Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
1 Chronicles 10:14

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 1 Chronicles 10:14. Inquired not of the Lord — On these two last verses the Targum speaks thus: "And Saul died for the transgression by which he transgressed against the WORD of the Lord, and because he did not keep the commandment of the Lord when he warred against the house of Amalek; and because he consulted Pythons, and sought oracular answers from them. Neither did he ask counsel from before the Lord by Urim and Thummim, for he had slain the priests that were in Nob; therefore the Lord slew him, and transferred the kingdom to David the son of Jesse."

A LITERARY friend furnishes the following remarks:-

"The sacred writer, in the first book of Samuel, 1 Samuel 31:11-13, and 1 Chronicles 10:11-12, after relating the defeat and death of Saul, and the ignominious treatment of his remains, thus concludes:-

"'And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there; and they took the bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.'

"Often has this account been read with admiration of the bravery and devotedness of the men of Jabesh-gilead, but without considering that these men had any greater cause than others for honouring the remains of their sovereign; but, on reflection, it will be perceived that the strong impulse of gratitude prompted them to this honourable exertion. They remembered their preservation from destruction, and, which to brave men is more galling, from bearing marks of having been defeated, and being deprived of the honourable hope of wiping off disgrace, or defending their country at future seasons.

"Reading these verses in conjunction with the attack of Nahash, we perceive the natural feelings of humanity, of honourable respect, prompting the men of Jabesh to act as they did in rescuing the bones of Saul and his family.

"The father of Grecian poetry relates in how great a degree the warriors of ancient days honoured the remains of their leaders; how severe were the contests for the body of the fallen chief, more determined oftentimes than the struggle for victory: this point of military honour was possibly excited or heightened by the religious idea so prevalent in his age, and after times, respecting the fate of the spirits of those who were unburied.

"Homer wrote of events passing at no distant period from those recorded in the first volume of Samuel; and these accounts mutually corroborate each other, being in unison, not only with the feelings of humanity, but with the customs of ancient nations. These may be farther illustrated by comparing the conduct of the Philistines with regard to Saul and his sons, with that of the hero of the Iliad towards Hector, the most finished character of the poem. Saul had been a severe scourge to the Philistines throughout a long series of years; the illustrious chief of Troy had long warded off the ruin of his country, and destroyed the flower of her foes, independently of his last victory over Patroclus, which drew on his remains that dishonour which, however, fell only on his destroyer.

"Should the siege of Troy be considered a fable, it may then be concluded that Homer introduced into his poems the customs and manners known to those for whose perusal he wrote, if these customs were not prevalent among his readers; but anxiety for the body of the illustrious dead, or regret for his death, has often caused success when all exertions prior to this powerful stimulus have not availed; and this even in our days.

"The Philistines had long been confined to the southwest angle of the promised land, and in the earlier part of Saul's reign had suffered many and severe losses; yet it appears by this chapter that, alone or in conjunction with allies, they had been able to penetrate nearly to the banks of the Jordan, to fight the battle on Mount Gilboa. This could only have been effected by a march through great part of the kingdom of Israel.

"Doubtless the attention of Saul in its defence might have been greatly distracted by his pursuit and fear of David, which appeared to have absorbed his whole mind; and it may account for the defenceless or weakened state of his forces.

"These circumstances appear to corroborate the authenticity of these books, independently of the many private transactions therein recorded; particularly the interesting and singular friendship of Jonathan and David, a transaction not likely to occur to a forger of a narrative. J.W."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

9:35-22:1 THE REIGN OF DAVID

End of the line of Saul (9:35-10:14)

Saul is introduced by listing his genealogy once again (35-44). However, the Chronicler passes over the reign of Saul in silence, for his concern is with the dynasty of David. Saul’s death alone is recounted, since that was the means of bringing in the reign of David. It was also God’s judgment on Saul for his unfaithfulness and disobedience (10:1-14; see notes on 1 Samuel 31:1-13).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died. So Saul died, and his three sons; and all his house died together. "And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. And they stripped him, and took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry the tidings unto their idols, and to the people. And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon. And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. "So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby, and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse."

"And all his house died together" The picayune objection of some scholars that this is not strictly the truth, because Eshbaal (Ishbosheth), another son of Saul was left alive, and for awhile was made king over North Israel by Abner, is typical of the nit-picking hatred of the Word of God by some writers. The reference is not to every single one of Saul's posterity, but merely to those just named. This is the same kind of hyperbole one uses when he says, "We gave a party, and everybody came."

"They buried him under the oak in Jabesh" This tree was called "a tamarisk tree" in 1 Samuel 31:13; and the marginal reference here gives "terebinth" as an alternative. If the trees were growing side by side, which is by no means impossible, the Biblical accounts may both be absolutely accurate. No one has the right to deny what is here stated as a fact.

We shall not make line by line comments on this chapter, for we have already discussed it in the closing chapter of 1 Samuel and the opening chapter of 2 Samuel. As Curtis (and Madsen) noted: "This account of the death of Saul is taken from 1 Samuel 31:1-13 with a few slight variations."Ibid.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 10

And in chapter ten, we have the story, once more, of Saul's death. How in fighting against the Philistines up near mount Gilboa that Saul fell before the Philistines. He was hit with one of the arrows. An archer shot him. He realized that he wasn't going to come out of it, but he was still alive. He... Saul you remember was a big guy. Hard to kill him. And he knew that ultimately the wound from this arrow would get him, and so he pleaded with his armor bearer to thrust him through, to finish him off. But his armor bearer was fearful to do it. And so Saul fell upon his own spear. He set it out in front of him and fell upon it and died. And of course, when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his spear.

Jonathan and his other brothers, the sons of Saul, were slain by the Philistines clear up in the area of mount Gilboa. The next day, as the Philistines were coming around stripping the bodies, they found the body of Saul, and they cut off his head and set it through the land of the Philistines in order that they might rejoice over the fact that they had killed Saul, the king of Israel. And they put his body in the temple of Dagon there in Bethshemesh, which is at the northern end of the mount Gilboa range where Gilboa comes down to a little stream. And the men across the valley, across the Jordan River about ten miles away I guess, over in Jabeshgilead, when they heard that Saul's body was pinned up there in the temple of the god with Jonathan, they came and they took the bodies and they took them back over on the other side of Jordan, and there they cremated them.

So in verse thirteen we are told,

Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; and inquired not of the LORD: therefore the Lord slew him, and he turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse ( 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 ).

So Saul died for his transgression. And a fellow who had tremendous potential. I think that when God chose Saul there was demonstrated in Saul fabulous potential as a king. He was humble. He came from a good family. He seemed to be a natural leader. He was courageous. But before long, after a few victories, the women started coming out when Saul would walk down the street, and they would come out and they'd begin to dance with their tambourines. And they would sing, "Saul has killed his thousands." And Saul began to accept this praise and adulation of the people. He began to expect it. And pride began to get hold of the guy's life. And this is the thing that destroyed him. That humility was gone. And now his arrogancy and pride, which led to the tremendous jealousy of David, trying to drive David out. And then his disobedience to the commandments of God. And finally, when God would not answer him, he went to the witch at Endor to inquire of her, and therefore God allowed him to be killed there on the mount Gilboa. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

A. The Death of Saul ch. 10

"Having established the remnant’s genealogical link with the Davidic and priestly lines, he [the writer] focused on the groundwork of the Davidic promises. His design was to show how the kingly and priestly concerns came together in David. David is then seen as a model for the postexilic community as they look forward to One like David." [Note: Townsend, p. 286.]

Chapter 10 is an almost verbatim repetition of Saul’s defeat as the writer of Samuel recorded it in 1 Samuel 31.

The Chronicler’s presentation of Saul supplied a backdrop and a contrast for his portrayal of David. Saul was the king the people had demanded prematurely. He was the king after the people’s heart. His name means "he who was requested." Saul failed to submit to Yahweh’s authority and to obey His Word as God had revealed it in the Mosaic Law and through the prophet Samuel (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). He failed to respond appropriately to God’s elective grace in placing him on the throne. Saul had no heart for God. Consequently God brought discipline on Saul and on Israel under him. Because Saul failed to listen to God, God eventually stopped listening to him (cf. Jeremiah 7:13-16). Finally God killed him (1 Chronicles 10:14). The reason the writer recorded the death of Saul at such length seems to have been to show that David had no hand in it. [Note: See Saul Zalewski, "The Purpose of the Story of the Death of Saul in 1 Chronicles X," Vetus Testamentum 39:4 (October 1989):465.] Disloyalty to God always results in catastrophe, especially for His servants (cf. Luke 12:48).

By recounting Saul’s death, the writer intended to bring many of the lessons connected with the people’s demand for a king, and Saul’s history, back to the minds of his restoration readers. Hopefully it will do the same for us.

"For the Chronicler, the disobedient Saul (1 Chronicles 10:13) was if anything a foil meant to show the faithfulness of David." [Note: Thompson, p. 109. Cf. Wilcock, p. 54.]

In contrast to Saul, David was God’s choice for Israel. His reign resulted in blessing, not blasting.

"One of the striking features of the Chronicler’s theology is his attempt to correlate blessing with faithfulness and judgment with disobedience. He returned to the theme again and again . . ." [Note: Thompson, p. 37.]

A comparison of this chapter with 1 Samuel 31:6-10 shows how the Chronicler heightened the disastrous nature of Saul’s death in subtle ways. [Note: Cf. Williamson, pp. 93-94; and McConville, pp. 15-18.] In this and the following chapters four themes interweave. [Note: Wilcock, p. 87.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And inquired not of the Lord,.... For though he did inquire in some sense in an external, careless, and hypocritical manner, yet not done seriously, sincerely, and heartily, nor with constancy; it was accounted as if he inquired not at all, 1 Samuel 28:6 the Targum adds another reason of his death, because he killed the priests of Nob; but that is not in the text:

therefore he slew him; or suffered him to be slain:

and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse; translated the kingdom of Israel out of Saul's family, upon his death, into Jesse's, even unto David; for the sake of which observation this short account is given of the last end of Saul.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.   9 And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, and to the people.   10 And they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.   11 And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,   12 They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.   13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;   14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

      Here, I. From the triumph of the Philistines over the body of Saul we may learn, 1. That the greater dignity men are advanced to the greater disgrace they are in danger of falling into. Saul's dead body, because he was king, was abused more than any other of the slain. Advancement makes men a mark for malice. 2. That, if we give not to God the glory of our successes, even the Philistines will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us; for, when they had obtained a victory over Saul, they sent tidings to their idols--poor idols, that knew not what was done a few miles off till the tidings were brought to them, nor then either! They also put Saul's armour in the house of their gods,1 Chronicles 10:10; 1 Chronicles 10:10. Shall Dagon have so honourable a share in their triumphs and the true and living God be forgotten in ours?

      II. From the triumph of the men of Jabesh-Gilead in the rescue of the bodies of Saul and his sons we learn that there is a respect due to the remains of the deceased, especially of deceased princes. We are not to enquire concerning the eternal state; that must be left to God: but we must treat the dead body as those who remember it has been united to an immortal soul and must be so again.

      III. From the triumphs of divine Justice in the ruin of Saul we may learn, 1. That the sin of sinners will certainly find them out, sooner or later: Saul died for his transgression. 2. That no man's greatness can exempt him from the judgments of God. 3. Disobedience is a killing thing. Saul died for not keeping the word of the Lord, by which he was ordered to destroy the Amalekites. 4. Consulting with witches is a sin that fills the measure of iniquity as soon as any thing. Saul enquired of one that had a familiar spirit, and enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him,1 Chronicles 10:13; 1 Chronicles 10:14. Saul slew himself, and yet it is said, God slew him. What is done by wicked hands is yet done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Those that abandon themselves to the devil shall be abandoned to him; so shall their doom be. It is said (1 Samuel 28:6) that Saul did enquire of the Lord and he answered him not: but here it is said, Saul did not enquire of God; for he did not till he was brought to the last extremity, and then it was too late.