1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 10
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. 4Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me.”
But his armor bearer would not; for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it. 5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died. 6So Saul died with his three sons; and all his house died together. 7When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
8On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9They stripped him, and took his head and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines all around, to carry the news to their idols, and to the people. 10They put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon. 11When all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all 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. 13So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep; and also because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire, 14and didn’t inquire of Yahweh. Therefore he killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 18 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry2
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
This account of Saul's death is the same with that which we had, Sa1 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…
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…
John Gill3
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
See Gill on 1 Samuel 31:1.
So Saul died for his transgression,.... See Gill on 1 Samuel 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…
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, 1 Samuel 28:6 the…
Adam Clarke5
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel - The reader will find the same history in almost the same words, in Sa1 31:1-13, to the notes on which he is referred for every thing important in this.
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.
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 Sa1 31:11, Sa1 31:12. By the kindness of a literary friend, I am enabled to lay a…
Keil & Delitzsch2
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
See Gill on Sa1 31:1. . 1 Chronicles 10:13 ch1 10:13 ch1 10:13 ch1 10:13So Saul died for his transgression,.... See Gill on Sa1 31:13 A violent and dishonourable death, which was suffered on account of the sins he was guilty of: one was, which he committed…
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, Sa1 28:6 the…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown6
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
the battle went sore against Saul; and the archers hit him, and 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…
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…
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.
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