ֙ אַנְשֵׁ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְכִי־מֵ֖תוּ שָׁא֣וּל וּבָנָ֑יו וַיַּעַזְב֤וּ אֶת־הֶעָרִים֙ וַיָּנֻ֔סוּ וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ בָּהֶֽן׃

When the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.

KJV And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb azvu ('they abandoned') describes the evacuation of entire populations from their cities. This is the catastrophic consequence Samuel warned of in chapter 8: the king who was supposed to protect them has died, and without him the social order collapses. The Philistine occupation of Israelite cities reverses the conquest under Joshua and fulfills the worst-case scenario of the covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:49-52).
  2. The geographical scope — spanning from the Jezreel Valley to Transjordan — indicates that the Philistine victory at Gilboa effectively cut Israel in half, severing the northern tribes from the south. This fragmentation sets the stage for the divided loyalties of 2 Samuel, where David will rule Judah from Hebron while Ish-bosheth claims the north.
1 Samuel 31:8

וַיְהִ֣י מִֽמׇּחֳרָ֗ת וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים֙ לְפַשֵּׁ֣ט אֶת־הַחֲלָלִ֔ים וַיִּמְצְא֤וּ אֶת־שָׁאוּל֙ וְאֶת־שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת בָּנָ֔יו נֹפְלִ֖ים בְּהַ֥ר הַגִּלְבֹּֽעַ׃

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

KJV And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb leshashet ('to strip') refers to the standard post-battle practice of looting corpses — removing armor, weapons, and valuables. The word chalalim ('the slain, the pierced ones') recurs from verse 1, binding the chapter together. The phrase vayyimtse'u ('they found') echoes verse 3 where the archers 'found' Saul alive; now new seekers find him dead. The participle nofelim ('fallen') rather than the perfect metim ('dead') captures the scene visually: the bodies lie where they collapsed, still in the postures of their dying.
  2. The day-after sequence (mimmacharot) creates a gap in the narrative — the night between the battle and the stripping is a silence in which the bodies lay exposed on the mountain. This delay is significant for the Jabesh-gilead narrative that follows: the bodies have been dead at least a full day before the Philistines even begin their desecration, and longer still before Jabesh-gilead can act.
1 Samuel 31:9

וַיִּכְרְת֣וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֗וֹ וַיַּפְשִׁ֙יטוּ֙ אֶת־כֵּלָ֔יו וַיְשַׁלְּח֤וּ בְאֶֽרֶץ־פְּלִשְׁתִּים֙ סָבִ֔יב לְבַשֵּׂ֖ר בֵּ֣ית עֲצַבֵּיהֶ֑ם וְאֶת־הָעָֽם׃

They cut off his head and stripped his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the news to the temples of their idols and to the people.

KJV And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The verb lesaser ('to carry good news') is from the root basar, which means 'to announce good tidings.' The same root gives us the word mevaser ('herald of good news') used in Isaiah 52:7. Here the 'good news' is Saul's death — what is gospel for Philistia is catastrophe for Israel. The ironic use of basar anticipates David's reaction in 2 Samuel 1, where the Amalekite who brings the 'good news' of Saul's death is executed for it.
  2. The phrase beit atsabeihem ('the house of their idols') refers to Philistine temple complexes. First Chronicles 10:10 specifies the head was placed in the temple of Dagon, while this verse mentions the armor going to the temple of Ashtaroth (verse 10). The distribution of body parts and armor across multiple temples suggests a deliberate parceling of the spoils among different Philistine cult sites.
1 Samuel 31:10

וַיָּשִׂ֙מוּ֙ אֶת־כֵּלָ֔יו בֵּ֖ית עַשְׁתָּר֑וֹת וְאֶת־גְּוִיָּתוֹ֙ תָּקְע֔וּ בְּחוֹמַ֖ת בֵּ֥ית שָֽׁן׃

They placed his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

KJV And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

עַשְׁתָּרוֹת Ashtarot
"Ashtaroth" — Ashtoreth (singular), Astarte, fertility goddess, queen of heaven

Ashtaroth is the plural form of Ashtoreth, the Canaanite-Philistine goddess of fertility, love, and war — the counterpart to Mesopotamian Ishtar. Placing captured armor in her temple credits her with military victory. This is a direct theological affront: the armor of the LORD's anointed king now adorns the house of a rival deity. Samuel warned Israel about the Ashtaroth in 7:3-4 and 12:10 — the goddess keeps reappearing as a marker of Israel's spiritual failure.

Translator Notes

  1. Beth-shan (beit shan) occupied a strategic position controlling the eastern approach to the Jezreel Valley. Its walls would have been visible from a great distance, making the display of Saul's body a message to the entire region. Archaeological excavations at Beth-shan have uncovered both Egyptian and Philistine temple complexes, confirming the city's role as a major religious and administrative center during this period.
  2. The word geviyyah ('body, corpse') is a term for the physical frame — the shell left behind when life departs. Its use here emphasizes the materiality of the degradation: this is flesh and bone being nailed to stone. The pairing of armor in the temple and body on the wall creates a grotesque dismemberment of Saul's identity — his warrior self displayed in one place, his physical self in another.
1 Samuel 31:11

וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ אֵלָ֔יו יֹשְׁבֵ֖י יָבֵ֣ישׁ גִּלְעָ֑ד אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֥וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים לְשָׁאֽוּל׃

When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

KJV And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The construction vayyishme'u elav ('they heard about him') directs the hearing specifically toward Saul — this is news about a person, not an event. The phrase et asher asu pelishtim le-Sha'ul ('what the Philistines had done to Saul') frames the Philistine actions as something done to Saul personally, not merely to a king or a corpse. For Jabesh-gilead, this is personal: the man who marched through the night to save them (11:11) now needs someone to march through the night for him.
1 Samuel 31:12

וַ֠יָּק֠וּמוּ כׇּל־אִ֨ישׁ חַ֜יִל וַיֵּלְכ֣וּ כׇל־הַלַּ֗יְלָה וַיִּקְח֞וּ אֶת־גְּוִיַּ֤ת שָׁאוּל֙ וְאֵ֣ת גְּוִיֹּ֣ת בָּנָ֔יו מֵחוֹמַ֖ת בֵּ֣ית שָׁ֑ן וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ יָבֵ֔שָׁה וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם שָֽׁם׃

All the fighting men set out and marched through the night. They took down the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, brought them to Jabesh, and burned them there.

KJV 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד chesed
"faithful love" — loyal love, covenant faithfulness, steadfast love, kindness, mercy, devotion

Though the word chesed does not appear explicitly in this verse, the action of the men of Jabesh-gilead is the embodiment of chesed — covenant loyalty that persists beyond death, beyond political advantage, beyond safety. David will name this act explicitly as chesed in 2 Samuel 2:5: 'Blessed are you to the LORD, for you have shown this chesed to your lord, to Saul, and have buried him.' The entire Jabesh-gilead episode (verses 11-13) is a narrative demonstration of what chesed looks like in practice: dangerous, sacrificial, faithful to the end.

Translator Notes

  1. The night march echoes Saul's own nighttime march to relieve Jabesh-gilead in chapter 11:11, where he divided his forces and struck the Ammonites 'in the morning watch.' The symmetry is precise: Saul marched through the night to save Jabesh-gilead's living bodies, and now Jabesh-gilead marches through the night to save Saul's dead body. The inclusio is complete.
  2. The verb saraph ('to burn') is the same word used for the burning of sacrifices and the destruction of idolatrous objects. Its use here is debated: some scholars see it as evidence of Transjordanian burial customs distinct from western Israelite practice; others read it as an emergency measure. The Chronicler's account (1 Chronicles 10:12) omits the burning entirely, which may reflect later discomfort with the practice or simply a different textual tradition.
1 Samuel 31:13

וַיִּקְחוּ֙ אֶת־עַצְמֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּקְבְּר֣וּ תַֽחַת־הָאֶ֖שֶׁל בְּיָבֵ֑שָׁה וַיָּצֻ֖מוּ שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִֽים׃

They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

KJV And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The word eshel is traditionally rendered 'tree' (KJV) or 'tamarisk' (most modern translations). The tamarisk is a hardy, long-lived tree common in semi-arid regions of the Levant, and its shade made it a natural gathering place. First Chronicles 10:12 reads elah ('oak' or 'terebinth') instead of eshel, suggesting textual variation in the tradition. We follow the Masoretic text's eshel.
  2. The seven-day fast marks the conclusion of both the chapter and the book. In narrative terms, 1 Samuel opened with Hannah's tears and fasting at Shiloh (1:7-10) and closes with the men of Jabesh-gilead fasting at Jabesh. The book is framed by grief, by people who pour out their anguish before God. Hannah's grief produced Samuel; Jabesh-gilead's grief honors Saul. Between those two acts of mourning lies the entire experiment of Israel's first king.
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