1Sa 31:1-10 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Sam 31:1-13: 31:1-13 While David was in the south successfully fighting the Amalekites (ch 30 ), Saul was in the north unsuccessfully fighting the Philistines. 31:1 The Israelites fled southeast from the Jezreel Valley (29:1 ) to higher and hillier ground. With their chariots, the Philistines had the advantage in the more level valley. • Mount Gilboa is southwest of the Sea of Galilee, far from the territory of the Philistines.

Summary for 1Sam 31:1-13: 31:1-13 ^a While David was in the south successfully fighting the Amalekites (ch 30 ^b), Saul was in the north unsuccessfully fighting the Philistines. 31:1 ^c The Israelites fled southeast from the Jezreel Valley (29:1 ^d) to higher and hillier ground. With their chariots, the Philistines had the advantage in the more level valley.

• Mount Gilboa is southwest of the Sea of Galilee, far from the territory of the Philistines.
31:2 ^e Jonathan ... Malkishua: See 14:49 ^f. This is the first mention of Saul’s son Abinadab (cp. 1 Chr 8:33 ^g; 9:39 ^h).
31:4 ⁱ David had once held the position of armor bearer (16:21 ^j).

• kill me: This is one of many parallels between the death of Abimelech in the time of the judges (Judg 9 ^k) and Saul, Israel’s first national king (cp. Judg 9:54 ^l).
31:8 ^m The victorious army would strip the dead to search for anything valuable (such as clothing, weapons, or jewelry) on the corpses.
31:9 ⁿ In the ancient world, the death of an enemy king was good news, for it meant that the enemy’s god had been defeated. However, little did the Philistines know that their victory would be short-lived and hollow. David, the Lord’s true anointed king, would soon come to power and pay back the Philistines mightily. Far from defeating Israel’s God, the Philistines were simply fulfilling his purpose.
31:10 ^o the Ashtoreths: See 7:3 ^p.

• fastened his body: This practice further degraded the executed person by depriving him of proper burial. It also served as a deterrent to other potential enemies (see also Gen 40:19 ^q; Deut 21:21-22 ^r; Josh 10:26 ^s; Esth 9:6-14 ^t).

• Beth-shan was a short distance east of Mount Gilboa.