1 Samuel 31:10

1Sa 31:10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

Ver. 10. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth.] That is, Of Venus, or, as some think, Juno. See Mr Selden, "De diis Syris," - opus illud accuratissimum, eruditionisqne reconditioris cum primis faetum, saith learned Mr Gataker. {a}

{a} Dissert. de Tetragram.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:10 the Ashtoreths: See 7:3. • 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; Deut 21:21-22; Josh 10:26; Esth 9:6-14). • Beth-shan was a short distance east of Mount Gilboa.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

to the wall-- (Sa2 21:12) --"the street" of Beth-shan. The street was called from the temple which stood in it. And they had to go along it to the wall of the city (see Jos 17:11).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. They put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth] As David had done in placing the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. We have already seen that it was common for the conquerors to consecrate armour and spoils taken in war, to those who were the objects of religious worship.

They fastened his body to the wall] Probably by means of iron hooks; but it is said, 2Sa 21:12, that these bodies were fastened in the STREET of Beth-shan. This may mean that the place where they were fastened to the wall was the main street or entrance into the city.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) The house of Ashtaroth.—Literally, of “the Ashtaroth.” The expression may signify that the pieces of armour belonging to the four men were divided between the different shrines of Astarte in the land, or placed together in the famous Astarte Temple, at Askelon, which Herodotus (i. 105) describes as the most ancient of the temples dedicated to the worship of the Syrian Venus. The latter supposition seems the more probable, as Askelon is specially mentioned by David in the funeral hymn of Saul and Jonathan (2Sa_1:20).

The wall of Beth-shan.—Beth-shan was in the tribe of Manasseh, some four miles west of the Jordan, and twelve miles south of the sea of Galilee. We are told in Jdg_1:27, that the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of the city, were permitted by the conqueror to dwell still in the city. This Canaanitish element in the population was perhaps the reason why Beth-shan was chosen for the barbarous exhibition. The Canaanites would probably have welcomed the miserable spectacle which seemed to degrade their ancient enemies. The writer of the chronicle adds one more ghastly detail to this account: “They fastened the head (skull) of Saul in the Temple of Dagon.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. the house of Ashtaroth] See on 1Sa_7:3. “This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus (I. 105) as the most ancient of all her temples. Hence the special mention of Askelon in 2Sa_1:20.” Speaker’s Comm.

they fastened his body to the wall] Together with the bodies of his sons (1Sa_31:12). They were hung on the wall in the “open place” (2Sa_21:12, E. V. street) by the gate, that all the passers by might join in exulting over the defeat and disgrace of Israel.

Beth-shan] Now Beisân, situated in the Wady Jâlûd four miles west of the Jordan, “on the brow just where the plain of Jezreel drops down by a rather steep descent some three hundred feet to the level of the Ghôr,” or Jordan valley. After the Return from the Captivity it was known as Scythopolis (2Ma_12:29; cp. the Sept. of Jdg_1:27).

In 1Ch_10:10 this statement about Saul’s body is omitted, and in its place we read that “they fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth,.... A temple dedicated to their deities, called by this name; of which See Gill on Jdg 2:13; Nothing was more common with the Gentiles than to place in their temples the arms they took from their enemies, as is strongly expressed by Homer (i) and Virgil (k); and indeed the Jews did the same, as appears by the sword of Goliath being laid up in the tabernacle, Sa1 21:9. Here also the Heathens (l) hung up their own arms when the war was ended:

and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan; which Josephus (m) says is the same which in his time was called Scythopolis, from the Scythians that possessed it, before called Nysa, according to Pliny (n): it was given to the tribe of Manasseh, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of it, so that it was always in the possession of others, Jos 17:11; where it is called Bethshean; to the wall of the city they fastened the body of Saul with nails, as it is commonly understood; but it is more likely they hung it on a gibbet without, and near the walls of the city; so the Targum, they hung his body; or, as Josephus (o), they crucified it there; and so they did also the bodies of his sons, as appears from Sa1 31:12.

(i) , Iliad. 7. ver. 83. (k) "Multaque praeterea sacris in postibus arma", &c. Aeneid. 7. ver. 183. So Persius, Satyr. 6. ver. 45. (l) Messal. Corvin. de August. Progen. (m) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14.) l. 8. (n) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. Vid. Solin. Polyhistor. c. 49. (o) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. l. 8.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In the house of Ashtaroth - This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus as the most ancient of all her temples. Hence, the special mention of Askelon 2Sa 1:20. The placing Saul’s armour as a trophy in the temple of Ashtaroth was a counterpart to the placing Goliath’s sword in the tabernacle 1Sa 21:9. In 1Ch 10:10 it is added that they “fastened Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon,” probably either in Gaza Jdg 16:21, or in Ashdod 1Sa 5:1-3. This was, perhaps, in retaliation for the similar treatment of Goliath’s head 1Sa 17:54. The variations seem to imply that both this narrative and that in 1Ch 10:1-14 are compiled from a common and a fuller document.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Astaroth. The like custom was observed by the Hebrew, (chap. xxi. 9,) and by the Greeks and Romans, (Calmet) to acknowledge that victory was granted by God. The Philistines insulted Saul’s body, and blasphemed the true God, as much as if they had taken the king alive. He only avoided the mortification of hearing them while he was forced to attend to the furies below. --- Body, with those of his three sons, ver. 12. (Haydock) --- Saul’s head was hung up in the temple of Dagon, at Azotus; (1 Paralipomenon x. 10,) his body was suspended on the wall or street of Bethsan; (2 Kings xxi. 12,) or in the most public place, near the gate of the city.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

10. Ashtaroth — See on Jdg_2:13.

Beth-shan — The modern Beisan, between the mountains of Gilboa and the river Jordan. See on Jos_17:11. The wall of Beth-shan, to which the bodies were fastened, appears to have faced some main street of the city. 2Sa_21:12.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.