Chapter Ten

The battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa and the death of Saul.

The tenth chapter, which tells of the death of Saul and his sons, serves as an introduction to the account of the history of David’s reign set forth subsequently, since the fall of the house of Saul predetermined the anointing of David first over the tribe of Judah (2 Sam 2:2), and then over all Israel (2 Sam 4:1-5:1). In its content, the tenth chapter is, with few exceptions, a literal repetition of (1 Sam 31:1).

1 Chronicles 10:6. And Saul died, and his three sons, and all his household died together with him. The phrase: “and all his household died together with him,” replaces the words of 1 Samuel: “died with his armor-bearer and all his men.” If the latter indicate the men closest to Saul, then the former does not necessarily mean all his family: Saul’s surviving son Ishbosheth is equally known to the author of Chronicles and to the author of the books of Samuel (1 Chr 8:33). The concept of “household” includes the concept of “servants” (Gen 50:7); they are what is meant here.

1 Chronicles 10:7. And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. In comparison with the book of Samuel, the author lacks the phrase “and beyond the Jordan” (those who dwelt). In general, in the book of Samuel the surroundings of Mount Gilboa are represented more fully—to the west lies the extensive Jezreel Valley, and to the east the region beyond the Jordan. However, the accuracy of the historical account is on the side of Chronicles, because the inhabitants of the trans-Jordanian city of Jabesh not only did not flee, as is represented in the book of Samuel, but even came to save the body of the king from desecration (1 Chr 10:11-12).

1 Chronicles 10:10. And they put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. In 1 Samuel it is directly and clearly stated that the armor was placed in the temple of Ashtaroth (1 Sam 31:10); the book makes no mention of bringing Saul’s head to the temple of Dagon, but this remark in Chronicles points to an actual fact. The armor and the severed head of Saul (1 Chr 10:9), being the chief trophies, were naturally brought into the temple. Supplementing 1 Samuel, the author of Chronicles omits its account of Saul’s body hung on the walls of Bethshan (verse 10). In consequence of this, the subsequent narrative (1 Chr 10:12) is not as clear and understandable as in 1 Samuel.

1 Chronicles 10:13. So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord; and also because he inquired of a woman who was a medium, 1 Chronicles 10:14. and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He put him to death and transferred his kingdom to David the son of Jesse. The reflections on the reasons for Saul’s death, which are not found in the book of Samuel, represented a repetition of the thoughts of Samuel, repeatedly expressed to Saul (1 Sam 13:13-14).