Now the Philistines fought against Israel ,.... Being come to Jezreel where Israel pitched, 1 Samuel 29:1 ; they fell upon them, began the battle: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines ; at the first onset, as it should seem: and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa ; which was near, and whither fleeing they were pursued and slain, at least great numbers of them. read more
Now the Philistines fought - This is the continuation of the account given in 1 Samuel 29:1-11 . The men of Israel fled - It seems as if they were thrown into confusion at the first onset, and turned their backs upon their enemies. read more
DEFEAT AND DEATH OF SAUL ( 1 Samuel 31:1-13 .). EXPOSITION SAUL AND HIS SONS SLAIN ( 1 Samuel 31:1-7 ). The Philistines fought. Literally it is a participle present, "the Philistines are warring," as if it were a mere resumption of 1 Samuel 28:1 . In the battle fought on the day following Saul's visit to the witch the Israelites were defeated, and fell in large numbers slain in Mount Gilboa, either because the Philistines had attacked them there, or... read more
Judgment at last. The facts are— 1 . In the battle at Gilboa the men of Israel suffer a defeat from the Philistines. 2 . His sons being slain, the conflict presses hard on Saul. 3 . Dreading to fall by the hand of a Philistine, and failing to find death through the hand of his armour bearer, he falls on his own sword, his example being followed by his armour bearer. Here we have the closing scene in the tragedy of Saul's life, verifying the prediction of Samuel. Our heart... read more
1 Samuel 31:1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel That is, gave them battle. As they began the quarrel, (1 Samuel 29:1,) so they seem to have begun the fight. It must be observed that the foregoing chapter is a digression, to relate what happened to David at this time. The sacred writer now resumes the thread of the narrative in regard to Saul, relating what befell him upon his return from Endor. And it seems he was scarce returned before the Philistines attacked his camp, and, after... read more
David’s victory and Saul’s defeat (30:1-31:13)When David’s men returned to Ziklag, they found it a deserted, burnt out ruin. The Amalekites had raided the cities of Philistia and Judah while all the fighting men were away at war. The shock of losing everything - wives, families and possessions - drove David to total dependence on God. It was the kind of dependence that seems to have been lacking during his sixteen months in Philistia (30:1-8).Assisted by some capable Israelite military... read more
men . Hebrew. 'enosh. App-14 . read more
THE DEATH OF SAUL AND HIS SONS ON MOUNT GILBOA"Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard upon Saul, and the archers found him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer. "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these... read more
1 Samuel 31:1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel— That is, as most interpreters understand it, began to fight against, or attacked, the Israelites. The word נלחמים nilchamim, as Dr. Delaney observes, might as properly have been rendered assaulted. He is of opinion, not only that the Philistines attacked Saul in his camp, but that they did so soon after his return from Endor, and that, probably, they were encouraged to this attempt by some secret information of Saul's having stolen out... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 31:1-7
The day of recompence has now come, in which Saul must account for the blood of the Amalekites which he had sinfully spared, and that of the priests which he had more sinfully spilt; that of David too, which he would have spilt, must come into the account. Now his day has come to fall, as David foresaw, when he should descend into battle and perish, 1 Sam. 26:10. Come and see the righteous judgments of God. I. He sees his soldiers fall about him, 1 Sam. 31:1. Whether the Philistines were more... read more