I chronicles 10 commentary

I CHRONICLES 10 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Saul Takes His Life
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the
Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on
Mount Gilboa.
BARNES, “The present chapter contains two facts not found in 1Sa_
31:1-13 - the fastening of Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon 1Ch_10:10, and
the burial of his bones, and those of his sons, under an oak 1Ch_10:12.
Otherwise the narrative differs from 1Sa_31:1-13 only by being abbreviated
(see especially 1Ch_10:6-7, 1Ch_10:11-12), and by having some moral
reflections attached to it 1Ch_10:13-14.
CLARKE, “Now the Philistines fought against Israel - The reader will find
the same history in almost the same words, in 1Sa_31:1-13, to the notes on
which he is referred for every thing important in this.
HENRY 1-7, “This account of Saul's death is the same with that which we
had, 1Sa_31:1, etc. We need not repeat the exposition of it. Only let us
observe, 1. Princes sin and the people suffer for it. It was a bad time with
Israel when they fled before the Philistines and fell down slain (1Ch_10:1),
when they quitted their cities, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them,
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1Ch_10:7. We do not find that they were at this time guilty of idolatry, as
they had been before, in the days of the judges, and were afterwards, in the
days of the kings. Samuel had reformed them, and they were reformed: and
yet they are thus given to the spoil and to the robbers. No doubt there was
enough in them to deserve this judgment; but that which divine Justice had
chiefly an eye to was the sin of Saul. Note, Princes and great men should in a
special manner take heed of provoking God's wrath; for, if they kindle that
fire, they know not how many may be consumed by it for their sakes. 2.
Parents sin and the children suffer for it. When the measure of Saul's
iniquity was full, and his day came to fall (which David foresaw, 1Sa_26:10),
he not only descended into battle and perished himself, but his sons (all but
Ishbosheth) perished with him, and Jonathan among the rest, that gracious,
generous man; for all things come alike to all. Thus was the iniquity of the
fathers visited upon the children, and they fell as parts of the condemned
father. Note, Those that love their seed must leave their sins, lest they
perish not alone in their iniquity, but bring ruin on their families with
themselves, or entail a curse upon them when they are gone. 3. Sinners sin
and at length suffer for it themselves, though they be long reprieved; for,
although sentence be not executed speedily, it will be executed. It was so
upon Saul; and the manner of his fall was such as, in various particulars,
answered to his sin. (1.) He had thrown a javelin more than once at David,
and missed him; but the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the
archers. (2.) He had commanded Doeg to slay the priests of the Lord; and
now, in despair, he commands his armour-bearer to draw his sword and
thrust him through. (3.) He had disobeyed the command of God in not
destroying the Amalekites, and his armour-bearer disobeys him in not
destroying him. (4.) He that was the murderer of the priests is justly left to
himself to be his own murderer; and his family is cut off who cut off the city
of the priests. See, and say, The Lord is righteous.
JAMISON, “1Ch_10:1-7. Saul’s overthrow and death.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel — The details of this chapter
have no relation to the preceding genealogies and seem to be inserted solely
to introduce the narrative of David’s elevation to the throne of the whole
kingdom. The parallel between the books of Samuel and Chronicles
commences with this chapter, which relates the issue of the fatal battle of
Gilboa almost in the very same words as 1Sa_31:1-13.
K&D 1-7, “In 1 Sam this narrative forms the conclusion of Saul's last war
with the Philistines. The battle was fought on the plain of Jezreel; and when
the Israelites were compelled to retire, they fell back upon Mount Gilboa,
but were hard pressed by the Philistines, so that many fell upon the
mountain. The Philistines pressed furiously after Saul and his sons, and
slew the latter (as to Saul's sons, see on 1Ch_8:33); and when the archers
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came upon Saul he trembled before them (‫ל‬ ֶ‫ָח‬‫י‬ from ‫,)חוּל‬ and ordered his
armour-bearer to thrust him through. Between ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ and ‫ת‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫קּ‬ ַ‫בּ‬ the
superfluous ‫ים‬ ִ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬ is introduced in Samuel, and in the last clause ‫ד‬ֹ‫א‬ ְ‫מ‬ is
omitted; and instead of ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ‫מּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ ֵ‫מ‬ we have the unusual form ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ‫יּ‬ ַ‫ן־ה‬ ִ‫מ‬ (cf.
2Ch_35:23). In Saul's request to his armour-bearer that he would thrust
him through with the sword, ‫י‬ ִ‫נ‬ ֻ‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫וּד‬ (1Sa_31:4) is omitted in the phrase
which gives the reason for his request; and Bertheau thinks it did not
originally stand in the text, and has been repeated merely by an oversight,
since the only motive for the command, “Draw thy sword, and thrust me
through therewith,” was that the Philistines might not insult Saul when
alive, and consequently the words, “that they may not thrust me through,”
cannot express the reason. But that is scarcely a conclusive reason for this
belief; for although the Philistines might seek out Saul after he had been
slain by his armour-bearer, and dishonour his dead body, yet the anxiety
lest they should seek out his corpse to wreak their vengeance upon it could
not press so heavily upon him as the fear that they would take vengeance
upon him if he fell alive into their hands. It is therefore a more probable
supposition that the author of the Chronicle has omitted the word ‫י‬ ִ‫נ‬ ֻ‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ ְ‫וּד‬
only as not being necessary to the sense of the passage, just as ‫מּ‬ ִ‫ע‬ is omitted
at the end of 1Ch_10:5. In 1Ch_10:6 we have ‫ית‬ ֵ‫ל־בּ‬ָ‫כ‬ ְ‫ו‬ instead of the ‫יו‬ ָ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬‫ל־‬ ָ‫כּ‬
‫ַם‬‫גּ‬ ‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ֵ‫כ‬ ‫א‬ ֵ‫שׂ‬ֹ‫נ‬ ְ‫ו‬ of Samuel, and in 1Ch_10:7 ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫א‬ is omitted after the words
‫ָסוּ‬‫נ‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫כּ‬ (Samuel). From this Bertheau concludes that the author of the
Chronicle has designedly avoided speaking of the men of Saul's army or of
the Israelites who took part in the battle, because it was not his purpose to
describe the whole course of the conflict, but only to narrate the death of
Saul and of his sons, in order to point out how the supreme power came to
David. Thenius, on the contrary, deduces the variation between the sixth
verse of the Chronicles and the corresponding verse in Samuel from “a text
which had become illegible.” Both are incorrect; for ‫יו‬ ָ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬‫ל־‬ ָ‫כּ‬ are not all the
men of war who went with him into the battle (Then.), or all the Israelites
who took part in the battle (Berth.), but only all those who were about the
king, i.e., the whole of the king's attendants who had followed him to the
war. ‫ית‬ ֵ‫ל־בּ‬ָ‫כּ‬ is only another expression for ‫יו‬ ָ‫ָשׁ‬‫נ‬ֲ‫א‬‫ל־‬ ָ‫,כּ‬ in which the ‫יו‬ ָ‫ל‬ֵ‫כּ‬ ‫א‬ ֵ‫שׂ‬ֹ‫נ‬ is
included. The author of the Chronicle has merely abridged the account,
confining himself to a statement of the main points, and has consequently
both omitted ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫שׁ‬ְ‫נ‬ ַ‫א‬ in 1Ch_10:7, because he had already spoken of the
flight of the warriors of Israel in 1Ch_10:1, and it was here sufficient to
mention only the flight and death of Saul and of his sons, and has also
shortened the more exact statement as to the inhabitants of that district,
“those on the other side of the valley and on the other side of Jordan”
(Samuel), into ‫ק‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫בּ‬ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ֲשׁ‬‫א‬. In this abridgement also Thenius scents a
“defective text.” As the inhabitants of the district around Gilboa abandoned
their cities, they were taken possession of by the Philistines.
3

BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:1. The men of Israel fled — Thus princes sin, and the
people suffer for it. No doubt there was enough in them to deserve it. But that which
divine justice had chiefly an eye to, was the sin of Saul. Great men should, in an
especial manner, take heed of provoking God’s wrath. For if they kindle that fire,
they know not how many may be consumed by it for their sakes. See notes on 1
Samuel 31.
ELLICOTT, “A BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE OVERTHROW AND DEATH OF
SAUL, BY WAY OF PRELUDE TO THE REIGN OF DAVID.
1 Chronicles 10:1-12 are parallel to 1 Samuel 31:1-13. The general coincidence of
the two texts is so exact as to preclude the supposition of independence. We know
that the chronicler has drawn much in his earlier chapters from the Pentateuch; and
as he must have been acquainted with the Books of Samuel, it is à priori likely that
he made a similar use of them. At the same time, a number of small variations—on
an average, three at least in each verse—some of which can neither be referred to
the freaks or mistakes of copyists nor to the supposed caprice of the compiler, may
be taken to indicate the use of an additional source, or perhaps of a text of Samuel
differing in some respects from that which we possess. (See Introduction.)
(1) Now the Philistines fought against Israel.—For a similarly abrupt beginning,
comp. Isaiah 2:1. The battle was fought in the plain of Jezreel, or Esdraelon, the
scene of so many of the struggles of ancient history. (Comp. Hosea 2:10 : “I will
break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”)
The men of Israel.—Heb., man—a collective expression, which gives a more vivid
image of the rout. They fled as one man, or in a body. Samuel has the plural.
Fell down slain in mount Gilboa.—The Jebel Faku’a rises out of the plain of Jezreel
to a height of one thousand seven hundred feet. The defeated army of Saul fell back
upon this mountain, which had been their first position (1 Samuel 28:4), but were
4

pursued thither. “Slain” is right, as in 1 Chronicles 10:8.
COFFMAN, “Verse 1
II. HISTORY OF DAVID'S REIGN (1 Chronicles 10-29)
This chapter begins the record of the reign of David over all Israel, prefacing it with
a brief account of Saul's death. (1000-960 B.C.)
The balance of 1Chronicles is devoted to a review of the history of David, which falls
into two parts. "1 Chronicles 10-20 have an account of his reign; and 1 Chronicles
21-29 give preparations for the building of the Temple and the orders and
arrangements of those who would serve in it."[1]
"Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before
the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed
hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab,
and Malchishua, the sons of Saul And the battle went sore against Saul, and the
archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. Then said
Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest
these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he
was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. And when his
armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died. So
Saul died, and his three sons; and all his house died together.
"And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that
Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled; and the Philistines
came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines
came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.
And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of
the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people.
And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the
5

house of Dagon. And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done
to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of
his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in
Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
"So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the
word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that
had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby, and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he
slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse."
"And all his house died together" (1 Chronicles 10:6). The picayune objection of
some scholars that this is not strictly the truth, because Eshbaal (Ishbosheth),
another son of Saul was left alive, and for awhile was made king over North Israel
by Abner, is typical of the nit-picking hatred of the Word of God by some writers.
The reference is not to every single one of Saul's posterity, but merely to those just
named. This is the same kind of hyperbole one uses when he says, "We gave a party,
and everybody came."
"They buried him under the oak in Jabesh" (1 Chronicles 10:12). This tree was
called "a tamarisk tree" in 1 Samuel 31:13; and the marginal reference here gives
"terebinth" as an alternative. If the trees were growing side by side, which is by no
means impossible, the Biblical accounts may both be absolutely accurate. No one has
the right to deny what is here stated as a fact.
We shall not make line by line comments on this chapter, for we have already
discussed it in the closing chapter of 1Samuel and the opening chapter of 2Samuel.
As Curtis (and Madsen) noted: "This account of the death of Saul is taken from 1
Samuel 31:1-13 with a few slight variations."[2]
PARKER, “ Life a Battlefield
6

1 Chronicles 10
WE now come to a portion of the history which is so clearly a repetition that we
need not follow it in all its well-known detail. Having already treated nearly the
whole of the matter at some length, it will be sufficient now to rest at a point here
and there which will enable us to fill in some practical and suggestive instruction.
Let it be understood however that what we are about to do is rather of the nature of
indication than of exposition. The peculiarity of the Bible is that many of its
separate sentences admit of being taken out of their proper setting and used as
mottoes or maxims bearing upon immediate questions of spiritual interest or actual
conduct. When portions of the Bible are so used it must be distinctly remembered
that there is an infinite difference between the accommodation of a text and its
critical exposition. It is important to keep this vividly in mind, lest the Bible be
charged with unnatural and intolerable responsibilities. With this general caution
let us proceed.
"Now the Philistines fought against Israel "( 1 Chronicles 10:1).
Yet Israel was chosen of God. Is it possible for men who are specially favoured of
heaven to be brought into controversy or war? Will not everything be made plain
and clear before them, and will not the enemy flee away in order to let the hosts of
God pass through without fear of delay? We find the exact contrary to be the case in
practical life. The holier the man the severer the conflict. The way of Jesus Christ
was hedged up on every side by direct temptation of the devil, by unbelief, by
contempt, by suspicion, and by all manner of hostility. In the most reverent sense of
the term God himself has to maintain his own sovereignty by daily controversy.
Providence is denied, beneficent purpose in life is not credited. Special inspiration is
derided, and ultimate judgment is the subject of stubborn doubt. We must not think
we are wrong simply because opposition is energetic and persistent. The battle of the
Philistines against Israel was fought in the plain of Jezreel or Esdraelon, the scene of
so many of the struggles of ancient history. It would appear as though many of the
controversies of the Church were localised in as distinct a manner. What battles
have been fought at Rome! What conflicts have there been at Constantinople! What
furious assaults have taken place at Westminster! Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, are
names which are distinctly associated with battlefields. Then there are questions
around which the great controversies of the Church have raged; as, for example,
7

Inspiration, Authority, Miracles, Atonement, Immortality, and many others. The
historical ground of the Church in this very matter will one day be the most
precious possession of the Church. The battlefield should become a fruitful orchard,
and the desert of strife should blossom as the rose. Our remembered battlefields
should be amongst our wisest teachers. In conducting the conflict we saw much of
human nature; we measured our own strength; we felt our need of supernatural
ministry; we uttered our boldest and tenderest prayers; we dispossessed ourselves of
many misleading and dangerous illusions. What a battlefield is life! There are more
wars in human history than are public to the world. What room for heroism even
within the narrowest family circle! But the most desperate of all wars are fought
within the heart itself. Many a man can conquer Philistines who cannot subdue his
own passions. Moreover there is help in the conduct of public or open war arising
from the knowledge and sympathy of observing friends; but in the wars of the soul
even sympathy can take no part because of the very secrecy of the tremendous
battle. No man can tell all his thoughts. The hesitation of the tongue may sometimes
betray the reality of the inward struggle, but never can the most confiding heart tell
all the detail of its conflict and sorrow. But is life all battle, are not many quiet
victories won, is there not a ministry of the Spirit as well as a temptation of the
devil? Justice demands that we look at both aspects of life"s tragedy and so learn
that the ways of the Lord are equal.
"The battle went sore against Saul"( 1 Chronicles 10:3).
Literally, the battle was heavy upon Saul, like a burden crushing him to the earth.
They that shot with the bow came upon him; and he shuddered greatly before the
shooters. Why was the battle sore against the king of Israel? Saul believed himself to
be forsaken of God, and therefore to have become the sport of man. Indeed it was
this idea of "sport" that embittered Saul"s last moments. He prayed his armour-
bearer to draw a sword, and thrust him through therewith, giving as a reason, "lest
these uncircumcised come and abuse me," literally "make a toy of" or "sport with."
We notice the word in the tenth chapter of Exodus—" Now I have made a toy of
Egypt." The battle will go heavily against the Church, just in proportion as the
Church is conscious of the departure of God. Here we are reminded of the analogy
of the vine and the branches. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it
abide in the vine, no more can the Church make vital and fruitful progress, except
by continual fellowship with God. Saul was as muscular as ever, as ambitious as
ever, and as energetic as ever, but he had lost the consciousness of the nearness of
8

the Almighty. What are all church buildings, formularies, ceremonies, pecuniary
resources, literary achievements, when the Spirit of God has been grieved or
quenched? Hence the need for continual praying for the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Every day should now be a day of Pentecost. Not even the most trivial act should be
done except in the spirit of prayer and trust. So long as we think that some things in
the Church are spiritual, and other things are temporal, we shall bring a divided
mind to bear upon our work. Communion with God will help a man to do every
part of his duty with a joyful heart. It is joy of heart that turns labour into delight,
and that banishes from the spirit all the calculations and devices of a hireling.
Although the battle went sore against Saul, we must not suppose that Saul
represented an unblest cause. The reason may be in Saul himself, rather than in the
cause for which he fought. The situation does not lie between the sunrise and the
sunset of one little day. By-and-by we shall come upon the spiritual explanation of
all things. It is popular to contemn metaphysical study as unpractical and tedious;
but we have had history enough to show that the commonest incidents go back into
metaphysical reasons, and that not until the metaphysical has been purified, will
practical life as it is sometimes too narrowly described, be really virtuous and
beneficent. The Philistines who came up from Egypt, and shot their arrows against
Saul, might boast themselves of their superior strength and skill, little knowing that
in congratulating themselves, they were operating in total ignorance of the reality of
the case. The enemy sometimes laughs too soon. Many who suppose themselves to be
fighting against God, may in very deed be used by the Almighty for the infliction of
his judgments. Many a Philistine has laughed at the perplexities and failures of the
Church, imagining that by his own wit he had brought contempt upon the people of
God; but events have shown that the very people whom he had momentarily
discomfited had brought themselves within his malign power, by unfaithfulness to
their sacred trusts. We know in common life how unfaithfulness disables the firmest
strength. When conscience gives way, all outward fortresses crumble into dust. It is
only when we know that we are spiritually right, that we can conduct every battle
fearlessly, and in assured hope of success. Sometimes leaders, captains, and
commanders, have to be overborne or displaced, in order that the great cause which
they fail to grasp, and adequately to represent, may vindicate its own claim to a
position of confidence and honour. It does not follow that because a man has been
once a leader, that he must always be at the head of the army. Sometimes by sin,
sometimes by obvious incapacity, sometimes by the infirmity of old age, the very
princes of the Church are displaced and put behind. There are some trusts which we
only keep as long as we keep our character. Alas! poor Saul had fallen from his
moral elevation, and when he went out to war he went out to die.
9

"And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain,
that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. And when they had
stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the
Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people. And they
put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of
Dagon"( 1 Chronicles 10:8-10).
Samuel refers to Saul"s three sons. The Philistines stripped Saul and carried off his
head,—in Samuel we read "and they cut off his head, and stripped his armour off."
A kindred expression occurs in Genesis. "Pharaoh will lift thy head from off thee"
( Genesis 40:19). This verse shows how strictly local was the conception of deities
implied in this act of the Philistines; their idea was that their idols could neither see
nor hear beyond their own temples. We have seen this illustrated with some detail in
1 Kings 20:23. In the tenth verse our text literally reads,—"and his skull was
fastened in the house of Dagon." In the First Book of Samuel ( 1 Samuel 31:10) the
expression is varied, viz, "and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan."
This passage abounds in mournful monition. Consider the beginning of Saul"s
history and compare with it this melancholy close. Who could have anticipated a
catastrophe so pitiful? Here is not only overthrow in battle but an infliction of the
most withering contempt. At the beginning we found the divine vocation, holy
anointing, royal felicitation, and every sign of influence and fame. Saul seemed to
begin his royal career on the very top of the mountain, now look at the close of the
day which opened so brightly. "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he
fall." Many men begin with influential parentage, social station, ample education,
pecuniary competence, yet they travel a downhill road, falling first into neglect and
then into oblivion. The whole lesson is cautionary. "I have seen the wicked in great
power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he
was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." How few are the men who
have had a more favourable beginning than Saul! If Saul fell, what guarantee is
there that the strongest may not be thrown down? "Hold thou me up, and I shall be
safe." Physical greatness, social security, public applause, are being continually
rebuked, yea, humiliated and put to shame. Yet men covet them, pay a heavy price
for them, boast of them with exceeding pride. How difficult it is to teach men
Wisdom of Solomon , even by the sternest facts, and the bitterest experience! The
10

proverb wisely says, "Call no man happy until he is dead." The meaning is that at
the very last a man may make a slip which will bring his whole life into degradation,
in every sense of the term. As we have often had occasion to say, there is but a step
between man and death—not physical death only, but the death of character,
reputation, and influence. What a gloating time for the Philistines when the dead
giant was absolutely in their hands! How they laughed over the fallen king, how
they tried his muscle and measured his girth and commented upon his stature, and
then struck a blow of contempt upon his royal head! Who respects a man when he is
no longer able to defend himself? Who does not throw a contemptuous word at the
man whose fortunes have been blighted? Under such circumstances the quality of
character is tested. Consider how David lamented the overthrow of Saul, how bitter
was his grief, how eloquent his pathos! David had been misunderstood by Saul and
subjected to all manner of degradation by the king, yet when Saul died David"s
voice was deepest and loudest in lamentation. It remains with each man to say
whether a good beginning shall have a good ending. This is a question of personal
discipline, holy fellowship with God, and an acceptance of all processes which have
been divinely established for the training and sanctification of man. The word comes
with special urgency to young persons, to men of influence, to successful men, and to
all who are plied by the temptations incident to high station and wide influence.
"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord" ( 1
Chronicles 10:13).
Now we touch the real reason of things. The story was incomplete until this
explanation was added. The lesson comes up again and again in history that behind
all disorder there is to be found either a moral reason for penalty, or a moral reason
for chastening. "The wages of sin is death." There is no escape from this inexorable
law. Who can fight against the Almighty and prevail? Put a tombstone near the oak
in Jabesh and write for an epitaph—"So Saul died for his transgression." Is not this
an epitaph appropriate to the whole human race? What need have we for more
epitaphs than one? "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap." The sin of Saul is particularly indicated—"even
against the word of the Lord which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one
that had a familiar spirit." Saul"s unfaithfulness was thus twofold, viz, first, neglect
of the divine word, and secondly the consultation of a necromancer. Saul broke the
general law of his people,—"Turn ye not to the necromancers" ( Leviticus 19:31).
And beside this he violated the special command which was addressed to himself. It
11

is true that Saul had inquired of Jehovah before consulting the witch of Endor, "but
the Lord answered him not, neither by the dreams, nor by the vision, nor by the
prophets." Saul was impatient, obstinate, and ambitious, and having deprived
himself of intercourse with heaven, he sought to create a new altar and a new deity.
The historian does not scruple to say that God slew the first king of Israel. God
works through instrumentality, and what he empowers he is said to have done
himself. This holds good alike in punishment and in restoration; hence the Assyrian
conquerors were the servants of God in scourging guilty people, and Cyrus was also
his servant when he fulfilled all the pleasure of God. The frankness of Scripture in
all its explanations is not the least worthy of its characteristics. At the very first,
God charged sin upon Adam saying, "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I
commanded that thou shouldest not eat?" and in this moral reason he found the
explanation of Adam"s absence from the usual place of meeting. All through the line
of history the same standard is set up. When the world was drowned, it was because
man had sinned; when fire and brimstone fell upon the cities of the plain, it was
because ten righteous men could not be found within all their borders. And now
Saul dies because he has committed transgression against the Lord. There is only
one way of life, and that is the way of obedience, trust, and love. Why should we
attempt to escape the arrangements of God? Why should the tree tear itself up by
the roots and try to bring forth blossom and fruit without connecting itself with the
great currents of sustenance? All that man can do by his own hand is to commit
suicide. From the beginning until now man has been engaged in the awful tragedy of
self-slaughter. The Lord exclaims through the prophet, "O Israel, thou hast
destroyed thyself, but in me is thy hope." We must all turn to the Living One if we
ourselves would live. Nor need we hesitate about doing Song of Solomon , for God
loves us and yearns for us and continually cries, "Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye
die?" There is nothing along the road of sin, how many soever may be the flowers
which grow by the wayside, but failure, disappointment, shame, and death. Here the
great gospel of Jesus Christ breathes its instruction, its welcome, its benediction.
Come, let us return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon us; and remember
that it is said of him that he will abundantly pardon.
POOLE, “Saul’s overthrow and death, 1 Chronicles 10:1-7. The Philistines triumph
over Saul, 1 Chronicles 10:8-10. The kindness of Jabesh-gilead towards Saul and his
sons: his sin, 1 Chronicles 10:11-14.
Of this and the following verses till 1 Chronicles 10:13, see my notes on 1Sa 31,
where we have the same thing expressed almost in thee same words.
12

PULPIT, “It is evident that the compiler of the Chronicles intended its history
proper to begin substantially with the reign of David. Strictly, however, it opens
with the last mournful chapter of the career of Saul and his sons, or of three out of
the four (1 Chronicles 9:39) of them. The mention of Saul had been prepared for by
the short preamble of his pedigree and family; and, in like manner, the way is paved
for the introduction of the reign add deeds of David by the brief and affecting
narration of the end of his predecessor on the throne. The last chapter of the First
Book of Samuel occupies itself with the same subject and covers the same ground.
Our present chapter compared with that is sufficient to convince us that both were
drawn from some common source or sources. It is not possible to suppose that the
writer of Chronicles merely copied from the Book of Samuel. The differences are
very slight, but they are such as produce a different conviction, and are not
consistent with the assumption of being mere alterations and additions upon what is
read in the other work. The last two verses of this chapter form the distinctive
feature of it, compared with the parallel of 1 Samuel 31:1-13. The appropriateness
of these two verses, as bridging over the history from Saul to David, is evident, and
is but another incidental indication of the thorough unity of purpose of the
compiler. They may even be viewed as tacitly compensating for the abrupt
introduction, at the commencement of the chapter, of the battle with the Philistines,
and the slaughter on Mount Gilboa.
1 Chronicles 10:1
No abruptness marks this narration in 1 Samuel 31:1-13. On the contrary, it is there
the natural conclusion of the wars between the Philistines and Saul. This
engagement took place (1 Samuel 28:4; 1 Samuel 29:1, 1 Samuel 29:11) on the plains
of Jezreel. The name Jezreel marks either the city (Joshua 19:18; 1 Kings 21:1, 1
Kings 21:11), or the celebrated valley or plain called in later times Esdraelon, the
Greek form of the word. The plain in its largest proportions may be said to have
been bounded by the Mediterranean (although it is called the plain of Accho, where
it abuts on that sea) and the Jordan, and by the Samaria and Carmel ranges on the
south and south-west, and those of Galilee on the north and northeast. While called
a "plain" and "the great plain" in 1:8, its name in the Old Testament is "valley." It
lay like a scalene triangle, with its apex in the direction of the Mediterranean,
opening into the above-mentioned plain of Accho, and its sides going from right to
left, about fifteen, twelve, and eighteen miles long respectively. The allusions to it in
Old Testament history are frequent. Its exceeding richness is now turned into
13

desolation unexceeded. Megiddo (Joshua 12:21; 1:27), the city, centre of a smaller
valley called by the same name (1 Chronicles 7:29; 5:19), was situated within it, in
the direction of Carmel. Mount Gilboa identifies for us the exact battle-field of the
text. It is the same with that on which Gideon triumphed ( 7:1, 7:8). It is in the lot of
Issachar, flanked by the Little Hermon ridge on the north-east, and by Gilboa on
the south-east, a mountain range of ten miles long, about six hundred feet high, and
mentioned only in the melancholy connection of this history. The flight of the men of
Israel and of Saul was from the plain back to their position on Mount Gilboa, where
they were pursued, overtaken, and slain. The modern name of the town Jezreel is
Zerin, the depraved aliases of which appear as Gerin and Zazzin (Robinson's 'Bibl.
Res.,' 3:162-165, 3rd edit.), and Jezreel, Shunem, and Beth-shean are the three most
conspicuous places in this part of the whole plain of Esdraelon.
GUZIK, ““Having established Israel’s historical setting and ethnic bounds
in the preceding genealogies, the Chronicler now enters on his main
subject, the history of the Hebrew kingdom, with its theological
conclusions.” (Payne)
A. The death of King Saul.
1. (1Ch_10:1-2) The battle on Mount Gilboa.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from
before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the
Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines
killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.
a. Now the Philistines fought against Israel: The Philistines were an
immigrant people from the military aristocracy of the island of Crete
(Amo_9:7). Small numbers of Philistines were in the land at the time
of Abraham; but they only came in force soon after Israel came to
Canaan from Egypt. They were organized into five city-states.
Archaeologists tell us two other things about the Philistines: they
were hard drinkers, and they were the first in the region to effectively
use iron, and they made the most of it.
i. The Philistines were a sea-faring people, and traded with distant
lands. Therefore they imported newer and better military
technology from the Greeks and became a powerful enemy of the
people of Israel. At that time, Israel could compete on more equal
terms with Moab and Ammon, but Greek military equipment
(helmets, shields, coats of mail, swords and spears) made the
Philistines much more formidable opponents.
b. The men of Israel fled from before the Philistines: The Philistines
had attacked deep into Israeli territory (1Sa_28:4), and Saul’s army
assembled and prepared for battle at Mount Gilboa (1Sa_28:4).
Because of his deep rebellion against the LORD, Saul was not ready
14

for battle: When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid,
and his heart trembled greatly (1Sa_28:5). It doesn’t surprise us that
with such a leader the soldiers of Israel could not stand before the
Philistines.
i. “Wonder not that Saul fell by the hands of the Philistines, who
were armed against him by his own sin and by God’s vengeance for
it.” (Poole)
c. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua,
Saul’s sons: Tragically, Saul’s sons were affected in the judgment of
God against their father Saul. The brave and worthy Jonathan died as
he had lived - loyally fighting unto the very end for his God, his
country, and his father the king.
2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and
his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan,
Abinadab and Malki-Shua.
ELLICOTT, “ (2) The Philistines followed hard after Saul.—Literally, clave to Saul,
that is, hotly pursued him. (Comp. 1 Kings 22, 31.) The destruction of the king and
his sons would make their triumph complete.
The sons of Saul.—Omit the. Eshbaal, Saul’s fourth son, was not in the battle (2
Samuel 2:8. Comp. 1 Chronicles 8:33). Like Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, Saul
may have witnessed the death of his sons (2 Kings 25:7). Jonathan, at least, would
not be far from him in the last struggle. “In their deaths they were not divided.”
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:2 And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after
his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons
of Saul.
15

Ver. 2. And the Philistines slew Jonathan.] Though a pious and valiant prince.
“ Non te tua plurima, Pentheu,
Labentem texit pietas. ” - Ovid.
“ Cadit et Ripheus iustissimus unus,
Qui fuit in Teucris, et servantissimus aequi. ” - Virg.
PULPIT, “1 Chronicles 10:2
Followed hard after. The Hebrew verb implies all this and rather more, viz. that
they made the pursuit of Saul and his sons their one special object. Luther's
"Hingen sich au Saul" expresses this forcibly. Abinadab; or Ishui (see 1 Chronicles
8:33; 1 Samuel 14:49). The sons of Saul. Omit the article, which is not present in the
Hebrew text. The fourth son, not withstanding our 1 Chronicles 10:6, survived (2
Samuel 2:8-15).
3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when
the archers overtook him, they wounded him.
JAMISON, “the battle went sore against Saul; and the archers hit him, and
16

he was wounded — The Hebrew words may be thus rendered: “The archers
found (attacked) him, and he feared the archers.” He was not wounded, at
least not dangerously, when he resolved on committing suicide. The deed
was the effect of sudden terror and overwhelming depression of spirits
[Calmet].
ELLICOTT, “ (3) The battle went sore against Saul.—Literally, was heavy upon
(Samuel, “unto”) him, like a burden weighing him to the earth.
And the archers hit him.—Literally, And they that shoot with the bow came upon
him; and he shuddered (Sam., “greatly”) before the shooters. “He shuddered or
trembled” (Deuteronomy 2:25). The verb is properly to writhe, travail (Isaiah 23:4).
Saul’s deadly terror was natural. He believed himself forsaken of God, and stood
now, after a lost battle, beset by murderous foes, whom he could not reach. There
was no chance of a fair hand to hand encounter. The Heb. word for “archers” is the
same in both places in Sam. (môrîm); here a rarer form (yôrîm, 2 Chronicles 35:23)
fills the second place. The Philistines were from Egypt, and the bow was a favourite
Egyptian arm. The hieroglyph for “soldier” (menfat) is a man with bow and quiver.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers
hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.
Ver. 3. And the battle went sore against Saul.] The weight of the war was turned
against him. See the like policy used, 1 Kings 22:31. This is the right bird, said that
officer of the cuirassiers, (a) who shot the king of Sweden through the body at the
battle of Lutzen.
And he was wounded of the archers.] Heb., He was grieved, or frighted: he, who by
his tyranny had been terrible and grievous to others, &c., his sin hath found him
out, being worse than any archer’s.
The archers hit him. The literal translation would be, the shooters, men with the
bow, found him. The context makes it plain that the meaning is that the arrows of
the pursuers rather than the pursuers themselves "found" him, and these made him
argue all the rest. To this our Authorized Version has jumped by the one word "hit"
17

him. It is evident from 1 Chronicles 10:8 that the Philistines did not find the body of
Saul to recognize it till next day. And he was wounded of the archers. The radical
meaning of the verb ( ‫חוּל‬ ) is rather "to twist" (torquere) or "be twisted," "writhe"
(torqueri). And the meaning here is in harmony with it, that Saul trembled from
fear or writhed with the pain already inflicted of the arrows. Hence the parallel
passage couples with this same verb, the adverb ֹ‫א‬ ְ‫מ‬ .
BI, “And the battle went sore against Saul.
The death of Saul
Learn
I. That a splendid beginning may have an awful ending.
II. That Divine judgments overtake men’s sins.
III. That in national calamities the godly suffer with the ungodly. (J.
Wolfendale.)
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your
sword and run me through, or these
uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not
do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
JAMISON, “his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid — He
was, of course, placed in the same perilous condition as Saul. But it is
probable that the feelings that restrained him from complying with Saul’s
wish were a profound respect for royalty, mingled with apprehension of the
shock which such a catastrophe would give to the national feelings and
18

interests.
ELLICOTT, “ (4) And Saul said.—So Abimelech (Judges 9:54).
Lest these uncircumcised come.—Sam. Adds “and thrust me through.” An
inadvertent repetition there, or omission here, is possible. Or, we might say, Saul
preferred death by a friendly stroke to the thrusts of insulting foemen.
And abuse me.—The Hebrew means, strictly, “to make a toy of,” “sport with.”
“How I have made a toy of Egypt” (Exodus 10:2); and is used (Jeremiah 38:19) of
insulting a fallen foe, as here.
Took a sword.—Literally, the sword—i.e., his sword.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword,
and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But
his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell
upon it.
Ver. 4. Lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me.] Heb., Mock me. He was more
solicitous about his own glory than the glory of God and salvation of his poor soul.
But his armourbearer would not.] The like unhappiness befell Nero, who hearing
that the senate had proclaimed him a public enemy to mankind, and condemned
him to be whipped to death, entreated that some one of those that were with him
would kill him; which when they refused to do, he cried out, Itaque nec amicum
habeo nec inimicure: What I have I neither friend nor foe to do me this last good
office? and so struck himself through with his own sword, and was a horrible
spectacle to all beholders. (a)
So Saul took a sword.] A just hand of God upon him for his cruelty at Nob and
other places. Per quod quis peccat, per idem punitur.
PULPIT, “And abuse me. The main idea of the Hithp. of the verb here used is to
satisfy the thirst of lust or cruelty. Saul probably feared not the abuse of mocking
only, but that of torture. In the corresponding passage this verb is preceded by the
clause, and thrust me through. His armour-bearer would not. He refused the
request or bidding of Saul, no doubt mainly in respect of the fact that Saul was still
"the anointed." We have a full description of both the loose arms and of the armour
19

of the body in the case of the Philistine Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4-7). It is one of the
world's surprising facts that the making of arms and armour, and the acquiring of
skill in the using of them, should, as in fact all history attests, date from so early a
period (Genesis 31:26; Genesis 34:25). As compared with the history and the
fragmentary re. mains of classical antiquity, those of Scripture are remarkably
scanty on this subject. The sword is the earliest mentioned in Scripture, carried in a
sheath (1 Samuel 17:51; 2 Samuel 20:8; 1 Chronicles 21:27); though the Hebrew
word is here different from that used in Samuel. It was slung by a girdle (1 Samuel
25:13), rested on hips or thigh (2 Samuel 20:8; 3:16; Psalms 45:3), and was
sometimes "two-edged" ( 3:16; Psalms 149:6). Then follows the spear in several
varieties, as in 1 Samuel 17:7; 1 Chronicles 11:11; 1 Chronicles 20:5; 1 Chronicles
23:9. Again as a javelin (Joshua 8:14-25; Job 29:23; 1 Samuel 17:6, where in the
Authorized Version it is called target, or gorget). Again as a lancet (1 Kings 18:28; 1
Chronicles 12:8, 1 Chronicles 12:24; 2 Chronicles 11:12; Nehemiah 4:13; Ezekiel
39:9). In addition to these three chief varieties of spear—the spear proper, the
javelin, end the lancet—there is mention of two other weapons used at all events as
the dart of a light kind would be used, in 2 Chronicles 23:10, and elsewhere, and in
2 Samuel 8:14, respectively. After sword and spear rank the bow and arrow
(Genesis 21:20; 1 Samuel 31:3; 1 Chronicles 8:40; 1 Chronicles 12:2; Psalms 68:9;
Psalms 120:4; Job 6:4) And lastly, the sling ( 20:16; 1 Samuel 25:29; 2 Kings 3:25),
and a very strong weapon of the same kind mentioned in 2 Chronicles 26:15. The
chief articles worn as bodily armour were the breastplate (1 Samuel 17:5, 1 Samuel
17:38); the somewhat obscure habergeon, mentioned only twice, in no connection
then of battle (Exodus 28:32; Exodus 39:23), the original name of which, tacharah,
is found on Egyptian papyri of the nineteenth dynasty,—it seems to have been a
species of doublet or corselet; the helmet (1 Samuel 17:5; 1 Samuel 26:14; Ezekiel
27:10); greaves (1 Samuel 17:6); two kinds of shield (1 Samuel 17:7, 1 Samuel 17:41,
compared with 1 Kings 10:16; 2 Chronicles 9:15); and lastly the article mentioned in
2 Samuel 8:7; 1 Chronicles 18:7; 2 Kings 11:10; 2 Chronicles 23:9; So 2 Chronicles
4:4; Jeremiah 51:11; Ezekiel 27:11; and of which we can say nothing certainly
bearing upon its nature or its use, except that it was made of gold. Armour-bearers,
then, the first distinct mention of whom we find in 9:54, may well have been a
necessity for kings and for the great. Joab had ten (2 Samuel 18:15). The word is not
expressed as a compound in Hebrew, but as "one carrying ( ‫ַים‬‫ל‬ֵ‫כ‬ ) arms."
20

5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead,
he too fell on his sword and died.
ELLICOTT, “ (5) He fell likewise on the sword.—Sam., “his sword,” i.e., the sword
of the armour-bearer.
And died.—Samuel adds “with him,” which seems to be omitted here for brevity,
which may be the reason of other similar omissions. Loyalty to his chief, and
perhaps dread of the foe, were the armour-bearer’s motives.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he
fell likewise on the sword, and died.
Ver. 5. He fell likewise on his sword, and died.] He had done better if he had died by
the hand of the enemy, in his master’s defence.
6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house
died together.
BARNES, “his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid — He was,
21

of course, placed in the same perilous condition as Saul. But it is probable
that the feelings that restrained him from complying with Saul’s wish were
a profound respect for royalty, mingled with apprehension of the shock
which such a catastrophe would give to the national feelings and interests.
CLARKE, “So Saul died - and all his house - Every branch of his family
that had followed him to the war was cut off; his three sons are mentioned
as being the chief. No doubt all his officers were slain.
JAMISON, “Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house — his sons and
courtiers who were there engaged in the battle. But it appears that Ish-
bosheth and Mephibosheth were kept at Gibeah on account of their youth.
BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:6. Saul died, and all his house — All his children then
present with him, namely, his three sons; for Ish-bosheth and Mephibosheth were
not slain.
ELLICOTT, “ (6) And all his house died together.—Instead of this Samuel reads
“and his armour-bearer; also all his men on that day together.” The LXX. adds “on
that day” here, while in Samuel it omits “all his men,” thus minimising the
differences of text. It is mere pedantry to press the phrases “all his men,” “all his
house.” The strength of these expressions indicates the completeness of the
overthrow.
The chronicler was fully aware that some of Saul’s house were not engaged in this
battle (1 Chronicles 9:35). And in any case, the chief warriors of his household, and
immediate followers, died with the king.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died
together.
Ver. 6. And all his house died together.] His courtiers and evil counsellors, who had
22

sinned with him, perished with him.
COKE, “1 Chronicles 10:6. All his house died together— 1:e. All of his house or
family who were with him that day. In 1 Samuel 31:6 it is all his men.
POOLE, “ All his house, i.e. all his children, to wit, then present with him, namely,
his three sons, as it is expressed, 1 Samuel 31:6. For it is evident that Ish-bosheth
and Mephibosheth were not slain. But nothing is more common in Scripture and all
authors, than to understand all of a great and most considerable part.
WHEDON, “6. All his house died together — Not every member of his family, for
Ishbosheth, (2 Samuel 2:8,) and Ziba, and Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:1-6) survived
him; but all his men that accompanied him to the war.
All his house. In place of these words, the parallel (1 Samuel 31:6) has, "And his
armour-bearer, and all his men, that same day together." This reading avoids the
ambiguity referred to already (1 Chronicles 10:2). In either passage the moral is
plain, that the end and ruin of Saul's family as a whole had arrived, rather than
literally that the whole, including every member, of that family had perished.
7 When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the
army had fled and that Saul and his sons had
died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And
the Philistines came and occupied them.
23

ELLICOTT, “ (7) That were in the valley.—Rather, the plain, in which the main
battle was fought—that of Jezreel. Samuel has “that were on the other side of the
plain, and on the other side of the Jordan.” The curt phrase “who (dwelt) in the
plain,” may be compared with 1 Chronicles 9:2. The people of the surrounding
districts are meant; who, when they “saw that they” (viz., Saul’s army, “the men of
Israel,” Samuel) “fled,” or had been routed, deserted “their (Samuel, ‘the,’ perhaps
a transposition of letters) cities” which were then occupied by the Philistines.
Dwelt in them.—The pronoun here is masculine, in Samuel, feminine, which is
correct.
TRAPP,”1 Chronicles 10:7 And when all the men of Israel that [were] in the valley
saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their
cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
Ver. 7. And the Philistines came and dwelt in them.] But before they were well
warm in these their new nests, David unroosted and dislodged them "The
triumphing of the wicked is but short." [Job 20:5]
In the valley. In place of these words, the parallel (1 Samuel 31:7) has, "On the
other side of the valley, and.; on the other side Jordan." We have here a clear
instance of the desire of the compiler of Chronicles to compress his narrative, while
the fidelity of the parallel narrative is testi-fled in the naturalness of its statements,
amounting to this, that, quick as the intelligence or report could reach all those
Israelites who were at all within the range of the victorious Philistines, they
hastened to vacate their abodes.
24

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip
the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on
Mount Gilboa.
HENRY 8-14, “Here, I. From the triumph of the Philistines over the body
of Saul we may learn, 1. That the greater dignity men are advanced to the
greater disgrace they are in danger of falling into. Saul's dead body, because
he was king, was abused more than any other of the slain. Advancement
makes men a mark for malice. 2. That, if we give not to God the glory of our
successes, even the Philistines will rise up in judgment against us and
condemn us; for, when they had obtained a victory over Saul, they sent
tidings to their idols - poor idols, that knew not what was done a few miles
off till the tidings were brought to them, nor then either! They also put
Saul's armour in the house of their gods, 1Ch_10:10. Shall Dagon have so
honourable a share in their triumphs and the true and living God be
forgotten in ours?
II. From the triumph of the men of Jabesh-Gilead in the rescue of the
bodies of Saul and his sons we learn that there is a respect due to the
remains of the deceased, especially of deceased princes. We are not to
enquire concerning the eternal state; that must be left to God: but we must
treat the dead body as those who remember it has been united to an
immortal soul and must be so again.
III. From the triumphs of divine Justice in the ruin of Saul we may learn,
1. That the sin of sinners will certainly find them out, sooner or later: Saul
died for his transgression. 2. That no man's greatness can exempt him from
the judgments of God. 3. Disobedience is a killing thing. Saul died for not
keeping the word of the Lord, by which he was ordered to destroy the
Amalekites. 4. Consulting with witches is a sin that fills the measure of
iniquity as soon as any thing. Saul enquired of one that had a familiar
spirit, and enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him, 1Ch_10:13, 1Ch_
10:14. Saul slew himself, and yet it is said, God slew him. What is done by
wicked hands is yet done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. Those that abandon themselves to the devil shall be abandoned to him;
so shall their doom be. It is said (1Sa_28:6) that Saul did enquire of the
Lord and he answered him not: but here it is said, Saul did not enquire of
God; for he did not till he was brought to the last extremity, and then it was
too late.
25

JAMISON, “1Ch_10:8-14. The Philistines triumph over him.
K&D 8-13, “On the following day the Philistines, in their search among the
fallen, found and plundered the bodies of Saul and of his sons, and sent the
head and the armour of Saul round about the land of the Philistines, to
proclaim the news of their victory to their people and their gods. That for
this purpose they cut off Saul's head from the trunk, is, as being a matter of
course, not specially mentioned. In regard to the other discrepancies
between the two texts, both in 1Ch_10:8-10 and in the account of the burial
of Saul and of his sons by valiant men of Jabesh, 1Ch_10:11, 1Ch_10:12, cf.
the commentary on 1Sa_31:8-13. In the reflection on Saul's death, 1Ch_10:13
and 1Ch_10:14, a double transgression against the Lord on Saul's part is
mentioned: first, the ‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ ַ‫מ‬ (on the meaning of this word, vide on Lev_5:15) of
not observing the word of Jahve, which refers to the transgression of the
divine command made known to him by the prophet Samuel, 1Sa_13:8. (cf.
with 1Ch_10:8), and 1Sa_15:2-3, 1Sa_15:11, cf. 1Sa_28:18; and second, his
inquiring of the ‫ב‬ ‫,א‬ the summoner of the dead (vide on Lev_19:31), ‫שׁ‬ ‫ר‬ ְ‫ד‬ ִ‫,ל‬
i.e., to receive an oracle (cf. in reference to both word and thing, 1Sa_28:7).
ELLICOTT, “ (8) His sons.—Samuel, “his three sons.” Otherwise the two verses are
word for word the same.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines
came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
Ver. 8. And it came to pass on the morrow.] They flew not on the spoil, till they had
secured the victory: for
“ Victorem a victo superari saepe videmus. ”
BI 8-10, “
And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the
slain, that they found Saul.
A good beginning with a bad ending
Many men begin with influential parentage, social station, ample education,
pecuniary competence, yet they travel a downhill road, falling first into
neglect and then into oblivion. Physical greatness, social security, public
applause are being continually rebuked, humiliated, and put to shame. The
proverb wisely says, “Call no man happy until he is dead.” The meaning is
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that at the very best a man may make a slip which will bring his whole life
into degradation in every sense of the term. There is but a step between man
and death—not physical death only, but the death of character, reputation,
and influence. It remains with each man to say whether a good beginning
shall have a good ending. This is a question of personal discipline, holy
fellowship with God, and an acceptance of all processes which have been
divinely established for the training and sanctification of man. The word
comes with special urgency to young persons, to men of influence, to
successful men, and to all who are plied by the temptations incident to high
station and wide influence. (J. Parker, D. D.)
9 They stripped him and took his head and his
armor, and sent messengers throughout the land
of the Philistines to proclaim the news among
their idols and their people.
ELLICOTT, “ (9) And when they had stripped him.—Better, and they stripped
him, and carried off his head, &c. Samuel, “and they cut off his head, and stripped
his armour off.” With the phrase “carried off his head,” comp. Genesis 40:19,
“Pharaoh will lift thy head from off thee,” where the same Hebrew verb is used
(yissâ).
And sent (Saul’s head and armour) to carry tidings unto their idols.—The verb
bassçr is used of good and bad tidings, especially of the former, as in 2 Samuel
18:19-20.
Unto their idols.—Samuel, “house of their idols.” But the LXX. reading there is the
same as here, τοῖς εἰδώλοις. The expression of Samuel looks original, though it may
have been copied by mistake from 1 Chronicles 10:10. Note the strictly local
conception of deities implied in this act of the Philistines; as if their idols could
neither see nor hear beyond their own temples. (Comp. 1 Kings 20:23; 1 Kings
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20:28; Psalms 94:9.)
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:9 And when they had stripped him, they took his head,
and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry
tidings unto their idols, and to the people.
Ver. 9. They took his head.] Heb., His brainpan; the seat of his understanding;
wherein he had hammered so many evil devices against good David and others.
To carry tidings.] Ad evangelizandum.
COKE, “1 Chronicles 10:9. To carry tidings unto their idols— That the tidings
might be told in the temples of their idols. Houbigant.
PULPIT. “1 Chronicles 10:9
And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour. Some
comparing this with the parallel (1 Samuel 31:9), "They cut off his head, and
stripped off his armour," say "our author" leaves the beheading unmentioned! It is
certainly sufficiently implied. To carry tidings unto their idols. This sentence is more
clearly explained, and brought into rather unexpected and perhaps unwished
accord with the most modern of our ecclesiastical habits, when in the parallel as
above, we find "to publish it in the house of their idols" as the form of expression.
10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods
and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.
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JAMISON, “put his armour in the house of their gods — It was common
among the heathen to vow to a national or favorite deity, that, in the event
of a victory, the armor of the enemy’s king, or of some eminent leader,
should be dedicated to him as an offering of gratitude. Such trophies were
usually suspended on the pillars of the temple.
fastened his head in the temple of Dagon — while the trunk or headless
corpse was affixed to the wall of Beth-shan (1Sa_31:10).
BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:10. In the temple of Dagon — If we give not God the
glory of our successes, even Philistines will rise up in judgment with us, and
condemn us. Shall Dagon have so great a place in their triumphs, and the true God
be forgotten in ours?
ELLICOTT, “ (10) In the house of their gods.—Or god, as LXX. Samuel, “house of
Ashtaroth,” which the chronicler or his source paraphrases, perhaps from a
repugnance to mentioning the idol’s name. Ashtoreth had a great temple at Ascalon,
as “Heavenly Aphrodite” (Herod., Hist i. 108). The “Queen of Heaven” (Jeremiah
7:18) was worshipped by the Semitic races generally. Under the name of Ishtar, she
was a chief goddess of the Assyrians, and had famous temples at Nineveh and
Arbela. The Sabæans worshipped her as Athtâr; and the name Ashtâr is coupled
with Chemosh on the Moabite Stone.
Fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.—Literally, and his skull (gulgôleth—
comp. Golgotha, Matthew 27:33) they fastened in the house of Dagon. Instead of
this, we read in Samuel, “and his corpse they fastened to the wall of Beth-shan.” It is
hardly likely that the one reading is a corruption of the other. The chronicler has
omitted the statement about Saul’s corpse, which is not mentioned in 1 Chronicles
10:9, and supplied one respecting his head, which has been already spoken of in that
verse. He found the fact in his additional source, if the clause in question has not
dropt out of the text of Samuel.
The Accadians worshipped Dagon, as we learn from the cuneiform inscriptions:
comp. the name Ismi-Dagan (Dagon hears).
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:10 And they put his armour in the house of their gods,
and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
Ver. 10. And fastened his head.] In way of abuse and mockage; so, that which Saul
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feared came upon him. [1 Chronicles 10:4]
WHEDON, “ 10. They… fastened his head in the temple of Dagon — In Samuel we
are merely told that “they cut off his head,” but no account is there given of what
they did with it. This act of the Philistines was, perhaps, a retaliation for the
disposition made of the head of Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:54.
The house of their gods. In place of this general designation, the parallel (1 Samuel
31:10) designates the house more exactly as "the house of Ashtaroth" (Genesis 14:5;
the Phoenician female deity, as Baal was their male deity. The Greek form of the
name is Astarte. See also Cic; 'De. Nat. Deo.,' Deuteronomy 3:23). And fastened his
head in the temple of Dagon. The parallel, as above, gives us, "And fastened his
body to the wall of Beth-shah" (which account is corroborated in 2 Samuel
21:12-14), and does not say what further was done with the head. It is no doubt
remarkable that one historian puts on record the one fact and the other the other;
and it is one of the clearer indications that both took from some common sources. It
is perhaps something to be remarked also that, while the historian in Samuel says
nothing further about the head (though allusion to it is probably included in the
"body" and the "bones," the further account of which is given in 1 Chronicles
10:12, 1 Chronicles 10:13, as well as in 2 Samuel 21:12-14), the compiler of
Chronicles does revert to mention of "the body of Saul," 1 Chronicles 10:12, infra,
though without any corresponding naming of Beth-shah. Bertheau finds little
difficulty in the question, by simply supposing that the omission in Chronicles is
another instance of the desire to compress; while others suppose corruption in our
text, or, as Thenius and Ewald, the loss of a sentence to our text. After all said, the
omission in Samuel of the fate of the head would seem to be fully as remarkable as
the omission, so far as this verse is concerned, in Chronicles of the fate of the body.
It is reasonable to suppose that the head and trunk of the body of Saul were brought
together again, or it were likely some allusion to the contrary would have transpired
in the following verses of this chapter or in 2 Samuel 21:12-14. With regard to the
act of the Philistines in dedicating the armour of Saul, and fixing his head in the
temple of Dagon, as though trophies, the custom was both ancient and not
uncommon ( 16:21-30; 1 Samuel 5:1-5; 1 Samuel 21:9). The house of Dagon (Joshua
15:41; Joshua 19:27) here spoken of was that at Ashdod (Joshua 15:47), between
Gaza and Joppa. Though belonging to Judah's lot, it was never subdued by Israel,
30

and remained throughout their history one of their worst foes. It is the Azotus of
Acts 8:40. There was another Dagon temple at Gaza ( 16:21-31). Dagon's
representation was the figure of a man, as to head, hands, and bust, but for the rest
that of a fish, which was a symbol of fruitfulness. As Ashdod was situate on the
extreme west of Palestine, so Beth-shah—generally written Beth-shean, a city of
Manasseh (ch. 7:29), though within the borders of Issachar (Joshua 17:11), flora
which the Canaanites were not expelled ( 1:27)—was on the extreme east near the
Jordan. It was afterwards called Scythopolis. Considering the distance these were
apart, and their contrary directions, we may suppose that some suggestion was
intended by the fixing the head in the one place and the body in the other.
11 When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead
heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
CLARKE, “When all Jabesh-gilead heard - For a general account of the
principles of heroism and gratitude from which this action of the men of
Jabesh-gilead proceeded, see the note on 1Sa_31:11, 1Sa_31:12.
By the kindness of a literary friend, I am enabled to lay a farther
illustration of this noble act before the reader, which he will find at the
conclusion of the chapter.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:11 And when all Jabeshgilead heard all that the
Philistines had done to Saul,
Ver. 11. And when all Jabeshgilead.] See 1 Samuel 31:11. Jabeshgilead had not
many inhabitants; but being all of a mind, they did great matters.
GUZIK, “3. (1Ch_10:11-12) The courage and faithfulness of the men of
Jabesh Gilead.
And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to
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Saul, all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies
of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones
under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
a. And when all Jabesh Gilead: These heroic men are recognized for
their gratitude. Many years before, Saul delivered their city from the
Ammonites (1Sa_11:1-11), and they repay the kindness God showed
them from the hand of Saul. Upon taking the throne, David rightly
thanked these valiant men for their kindness to the memory of Saul,
Jonathan, and Saul’s other sons (2Sa_2:4-7).
b. All the valiant men arose: In a time of disgrace, loss, and tragedy
like this, God still has His valiant men to do His work. The men of
Jabesh Gilead took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from their
place of humiliation and gave them a proper burial.
i. God always has His valiant men. When one servant passes the
scene, another arises to take his place. If Saul is gone, God raises
up a David. If the army of Israel is utterly routed, God still has His
valiant men. God’s work is bigger than any man, or any group of
people.
12 all their valiant men went and took the bodies
of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh.
Then they buried their bones under the great tree
in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:12. And fasted seven days — Every day till evening,
after the manner of the Jewish fasts.
ELLICOTT, “ (12) All the valiant men.—Literally, every man of valour. Samuel
adds, “and marched all the night.”
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Took away.—Carried off. Samuel has “took,” (ceperunt).
The body.—A common Aramaic word, gûfâh, only read here in the Old Testament,
for which Samuel has the pure Hebrew synonym a’wîyah. Samuel adds, “from the
wall of Beth-shan.”
And brought them.—Samuel, “and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.” To burn
a corpse was a further degradation of executed criminals (Joshua 7:25; Leviticus
20:14; Leviticus 21:9), and as the Jews did not ordinarily practise cremation, it is
supposed that the phrase “burnt them,” in 1 Samuel 31 means “made a burning for
them” of costly spices, as was done at the funerals of kings (Jeremiah 34:5; 2
Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 21:19). But perhaps the bodies were burnt in this
exceptional case because they had been mutilated by the enemy.
Buried their bones.—Samuel, “took and buried.” The phrase “their bones,”
contrasted with their “corpses,” certainly seems to imply that the latter had been
burnt.
The oak.—Heb., terebinth, or turpentine tree. Samuel, “tamarisk.” The difference
points to another source used by Chronicles.
And fasted seven days.—In token of mourning. (Comp. the friends of Job, Job
2:11-13; and Ezekiel among the exiles at Tel-abib, Ezekiel 3:15.) For the behaviour
of the men of Jabesh, comp. 1 Samuel 11
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:12 They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the
body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried
their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Ver. 12. And took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons.] Which the
Philistines, in disgrace of them, had fastened to the wall of Bethshan, afterwards
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called Scythopolis.
And fasted seven days.] A tanto, but not a toto, as Daniel 10:2. In public calamities
lugendum, scilicet non indulgendum genio, men must be deeply affected with the
divine displeasure.
WHEDON, “ 12. Buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh — Samuel has, “under
a tree,” or rather, under the tree, ( ‫האשׂל‬ ), that is, some well-known tree which this
writer designates as ‫,האלה‬ the oak, or terebinth.
Jabesh. This is the only place where "Jabesh" is used as an abbreviation for Jabesh-
gilead, of which it was the chief city. Gilead comprised the lots of Reuben and Gad
(Numbers 32:1-5, Numbers 32:25-32, Numbers 32:39-41) and of half Manasseh (1
Chronicles 27:21). Saul had on a celebrated occasion (1 Samuel 11:1-13) befriended
the people of Jabesh-gilead, coming to their rescue against Nahath the Ammonite, of
which kindness they are now mindful, show that rarest of virtues, gratitude to a
fallen monarch, and are further on (2 Samuel 2:5) commended for it by David. This
verse does not tell us, as the parallel (1 Samuel 31:12) does, of the first burning of
the bodies, and then of the burying of the calcined bones. The silence is very
remarkable. It does name the kind of tree, the "oak" or "terebinth." The word for
the tree, however, in both passages is of doubtful and perhaps only generic
signification. The several Hebrew words translated in various places as "oak," all
share a common root, significant of the idea of strength. Dr. Thomson says that the
country owns still to an abundance of oaks of very fine growth in some eases, and
that these are exceedingly more plentiful and altogether a stronger tree than the
"terebinth." The different names, though all connected with one root, referred to
are probably owing to the large variety of oaks. With the statement of the burying of
the bones under a tree, and the fasting of seven days on the part of these brave and
grateful men of Jabesh-gilead, the parallel account comes to its end.
13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the
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Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and
even consulted a medium for guidance,
BARNES, “For his transgression - Compare 1Ch_9:1. The “transgression”
intended is probably the disobedience with respect to Amalek, recorded in
1Sa_15:1-9 (compare 1Sa_28:17-18).
CLARKE, “Saul died for his transgression - See the concluding observations
on the first book of Samuel (1Sa_31:13 (note)).
GILL, “So Saul died for his transgression,.... See Gill on 1Sa_31:13 A violent
and dishonourable death, which was suffered on account of the sins he was
guilty of:
one was, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the
Lord, which he kept not; both in not staying for Samuel the time appointed,
and by sparing the Amalekites whom he was bid to destroy, 1Sa_13:13.
and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;
what he should do with respect to engaging in battle with the Philistines,
1Sa_28:8 which to do was contrary to an express command of God, Lev_
19:31.
JAMISON, “Saul died for his transgression which he committed against
the Lord — in having spared the king of the Amalekites and taken the flocks
of the people as spoils [1Sa_15:9], as well as in having consulted a pythoness
[1Sa_28:7]. Both of these acts were great sins - the first as a violation of
God’s express and positive command [1Sa_15:3], and the second as contrary
to a well-known statute of the kingdom (Lev_19:31).
GUZIK, “ (1Ch_10:13-14) The spiritual reason for the tragedy of King
Saul.
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the
LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because
he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the LORD;
therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of
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Jesse.
a. So Saul died for his unfaithfulness: The story of King Saul is one of
the great tragedies of the Bible. He was humble at his beginning, yet
seeming to lack any genuine spiritual connection with God, he was
easily and quickly corrupted by pride and fear. Saul becomes a tragic
example of wasted potential.
i. “Saul was a man than whom no other had greater opportunities,
but his failure was disastrous. Of good standing in the nation,
distinctly called and commissioned by God, honored with the
friendship of Samuel, surrounded by a band of men whose hearts
God had touched, everything was in his favor. From the beginning
he failed; step by step he declined in conduct and character, until
he went out.” (Morgan)
b. But he did not inquire of the LORD: Saul did not have a genuine
connection with God and did not seek God for the difficulties of his
life. He consulted a medium for guidance, but not the LORD God.
i. “When a human being is called of God to service, there is always
given to an one the guidance of God, in direct spiritual
communication. If there be disobedience, this guidance is
necessarily withdrawn. Then, the forsaken man or woman,
craving for supernatural aid, turns to sorcery, witchcraft,
spiritism; and the issue is always destructive.” (Morgan)
ii. It does say in 1Sa_28:6 that Saul did inquire of the LORD. “Such
an inconsiderable and trifling inquiry as Saul made, is justly
accounted to be no inquiry at all; as they are said not to eat the
Lord’s supper, 1Co_11:20, who did eat it in a sinful and irregular
manner.” (Poole)
BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:13. So Saul died for his transgression — The sense is,
wonder not that Saul fell by the hands of the Philistines, who were armed against
him by his own sin, and by God’s vengeance for it. Against the word of the Lord —
Against God’s express, and plain, and positive command; which is a great
aggravation of any sin. For asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit — Which
also was contrary to a manifest command,
(Leviticus 19:31,) and moreover contrary to his own conscience, which was so fully
convinced of the evil of such practices, that he had endeavoured the utter
extirpation of all such persons, in pursuance of God’s law, 1 Samuel 28:9. To
inquire of it — Concerning the event of the approaching battle.
ELLICOTT, “ (13) Even against the word of the Lord.—Saul’s unfaithfulness was
36

twofold: (1) he did not observe the prophetic word of Jehovah (comp. 1 Samuel
13:13; 1 Samuel 15:11); and (2) he consulted a necromancer, to the neglect of
consulting Jehovah (1 Samuel 28).
And also for asking counsel.—And also by consulting the necromancer in order to
get a response. “Turn ye not to the necromancers” (Leviticus 19:31). (See also Isaiah
8:19.) Saul broke the general law of his people, as well as special commands
addressed to himself. No allusion is made to his cruel slaughter of the priests (1
Samuel 22:18), nor to his implacable hatred of David.
Verse 13-14
(13, 14) A concluding reflection from the mind of the chronicler himself. He sums up
his extract concerning the ruin of Saul by assigning the moral ground of it, viz.,
Saul’s “unfaithfulness whereby he showed himself unfaithful to Jehovah.” The same
charge was made against the Transjordan tribes in 1 Chronicles 5:25, and against
the people of Judah in 1 Chronicles 9:1.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed
against the LORD, [even] against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and
also for asking [counsel] of [one that had] a familiar spirit, to enquire [of it];
Ver. 13. So Saul died, &c.] This and the subsequent verse we have here about the
causes of Saul’s death, more than that we read in 1 Samuel 31:3-6.; like as we meet
with many remarkable passages in St Mark, that are not in Matthew or Luke.
For his transgression which he committed.] "Adding rebellion to sin," [Job 34:37]
for he was not so very bad at first, as neither is any wicked person. He first
neglected the word of God, and then despised it, and then harboured in his heart
hypocrisy, hatred, envy, cruelty, &c. Here he is taxed for three vices especially: (1.)
For flat disobedience, which "is as the sin of witchcraft"; [1 Samuel 15:23] (2.) For
consulting with a witch; (3.) For not inquiring of the Lord. He did not "draw nigh to
God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an
evil conscience, and his body washed with pure water." [Hebrews 10:22]
COKE, “1 Chronicles 10:13. To enquire of it— See the note on 1 Samuel 31:1. The
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two great offences of Saul, which are recapitulated in this verse, were, his sparing
the Amalekites, and consulting the witch of Endor.
POOLE, “ Saul died for his transgression: the sense is, Wonder not that Saul fell by
the hands of the Philistines, who were armed against him by his own sin and by
God’s vengeance for it.
Against the word of the Lord; against God’s express, and plain, and positive
command; which is a great aggravation of any sin.
For asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit; which also was contrary to a
manifest command, Leviticus 19:31, and moreover, contrary to his own conscience,
which was so fully convinced hereof, that he had endeavoured the utter extirpation
of all such persons, in pursuance of God’s law. See 1 Samuel 28:9.
To inquire of it, concerning the event of the approaching battle.
WHEDON, “ 13. So Saul died for his transgression… and also for asking counsel
of… a familiar spirit — These reflections on the death of Saul, and the causes of his
fall, show that the writer is merely preparing the way to the history of David. Saul’s
ruin is attributed particularly to two great sins: 1) in not observing Jehovah’s word,
which enjoined upon him the destruction of Amalek, (see 1 Samuel 15, and 1 Samuel
28:17-18, and notes there;) 2) in seeking for help and counsel of the witch of Endor.
See 1 Samuel 28:3-20, notes.
PULPIT, “So Saul died for his transgression. (For this transgression and the stress
laid upon it and its predicted consequences, see 1 Samuel 15:1-9, 1 Samuel 15:11, 1
Samuel 15:14; 1 Samuel 28:18.) For asking… of… a familiar spirit (1 Samuel
28:7-24).
14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord
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put him to death and turned the kingdom over to
David son of Jesse.
CLARKE, “Inquired not of the Lord - On these two last verses the Targum
speaks thus: “And Saul died for the transgression by which he transgressed
against the Word of the Lord, and because he did not keep the
commandment of the Lord when he warred against the house of Amalek;
and because he consulted Pythons, and sought oracular answers from them.
Neither did he ask counsel from before the Lord by Urim and Thummim, for
he had slain the priests that were in Nob; therefore the Lord slew him, and
transferred the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.”
A Literary friend furnishes the following remarks: -
“The sacred writer, in the first book of Samuel, 1Sa_31:11-13,
and 1Ch_10:11, 1Ch_10:12, after relating the defeat and death of
Saul, and the ignominious treatment of his remains, thus
concludes: -
“‘And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that
which the Philistines had done to Saul, 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 burnt them there; and they took the bones, and
buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.’
“Often has this account been read with admiration of the
bravery and devotedness of the men of Jabesh-gilead, but
without considering that these men had any greater cause than
others for honoring the remains of their sovereign; but, on
reflection, it will be perceived that the strong impulse of
gratitude prompted them to this honorable exertion. They
remembered their preservation from destruction, and, which
to brave men is more galling, from bearing marks of having
been defeated, and being deprived of the honorable hope of
wiping off disgrace, or defending their country at future
seasons.
“Reading these verses in conjunction with the attack of
Nahash, we perceive the natural feelings of humanity, of
honorable respect, prompting the men of Jabesh to act as they
39

did in rescuing the bones of Saul and his family.
“The father of Grecian poetry relates in how great a degree
the warriors of ancient days honored the remains of their
leaders; how severe were the contests for the body of the fallen
chief, more determined oftentimes than the struggle for
victory: this point of military honor was possibly excited or
heightened by the religious idea so prevalent in his age, and
after times, respecting the fate of the spirits of those who were
unburied.
“Homer wrote of events passing at no distant period from
those recorded in the first volume of Samuel; and these
accounts mutually corroborate each other, being in unison, not
only with the feelings of humanity, but with the customs of
ancient nations. These may be farther illustrated by comparing
the conduct of the Philistines with regard to Saul and his sons,
with that of the hero of the Iliad towards Hector, the most
finished character of the poem. Saul had been a severe scourge
to the Philistines throughout a long series of years; the
illustrious chief of Troy had long warded off the ruin of his
country, and destroyed the flower of her foes, independently of
his last victory over Patroclus, which drew on his remains that
dishonor which, however, fell only on his destroyer.
“Should the siege of Troy be considered a fable, it may then
be concluded that Homer introduced into his poems the
customs and manners known to those for whose perusal he
wrote, if these customs were not prevalent among his readers;
but anxiety for the body of the illustrious dead, or regret for his
death, has often caused success when all exertions prior to this
powerful stimulus have not availed; and this even in our days.
“The Philistines had long been confined to the southwest
angle of the promised land, and in the earlier part of Saul’s
reign had suffered many and severe losses; yet it appears by
this chapter that, alone or in conjunction with allies, they had
been able to penetrate nearly to the banks of the Jordan, to
fight the battle on Mount Gilboa. This could only have been
effected by a march through great part of the kingdom of
Israel.
“Doubtless the attention of Saul in its defense might have
been greatly distracted by his pursuit and fear of David, which
appeared to have absorbed his whole mind; and it may account
for the defenceless or weakened state of his forces.
“These circumstances appear to corroborate the authenticity
of these books, independently of the many private transactions
therein recorded; particularly the interesting and singular
40

friendship of Jonathan and David, a transaction not likely to
occur to a forger of a narrative. J.W.”
GILL, “And inquired not of the Lord,.... For though he did inquire in some
sense in an external, careless, and hypocritical manner, yet not done
seriously, sincerely, and heartily, nor with constancy; it was accounted as if
he inquired not at all, 1Sa_28:6 the Targum adds another reason of his
death, because he killed the priests of Nob; but that is not in the text:
therefore he slew him; or suffered him to be slain:
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse; translated the
kingdom of Israel out of Saul's family, upon his death, into Jesse's, even
unto David; for the sake of which observation this short account is given of
the last end of Saul.
JAMISON, “And inquired not of the Lord — He had done so in form (1Sa_
28:6), but not in the spirit of a humble penitent, nor with the believing
confidence of a sincere worshipper. His enquiry was, in fact, a mere
mockery, and his total want of all right religious impressions was
manifested by his rushing from God to a wretched impostor in the service of
the devil [1Sa_28:7].
K&D, “And because he inquired not of the Lord, therefore He slew him.
According to 1Sa_28:6, Saul did indeed inquire of Jahve, but received no
answer, because Jahve had departed from him (1Sa_28:15); but instead of
seeking with all earnestness for the grace of Jahve, that he might receive an
answer, Saul turned to the sorceress of Endor, and received his death-
sentence through her from the mouth of Samuel, 1Sa_28:19.
BENSON, “1 Chronicles 10:14. Inquired not of the Lord — He did in some sort,
but not in a right manner; not humbly and penitently, not diligently and
importunately, not patiently and perseveringly; nor till he was brought to the last
extremity, and then it was too late.
ELLICOTT, “ (14) And enquired not of the Lord.—Saul had, in fact, enquired of
Jehovah before resorting to the witch of En-dor, “but the Lord answered him not,
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neither by the dreams, nor by the Urim, nor by the prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6). We
shall not be reading a meaning of our own into the text if we say that Saul’s natural
impatience (1 Samuel 13:13) on this occasion betrayed him again; he at once
despaired of help from his God, instead of seeking it with self-humiliation and
penitence. His character is consistently drawn throughout the history. The sin that
ruined the first king was essentially that which led to the final ruin of the nation,
viz., unfaithfulness to the covenant-God. The same word characterises both. (Comp.
1 Chronicles 10:13 with 1 Chronicles 5:25; 1 Chronicles 9:1.)
Therefore he slew him.—God acts through the instrumentality of His creatures. In
this case He employed the Philistines, and the suicidal hand of Saul himself; just as
He employed the Assyrian conquerors of a later age to be the scourge of guilty
peoples (Isaiah 10:5-15), and raised up Cyrus to be His servant, who should fulfil all
His pleasure (Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1-13).
Turned the kingdom unto David.—By means of the warriors of Israel (1 Chronicles
12:23). This sentence shows that 1 Chronicles 10 is transitional to the history of
David as king.
TRAPP, “1 Chronicles 10:14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him,
and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
Ver. 14. And inquired not of the Lord.] He did, and yet he did not. {See Trapp on "1
Samuel 28:6"}
Therefore he slew him.] He killed him with death, as Revelation 2:23.
And turned the kingdom unto David.] Though it were long first, and after many
trials and tribulations. Sic petitur caelum; heaven is not to be had, but after much
pains and patience.
“ Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis ”
COKE, “1 Chronicles 10:14. And enquired not of the Lord— This seems to
contradict what is said 1 Samuel 28:6. But the Jews and others reconcile the two
passages by saying, that as he did not persevere to inquire of God, nor inquire at all
with a truly religious and faithful spirit, but went to a witch, it was just the same as
if he had not inquired at all. "He whose heart is perfect with God," says a learned
Jew, "lifts up his eyes to him and fixes them on him, hoping in him, though he do
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not presently hear or grant his request; and perseveres in his hopes, setting a
resolution to wait upon him. But so did not Saul, who was remiss and negligent,
saying in the pride of his heart, If the Lord will not answer me, I will consult a
familiar spirit." The Vulgate renders the words in this place, and put not his trust in
the Lord.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, For the account of Saul's death, see 1 Samuel 31. It was a
just judgment on Saul; and, no doubt, his bloody house, following his ill example,
deserved to fall with him. Thus a way was made for David to the crown, most of his
competitors being removed. We pity Jonathan, that lovely name, fallen among the
slain; but all is wise and good which God doth, though we are short-sighted, and see
not always the reasons of his procedure.
2nd, The indignity offered to the bodies of Saul and his sons, and the bold attempt
of the men of Jabesh-gilead, were before observed. Note; (1.) God will visit for sin,
and the highest are not above his arm. (2.) They who abused their power when alive,
deserve to be stigmatized when dead, as a warning to others. (3.) Ruin must be near,
when men, like Saul, turn away from God, and abandon themselves to the devil.
POOLE, “ Inquired not of the Lord.
Object. Saul inquired of the Lord, 1 Samuel 28:6.
Answ. He did so, but not in a right manner, not humbly and penitently, not
diligently and importunately, not patiently and perseveringly; but when God would
not answer him speedily, he gives it over, and goes from God to the devil. Compare 1
Samuel 14:18,19. Such an inconsiderable and trifling inquiry as Saul made, is justly
accounted to be no inquiry at all; as they are said not to eat the Lord’s supper, 1
Corinthians 11:20, who did eat it in a sinful and irregular manner.
WHEDON, “ 14. Inquired not of the Lord — 1 Samuel 28:6 clearly implies that he
did inquire of the Lord, but received no answer. His inquiring of Jehovah, however,
seems to have been fitful, superstitious, and prompted by a sense of terror, and also
with a conviction that he was forsaken of God, (1 Samuel 28:15;) and being followed
so speedily by a resolution to inquire of a necromancer, it is treated by the
chronicler as no true, earnest, and worthy inquiring of Jehovah.
He slew him — Hebrews caused him to die; that is, gave him over to destruction, as
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a vessel of wrath already fitted to that end. Romans 9:22, note.
And inquired not of the Lord. Saul seems to have, in point of fact, inquired in some
sense (1 Samuel 14:37; 1 Samuel 28:5, 1 Samuel 28:6, 1 Samuel 28:15). But the
probable meaning is that he did not inquire in the first instance (see 1 Chronicles
10:3, 1 Chronicles 10:4); and when he did inquire, he did not await the reply solely
and exclusively of Jehovah. Therefore he slew him (so see 1 Chronicles 2:3). David
the son of Jesse. The compiler, having heretofore given so scrupulously whatever of
genealogical fact he could, is now careful to use it. And he identifies the future chief
hero of his history as him who had already been instanced (1 Chronicles 2:15), "son
of Jesse."
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I chronicles 10 commentary

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I chronicles 10 commentary