The Histories · Old Testament

1 Chronicles 10

1 Chronicles 10: the death of Saul on mount Gilboa

General context

The Philistines fight Israel, the men of Israel flee and fall slain on mount Gilboa, and the Philistines kill Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi–shua. Archers wound Saul. He asks his armourbearer to thrust him through, "lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me"; the man refuses because he is "sore afraid", so Saul takes a sword and falls on it. The armourbearer, seeing Saul dead, does the same. The narrator sums up: "So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together." The men of Israel in the valley abandon their cities and the Philistines occupy them. On the morrow the Philistines strip the dead, take Saul's head and armour, and send word to their idols and their people; the armour goes into the house of their gods and the head is fastened in the temple of Dagon. The valiant men of Jabesh–gilead recover the bodies of Saul and his sons, bury their bones under the oak at Jabesh and fast seven days. The chapter ends with the narrator's verdict: Saul died for his transgression against the word of the Lord and for asking counsel of one with a familiar spirit instead of enquiring of the Lord, "therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse".

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 10:1, 1 Chronicles 10:2, 1 Chronicles 10:3, 1 Chronicles 10:4, 1 Chronicles 10:5, 1 Chronicles 10:6, 1 Chronicles 10:7, 1 Chronicles 10:9, 1 Chronicles 10:10, 1 Chronicles 10:12, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 1 Chronicles 10:14

1 Chronicles 10 (KJV)

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

²And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

³And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.

⁴Then 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.

⁵And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died.

⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together.

⁷And 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.

⁸And 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.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

¹¹And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹²They 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.

¹³So 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;

¹⁴And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This is the book's only narrative about Saul; his reign is not told, only his end. Three sons are named as killed; chapters 8 and 9 listed four sons including Esh–baal, and traced Jonathan's descendants for generations, while this chapter says "all his house died together". The text leaves those statements side by side. The verdict in the last two verses refers to a transgression against "the word of the Lord" and to consulting "one that had a familiar spirit", but neither event is narrated in Chronicles. The narrator says of the Lord "he slew him", although the chapter has just shown Saul falling on his own sword; the death is credited to God's judgment and to Saul's hand at once. The Philistines' treatment of the body is stated plainly: stripped, beheaded, the head fastened in Dagon's temple. Jabesh–gilead's men act without any explanation of their motive. David is named for the first time in the narrative in the final verse, as "the son of Jesse", before any account of him.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 10:2, 1 Chronicles 10:6, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 1 Chronicles 10:14, 1 Chronicles 10:4, 1 Chronicles 10:10, 1 Chronicles 10:11

Literary context

The chapter is a single scene told in four movements: rout and death, the flight of the people, the Philistines' handling of the corpse, and the burial. Then a verdict. The only speech is Saul's request to his armourbearer, and the only reply is a refusal, so the king's last exchange ends in silence and his own act. The armourbearer's death mirrors Saul's, "fell likewise on the sword". The Philistines send "tidings" to their idols, and the narrator answers that with the men of Jabesh who bury and fast. The final two verses shift from showing to telling: the narrator steps in to explain the death as judgment and to hand the kingdom to David in one sentence. Coming straight after nine chapters of lists, the abrupt "Now the Philistines fought against Israel" begins the story at its lowest point, so that everything from chapter 11 onward reads as recovery.

Cited passages: 1 Chronicles 10:1, 1 Chronicles 10:4, 1 Chronicles 10:5, 1 Chronicles 10:9, 1 Chronicles 10:12, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 1 Chronicles 10:14

Key moments

Israel routed at Gilboa (1 Chronicles 10:1). The men of Israel flee the Philistines and fall slain on mount Gilboa.
Saul's sons killed (1 Chronicles 10:2). The Philistines slay Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi–shua.
Saul falls on his sword (1 Chronicles 10:4). His armourbearer refuses to strike him, so Saul takes a sword and falls on it.
The head in Dagon's temple (1 Chronicles 10:10). The Philistines put Saul's armour in their gods' house and fasten his head in Dagon's temple.
Jabesh–gilead buries the bones (1 Chronicles 10:12). Valiant men recover the bodies, bury them under the oak and fast seven days.
The narrator's verdict (1 Chronicles 10:13). Saul's death is explained as judgment for transgression and consulting a familiar spirit.
The kingdom turned to David (1 Chronicles 10:14). The Lord slays Saul and gives the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

For reflection

The narrator says of Saul that the Lord "slew him", right after showing Saul fall on his own sword. How does holding those two statements together change the way the death reads?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here: