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31:1-13 Deaths of Saul and Jonathan. The army of Israel is completely defeated, Saul's sons are killed, Saul kills himself to avoid capture, and the Philistines take over the region. But the men of Jabesh-gilead, the city that Saul saved at the beginning of his reign, bravely rescue the bodies of Saul and his sons from dishonor.

31:1 The events of this chapter directly follow those of chs. 28 and 29. The Philistines have left their camp at Shunem and are attacking the Israelite army on Mount Gilboa (cf. 28:4; see map).

31:4 Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. See note on 2 Sam. 1:6-10 for the claim that Saul did not commit suicide but rather was killed by an Amalekite.

The Battle at Mount Gilboa

31:6 As Samuel's spirit had said (cf. 28:19), the Lord gave Israel into the hands of the Philistines, and Saul and his sons joined the dead. Truly, "Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!" (2 Sam. 1:19).

31:7 The other side of the valley is the north side of the Jezreel Valley.

31:10 Beth-shan is at the junction of the north-south road along the Jordan Valley and the road from Gilead to the Jezreel Valley. It was occupied almost continuously until the early Arab period. A temple of the eleventh century b.c. to the fertility goddess Anit has been discovered there. This may have been the temple referred to here, because Ashtaroth can refer to goddesses in general (see note on 7:3-4). During the Iron Age, Beth-shan was occupied by the Philistines. Excavations at the site have confirmed this settlement by the recovery of vast amounts of Philistine pottery, weapons, tools, and jewelry dating to the Iron I and II periods (1200-586 b.c.).

31:11-13 Saul had saved Jabesh-gilead at the beginning of his reign (ch. 11), a fact that the men of the city remembered. They cross the Jordan and go about 10 miles (16 km) to Beth-shan. The burning of bodies was usually considered desecration, but here the purpose may have been to keep them from further dishonor. bones. Even after lengthy burning, large bones would remain. David later reburied the bones (2 Sam. 21:12-14).