The Beginning: Israel’s army faces the Philistines in battle near Mount Gilboa. As the fighting intensifies, Saul’s forces are driven back, and the Philistines pursue Saul and his sons. The threat to Israel’s king and royal line becomes immediate and severe.
The Middle: Jonathan and Saul’s other sons are killed in the battle. Saul is critically wounded by archers and, fearing capture and humiliation, asks his armor-bearer to kill him. When the armor-bearer refuses, Saul falls on his own sword, and the armor-bearer dies as well. As news spreads, Israelites in the surrounding area abandon their towns, and the Philistines occupy them.
The End: The next day the Philistines find Saul and his sons dead, take Saul’s armor, and display their bodies on the wall of Beth-shan. Men from Jabesh-gilead recover the bodies, burn them, and bury the bones under a tamarisk tree, then fast for seven days. In the aftermath, David learns of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths and publicly laments, honoring them in mourning.
This account marks the tragic end of Saul’s kingship and underscores the seriousness of covenant unfaithfulness and rejected divine instruction, themes emphasized in the biblical evaluation of Saul’s reign. At the same time, Jonathan’s death highlights faithful love and loyalty within Israel’s story, even amid national collapse. The transition also advances God’s purposes for Israel’s monarchy: Saul’s fall clears the way for the next stage in God’s covenantal plan, in which David’s kingship will take prominence without presenting Saul’s death as merely political change.
In the ancient Near East, victors often displayed the bodies or armor of defeated rulers as a public sign of triumph and to shame the enemy, a practice reflected in the Philistines’ treatment of Saul. The recovery and burial actions of Jabesh-gilead represent a culturally significant act of loyalty and honor toward a fallen king, countering the disgrace intended by the enemy.
"So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the LORD." — 1 Chronicles 10:13
Answer the questions below. When you choose an option, you will see the result and an explanation.
1. After Saul was critically wounded by archers, what did he ask his armor-bearer to do?
2. What did the men of Jabesh-gilead do after recovering Saul and his sons' bodies?