1 Samuel 31
31
Death of Saul and His Sons. 1#2 Sm 1:1–16; 4:4; 1 Chr 10:1–12. Now the Philistines went to war against Israel, and the Israelites fled before them, and fell, slain on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons. When the Philistines had struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul,#1 Sm 14:49; 28:19; 1 Chr 10:2–3. 3the fury of the battle converged on Saul. Then the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded. 4Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through; otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.” But the armor-bearer, badly frightened, refused, so Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.#1 Sm 24:6; Jgs 9:54; 1 Chr 10:4. 5#1 Sm 10:1; 26:9; 2 Mc 14:42. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell upon his sword and died with him. 6Thus Saul, his three sons, and his armor-bearer died together on that same day. 7When the Israelites on the slope of the valley and those along the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in those cities.
8On the following day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They cut off Saul’s head and stripped him of his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring the good news to the temple of their idols and to the people.#1 Sm 17:54; 2 Sm 1:20; 2 Mc 15:35. 10They put his armor in the temple of Astarte but impaled his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
Burial of Saul. 11#1 Sm 11:1–11; 2 Sm 2:4–7; 21:12–14. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their warriors set out and traveled through the night; they removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and, returning to Jabesh, burned them.#Burned them: cremation was not an Israelite custom. The people of Jabesh-gilead repay Saul’s victory over the Ammonites on their behalf (chap. 11) by providing burial and funeral rites for him and his sons. Probably the damaged state of the corpus necessitated cremation. 13Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
1 Kings 31
31
1And the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gelboe.
2And the Philistines fell upon Saul, and upon his sons: and they slew Jonathan, and Abinadab and Melchisua the sons of Saul.
3And the whole weight of the battle was turned upon Saul: and the archers overtook him. And he was grievously wounded by the archers.
4Then Saul said to his armourbearer: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest these uncircumcised come, and slay me, and mock at me. And his armourbearer would not: for he was struck with exceeding great fear. Then Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.
5And when his armourbearer saw this, to wit, that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
6So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men that same day together.
7And the men of Israel, that were beyond the valley, and beyond the Jordan, seeing that the Israelites were fled, and that Saul was dead, and his sons, forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came, and dwelt there.
8And on the morrow the Philistines came to strip the slain: and they found Saul and his three sons lying in mount Gelboe.
9And they cut off Saul's head, and stripped him of his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the temples of their idols, and among their people.
10And they put his armour in the temple of Astaroth: but his body they hung on the wall of Bethsan.
11Now when the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad had heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,
12All the most valiant men arose, and walked all the night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Bethsan. And they came to Jabes Galaad, and burnt them there.
13And they took their bones and buried them in the wood of Jabes: and fasted seven days.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.