1 Samuel 31:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

NIV: They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

NASB: They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they nailed his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

CSB: Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.

NLT: They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.

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

NKJV: Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

Following his death during the battle with the Philistines, Saul's body suffers the fate of many kings killed in war during this era. The corpse is beheaded and stripped of its royal armor. Saul's armor is sent to the temple of the Ashtaroth or the Ashtaroths. Since the word "Ashtaroths" was sometimes used to refer to goddesses in general, some scholars speculate that this specific temple was one to the goddess Anit at Beth-shan, the place where Saul's beheaded body was put on display. Such a temple has been discovered there from this period. Describing the same events, 1 Chronicles 10:10 adds the detail that Saul's head was sent to the temple of Dagon, the primary Philistine deity.

Beth-shan was a strategic spot at the intersection of the road along the Jordan Valley and the road from Gilead to the Jezreel Valley. It is a well-excavated site, showing occupation as far back as 4500 BC and many Philistine artifacts from the Iron Age periods, which includes this moment around 1010 BC. Publicly displaying the defeated king's body at such a well-travelled spot gave the Philistines yet another way of declaring the superiority of their gods and warning other kings and rebels not to challenge their rule.

The Philistines hang Saul's sons next to him. When Saul first became king, he rescued the city of Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11). The Ammonites will repay the debt. They will bravely sneak to the city, bring the bodies back to Jabesh, and burn them. They'll bury the bones under a tamarisk tree.

First Samuel 31:8–13 describes the desecration and rescue of King Saul's corpse. Saul has taken his own life after being wounded in battle by the Philistines. His fear that the Philistines would mistreat him will come true. However, a group of people from Jabesh, whom Saul had once rescued, will retrieve his body and the bodies of his sons who also died in battle. First Samuel was the story of the prophet Samuel, King Saul, and the rise of David. Second Samuel is the story of King David. This account is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 10:8–14.

Philistines overwhelm the outnumbered Israelites. Soldiers kill three of Saul's sons, and archers critically wound Saul. When his armor-bearer refuses to end Saul's life, Saul commits suicide. The Philistines behead Saul's body, display his armor in a temple of their goddess, and hang his and his son's bodies on public display. The men of Jabesh-gilead retrieve the bodies and respectfully bury them.

The reign of Saul ends. Saul knows his time has come. His son will not inherit the crown (2 Samuel 15:28). The Philistine force is too great (1 Samuel 28:5). He and his sons will die today (1 Samuel 28:19). By the end of the battle, Saul and three of his sons are dead. Soon, Judah will crown David as king (2 Samuel 2:4). After a brief civil war, David will be king over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.