1 Chronicles — Chapter 10
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1Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
3When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.
4Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died.
6So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.
7When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.
10They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
11When all the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul,
12all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
13So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
14and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
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.
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 overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers.
4Then 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.
5And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his 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, 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 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.
10And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon.
11And when 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 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],
14and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
1Now the Philistines fought against Israel. The Israelites fled before the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
2The Philistines stayed right on the heels of Saul and his sons. They struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua.
3The battle was thick around Saul; the archers spotted him and wounded him.
4Saul told his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and stab me with it. Otherwise these uncircumcised people will come and torture me.” But his armor-bearer refused to do it because he was very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
5When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died.
6So Saul and his three sons died; his whole household died together.
7When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. The Philistines came and occupied them.
8The next day, when the Philistines came to strip loot from the corpses, they discovered Saul and his sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa.
9They stripped his corpse and then carried off his head and his armor. They sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines proclaiming the news to their idols and their people.
10They placed his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
11When all the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul,
12all the warriors went and recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their remains under the oak tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.
13So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits.
14He did not seek the Lord’s guidance, so the Lord killed him and transferred the kingdom to David son of Jesse.
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.
Summary
The Philistines defeat Israel at Mount Gilboa, killing Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua before Saul, badly wounded by archers, takes his own life rather than be captured (vv. 1-5). With Saul's whole house dead, Israel abandons nearby towns and the Philistines occupy them (vv. 6-7). The Philistines strip Saul's body, display his armor in their temple, and fasten his head in the house of Dagon, until the men of Jabesh-gilead recover and bury the bones (vv. 8-12). The chapter closes with the Chronicler's verdict: Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord and for consulting a medium instead of seeking God, so the kingdom turned to David (vv. 13-14).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Largely parallels 1-2 Samuel geographically. Jerusalem (Zion/City of David) is the theological and political center.
- Key sites: Hebron (David's first capital, 7 years), the threshing floor of Ornan/Araunah (future Temple site, ch.21).
- Chapters 1-9 (genealogies) contain tribal allotments but minimal narrative geography.
Places on this map
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- HebronHebron, West BankThe highest town in the Judean hills at about 3,000 feet, 19 miles south of Jerusalem. Abraham bought a burial cave here, and David reigned from it for seven years before moving north, so it carries both the patriarchal and the royal claim to the land. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes that the Chronicler's summary of Saul's reign in two verses (13-14) is the most concise theological obituary in Scripture. The Chronicler is not interested in Saul's story but in his lesson: unfaithfulness leads to destruction, and God's kingdom purposes are not thwarted by human failure.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of 1 Chronicles -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Fearing Capture More Than Fearing God (v.4) — Saul takes his own life so the Philistines won't abuse him, a final act driven by fear of man rather than trust in the Lord who could have delivered him. Where does fear of what people might do to you crowd out your trust that God is able to protect and provide?
- Loyalty That Honors a Fallen King (vv.11-12) — The men of Jabesh-gilead risk their lives to retrieve Saul's body and bury it with honor, remembering a kindness he'd shown them years before. Are you the kind of friend who stays loyal and honoring toward someone even after they've failed publicly?
- A Lifetime of Unfaithfulness Named at Once (v.13) — The Chronicler sums up Saul's death as the result of transgression against the Lord's word and turning to a medium instead of God. What small compromises in your own life could, left unaddressed, add up to the kind of pattern this verse describes?
- Seeking Answers From the Wrong Source (v.14) — Saul's defining failure is that he did not inquire of the Lord, so he inquired of a spiritist instead. When you're facing a hard decision, is God the first place you turn for direction, or the last resort after other options run out?
- A Kingdom Turned to David Despite Saul's Failure (v.14) — Saul's catastrophic collapse becomes the very moment the Lord turns the kingdom over to David, showing that human failure doesn't derail God's plan. Where in your life might God be working out His purposes even through a failure or ending that feels like defeat?