1 Samuel · chapter 31 of 31
Updated on
1 Samuel 31 tells how the Philistines defeat Israel on Mount Gilboa, where Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons, are killed. Saul, wounded by the archers, falls on his own sword, and his armor-bearer does the same. The Philistines fasten their bodies to the wall of Beth-shan, but the valiant men of Jabesh-gilead rescue them by night and bury them.
This chapter closes the book of 1 Samuel with the fulfillment of what Samuel announced to Saul at Endor. The reign that began with anointing and hope ends in defeat on the battlefield. It is a sad page, but the book does not leave it without hope: the faithfulness of Jabesh-gilead recalls Saul's first act, and the way is open for David.
The Philistines fight against Israel, and the men of Israel flee before them and fall slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtake Saul and his sons, and kill Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua. The battle presses hard against Saul: the archers find him and wound him severely.
Saul asks his armor-bearer to draw his sword and run him through, so that the uncircumcised will not come and abuse him. But the armor-bearer, greatly afraid, is unwilling. So Saul takes his own sword and falls on it. When the armor-bearer sees that Saul is dead, he also falls on his sword and dies with him. Thus Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer and all his men die together on that day.
When the Israelites on the other side of the valley and of the Jordan see that Israel has fled and that Saul and his sons are dead, they abandon the cities and flee, and the Philistines come and live in them. The next day the Philistines come to strip the slain and find Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head, strip off his armor and send messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the news to the temple of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fasten his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead hear what the Philistines did to Saul, all the valiant men rise, go all night and take the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They bring them to Jabesh and burn them there. Then they take the bones, bury them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fast seven days.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Philistines kill Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, sons of Saul. With Jonathan's death the person most loyal to David disappears, but so does the natural heir to the throne.
Saul, wounded, asks his armor-bearer to kill him so that he will not fall into the hands of the uncircumcised, and when he refuses, falls on his own sword. It is the tragic end of a king who had lost the Lord's guidance.
The Philistines put Saul's armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fasten his body to the wall of Beth-shan. They celebrate their victory as a triumph of their gods, something the Lord will correct in his time.
The valiant men of Jabesh-gilead travel all night to rescue the bodies of Saul and his sons. Their gratitude answers the day Saul delivered them from Nahash (1 Samuel 11) and restores dignity to the fallen king.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: On Mount Gilboa. — 1 Samuel 31:1
Answer: Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua. — 1 Samuel 31:2
Answer: He asked his armor-bearer to kill him, and when he would not, he fell on his own sword. — 1 Samuel 31:3-4
Answer: They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. — 1 Samuel 31:10
Answer: The valiant men of Jabesh-gilead, who traveled all night. — 1 Samuel 31:11-12
Answer: They buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. — 1 Samuel 31:13
Saul's death reminds us that persistent disobedience has a cost, and that early success does not guarantee a faithful end. In a small group you can ask which small decisions today are moving us closer to or further from obedience to the Lord, and how to guard our relationship with God to the end.
It also highlights the loyalty of Jabesh-gilead, which remembered with gratitude what Saul had done for them years earlier. Honoring those who have served us, even with their failings, is an act of dignity. And although this chapter ends in sorrow, the Lord remains faithful to his plan, which unfolds in the next book with David.
1 Samuel 31 closes the book with the death of Saul, the end of an era and the dignity of loyal men. In 2 Samuel 1 David will receive the news, mourn Saul and Jonathan, and begin the road toward his coronation as king of Judah and of all Israel.
The text says he did it to keep the Philistines, whom he calls the uncircumcised, from killing and abusing him. The narrative presents it as the tragic end of a rejected king, neither approving nor condemning it explicitly; the passage is not a model to follow. Anyone struggling with thoughts of self-harm can seek help, and God is with those who suffer.
The text states it without explaining. They may have wished to prevent further desecration of bodies that were already damaged before burying the bones. What matters in the narrative is their loyalty and the seven days of mourning they kept for the king.