1 Samuel 31:8-10

1 Samuel 31:8

And it came to pass on the marrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.

1. “And it came to pass on the marrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain…”

a. 1 Chronicles 10:8 “And it came to pass on the marrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain…”

1). strip [6584 * pashat] [Strongs: unclothe, plunder, flay.]

2). A common characteristic after a battle was that the victor plundered the bodies of the fallen, and in some cases, dismembering them.

2. “…that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.”

a. 1 Chronicles 10:8 “…that they found Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.”

b. The discovery of the remains of Saul and his sons was a prize.

1). Jamieson/Fausset/Brown commentary: “On discovering the corpses of the slaughtered princes on the battlefield, the enemy reserved them for special indignities.”

1 Samuel 31:9

And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.

1. “And they cut off his head, and stripped of his armour…”

a. 1 Chronilcles 10:9 “And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour…”

b. When David fought Goliath, he first knocked him down and out with a slingshot to the head, then killed by cutting off his head.

1). 1 Samuel 17:50, 51 “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.”

c. David then brought the head of Goliath to Jerusalem.

1). 1 Samuel 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

d. The sword ended up in Nob, the city of the priests.

1). 1 Samuel 21:1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why [art] thou alone, and no man with thee?
1 Samuel 21:8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
1 Samuel 21:9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

2. “…and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.”

a. 1 Chronicles 10:9 “…and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.”

b. publish [1319 * basar] [Strong’s: to announce, preach, shew forth good tidings]

c. These people were very religious. The preaching, the announcing, or the showing of the good tidings that Saul their enemy was dead and his body and armour and that of his sons could be seen in their temples, all this was being accomplished in their houses of worship, where they worshipped their devils. Check out 1 Corinthians 10:20.

1). 1 Corinthians 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

2). As they were praising their god they were worshipping the devil.

d. At the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, David wrote a song and in the song he implored the the news not be published in Gath or Askelon because it would cause the Philistines to rejoice.

1). 2 Samuel 1:20 “Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the uncircumsized triumph.

2). triumph [5937 * alaz][Strong’s; to jump for joy.]

3). No doubt the rejoicing would be similar to the rejoicing of the Philistines because of the capture of Samson.

a). Jedges 16:23, 24 Judges 16:23, 24 “Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

e. Saul ended up being a trophy of the enemies of God’s people. After they were slain, Saul and his sons bodily members, were treated as spiritual trophies in the houses of their gods. When we sin against God and fall in front of the world, we become trophies of the enemy.

1). Romans 2:23, 24 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

a). 2 Samuel 12:7-14 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
1 Samuel 31:10

And they put his armour in the house of Ashtoroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

1. “And they put his armour in the house of Ashtoroth…”

a. 1 Chronicles 10:10 And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

b. Looking at both passages we see the body and head and armour of Saul all went to different locations.

1). 1 Samuel 31:10 says his armour went to the house of Ashtoroth.

a).  Ashstoroth [6252 * Ashtarowth][Strong: a Sidonian god.]

2). According to 1 Samuel 31:10, his body went to Bethshan.

a). Bethshan [1052 * Beyth Shean][Strong’s: house of ease.]

3). 1 Chronicles 10:10 says his head went to the temple of Dagon.

a).  Dagon [1712 * Dagown][Strong’s: the fish god of the Philistines.]

c. Looking at the previous verse it seems that these three items went throughout the Philistine nation and then were permanently fixed to these three locations.

1). And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people.

d. The bodies of his sons were included.

1). 1 Samuel 31:12 “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.”

e. Under the Old Covenant especially bodily members were weapons. Under the New Covenant it is also true that our bodily members are weapons also.

1). Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members snstruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive unto from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

a). yield [3936 * paristano] [W.E.Vine’s: to present, is translated to yield.]

(1). The Greek word for “yield” is the same word used in Romans 12:1 for “present”. In light of that, as we are obedient to God’s word, we are presenting our bodily members to God, as “weapons”, Romans 6:13; as “servants”, Romans 6:16; and as “sacrifices”, Romans 12:1. 

b). instruments [3696 * hoplon][Zodhiates: in the plural, standing for weapons of warfare.]

2). Jeremiah 51:20 “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war…”

f. Because of Christ’s victory and our repentance and making him Lord of our lives, he leads us in victory.

1). 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

2).  [Amplified Bible] But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph as trophies of Christ’s victory and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.