1 Samuel 31:1-6 NVIPT

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

The death of Saul ch. 31The scene shifts back to Mt. Gilboa in the North and Saul. Saul’s battle with the Philistines in this chapter may have been simultaneous with David’s battle against the Amalekites in the previous one."Chapters 30 and 31 gain in poignancy and power if we regard their events as simultaneous. In the far south, David is anxious about his own and about spoil, while in the far north Saul and the Israelite army perish. . . . While David smites (hikkah) [’fought,’ 1 Samuel... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Defeat of the Israelites at Mt. Gilboa. Death of Saul6. And all his men] LXX omits. 7. The valley] of Jezreel. 10. The house of Ashtaroth] at Askelon: cp. 2 Samuel 1:20.Bethshan] between the Gilboa and little Hermon ranges. 11. They thus showed their gratitude for former kindness: see 1 Samuel 11.12. Burnt them] The action of the men of Jabesh was probably due to their fear that the Philistines would remove the bodies.13. Under a tree] RV ’under the tamarisk tree.’ It was evidently some... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:1

(1) Now the Philistines fought against Israel.—The narrator here is very abrupt. No doubt a devoted patriot, it was very bitter for him to write the story of the fatal day of Gilboa. Yet there were certain things belonging to that fated day which were necessary for every child of Israel to know. It was right that the punishment of the rejected king should be known; right too that the people should be assured that the remains of the great first king lay in no unknown and unhonoured sepulchre. It... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:2

(2) And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons.—“The details of the battle are but seen in broken snatches, as in the short scene of a battle acted upon the stage, or beheld at remote glimpses by an accidental spectator. But amidst the showers of arrows from the Philistine archers, or pressed hard even on the mountain side by their charioteers, the figure of the king emerges from the darkness. His three sons have fallen before him; his armourbearer lies dead beside... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:3

(3) And the battle went sore against Saul.—That is, after the death of Jonathan and his brothers. The great warrior king no doubt fought like a lion, but one by one his brave defenders fell in harness by his side; and the enemy seems to have directed their principal attention, at this period of the fight, to killing or capturing the famous Saul.And the archers hit him.—It would seem as though, in that deadly combat, none could strike down that giant kingly form, so the archers—literally, as in... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:4

(4) His armourbearer.—Jewish tradition tells us that this faithful armourbearer was Doeg, the Edomite, and that the sword which Saul took apparently from the hand of the armourbearer was the sword with which Doeg had massacred the priests at Gibeon and at Nob.Lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me.—“Even in Saul’s dying speech there is something of that religious formalism which marked his character after his fall from God, and which is a striking sign of spiritual blindness. He censures... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:6

(6) And all his men.—We must not interpret this statement quite literally; 1 Chronicles 10:6 explains it by “all his house.” Ishbosheth, his son, for instance, and Abner, the captain of the host, we know were not among the slain on that fatal day. The meaning is that all his “fideles,” his personal staff, as we should say, with his three sons fell fighting round him. The lines of the chivalrous Scottish ballad writer who with rare skill describes the devoted followers of King James V. falling... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

The Death of Israel's First King 1 Samuel 31:0 Saul's death was neither more nor less than suicide; the death of all deaths the most loathsome and despised of men: of all deaths the only one that men call cowardly. It was a great historical event, meaning much to the nation which saw its first king thus sadly fall. It was the end of Saul's kingdom: his sons and all his family, and with them, all his hopes, died with him that night on Mount Gilboa. And it is still a conspicuous moral, as well... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

CHAPTER XXXVITHE DEATH OF SAUL.1 Samuel 31:1-13.THE plain of Esdraelon, where the battle between Saul and the Philistines was fought, has been celebrated for many a deadly encounter, from the very earliest period of history. Monuments of Egypt lately deciphered make it very plain that long before the country was possessed by the Israelites the plain had experienced the shock of contending armies. The records of the reign of Thotmes III, who has sometimes been called the Alexander the Great of... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

9. The Death of Saul CHAPTER 31 1. Saul wounded in battle (1 Samuel 31:1-3 ) 2. Saul a suicide (1 Samuel 31:4-6 ) 3. The victorious Philistines (1 Samuel 31:7-10 ) 4. The bodies recovered and burnt (1 Samuel 31:11-13 ) A sad ending to one of the saddest stories of the Bible. Jonathan, Abinadab and Melchi-shua, Saul’s sons, fall first. Then Saul is wounded. He asks his armour bearer to make an end of his sufferings. There is no evidence whatever of his repentance and turning unto the... read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:1

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:2

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:3

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:4

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 31:6

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Group of Brands