THE DEATH OF SAUL AND JONATHAN ON MOUNT GILBOA (1 SAMUEL 31:1). It is noteworthy that in the description of the battle the emphasis is not on the defeat of Israel, even though that is briefly described, but on the death of Saul and its consequences. Nevertheless even in its brevity we do get a vivi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE THOROUGH DEFEAT OF ISRAEL AND THE DEATH OF SAUL (1 SAMUEL 31:1 -2 SAMUEL 1:27). Having initially demonstrated how God's purposes are moving forward in David, the writer now describes the humiliating defeat and death of Saul, slain by his own hand. It is the darkness before the dawn. But the daw... [ Continue Reading ]
SAUL'S BODY IS HUMILIATED AND THE TIDINGS CONCERNING SAUL'S DEATH AND DEFEAT ARE SPREAD AMONG THE PHILISTINES (1 SAMUEL 31:8). As Saul had anticipated, the Philistines sought to humiliate what remained of him. They cut off his head and sent it throughout the land of the Philistines in triumph, prior... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE SMALL VICTORY FOR ISRAEL (1 SAMUEL 31:11). It is a mistake to see this as a kind of appended note. In fact the subsection chiasmus demonstrates the centrality of what is being described here (a fact hidden by the division of the book into two parts simply on the basis of convenience). Saul may... [ Continue Reading ]