1 Samuel 31:9

1Sa 31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people.

Ver. 9. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour.] They served him in like sort as their champion Goliath had been served: that they might cry quittance with him. Men love to retaliate.

To publish it in the house of their idols.] Heb., Their fray-bugs {object of fear}. So called, because they fright their superstitious followers, instead of instructing and comforting them. See Psa 16:4. {See Trapp on "Psa 16:4"}

And among the people.] This David would not have had done, {2Sa 1:20} but God suffered it, though he some way suffered in it, to show his singular hatred of sin, and show he is set upon the punishment of it.

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.

31:9 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.

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

In token of victory and triumph.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 9. And they cut off his head] It is possible that they cut off the heads of his three sons likewise; for although only his head is said to be cut off, and his body only to be fastened to the walls of Beth-shan, yet we find that the men of Jabesh-gilead found both his body and the bodies of his three sons, fastened to the walls, 1Sa 31:12.

Perhaps they only took off Saul's head, which they sent about to their temples as a trophy of their victory, when they sent the news of the defeat of the Israelites through all their coasts, and at last placed it in the temple of Dagon, 1Ch 10:10.

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

(9) And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour.—Only Saul’s head and armour is mentioned here, but on comparing 1Sa_31:12, where the bodies of his sons are especially mentioned, it is clear that this act was not confined to the person of the king. The sense of the passage there is, the heads of the king and his three sons were cut off, and their armour stripped from their bodies. The heads and armour were sent as trophies round about the different towns and villages of Philistia, and the headless corpses were fastened to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.

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

8–13. The burial of Saul and his Sons

9. they cut off his head] The Anointed of Jehovah fares no better than the uncircumcised Goliath, now that God has forsaken him.

to publish it] To publish the good news. Sept. εὐαγγελίζοντες. Cp. 2Sa_1:20.

in the house of their idols] In the temples of their idols, which were regarded as the givers of the victory. Cp. ch. 1Sa_5:2. Chron. reads “to carry tidings to their idols.”

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 cut off his head,.... And fastened it in the temple of Dagon, Ch1 10:10; perhaps that which was at Ashdod, one of the principalities of the Philistines, Sa1 5:1,

and stripped off his armour; or vessels (h), his clothes as well as his armour, and what he had about him; as for his crown on his head, and the bracelet on his arm, the Amalekite took them before the Philistines came, Sa2 1:10,

and sent into the land of the Philistines round about: not his head and his armour, for they were placed in the temple of their idols; unless we can suppose these were first carried about for show, and as proofs of the victory: but rather messengers, who were sent express with the news:

to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people; that so they might be glad and rejoice, and give praise to their idols, to whom they ascribed the success they had.

(h) "vasa ejus", Munster, Montanus.

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

Head, as David had treated that of Goliath, chap. xvii. 54.

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).

They cut off his head, as the Israelites did by Goliath.

To publish it in the house of their idols, to give them the glory of this victory.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. They cut off his head — His sons seem to have received the same barbarous treatment. See 1Sa_31:12. This revenge on the lifeless bodies of the slain shows, according to some writers, the low and miserable barbarity of the Philistines; but did not David treat the dead body of Goliath in the same way? (1Sa_17:54;) and what shall be said of Samuel’s hewing of Agag in pieces? 1Sa_15:33. We must not judge the usages of that age by our own.

To publish it — That the daughters of the uncircumcised might rejoice and triumph. 2Sa_1:20.

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

Vers. 9, 10. They cut off his head. This was probably done not simply in retaliation for what had happened to their champion Goliath, but in accordance with the customs of ancient warfare. The fierce joy of the Philistines over the fallen Saul proves how great had been their fear of him, and how successful he had been in breaking their yoke off Israel"s neck. Had he still had David with him the victory would assuredly have remained on his side. They put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth. Hebrew, "of the Ashtaroth." Whether it was divided among the various shrines of Astarte, or whether it was all placed in her famous temple at Askelon, described by Herodotus (1:105) as the most ancient of the fanes of the Syrian Venus, is uncertain. The former view agrees best with the Hebrew text and with what is said in 1Ch_10:10, where we have the additional information that they suspended Saul"s head in the temple of Dagon. They fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan, as also the bodies of his sons (ver. 12). Beth-shan or Scythopolis lies about four miles from the Jordan on the west, and twelve miles south of the lake of Tiberias. It is almost in a straight line to the west of Mahanaim, and must have been at once occupied by the Philistines, and as they hung the bodies of the fallen king and his sons on its wall, they evidently intended to retain it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Cut off his head - As the Israelites did by Goliath, and fastened it in the temple of Dagon, 1 Chron. x, 10. Idols - To give them the glory of this victory. And by this respect shewn to their pretended deities, how do they shame those, who give not the honour of their achievements to the living God?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

the land of the Philistines throughout

"all areas of the land of the Philistines"

to carry the news to their idols' temples and to the people

"to speak the news inside the temples and to the people"

their idols' temples

the buildings where they worshiped their idols

Ashtoreths

ancient false goddesses and idols, also called "Asherah" or "Astarte"

fastened

attached, probably with a large spike or nail

Beth Shan

the name of a city (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

armor

send

messenger

Philistines

false god

body

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.