1 Samuel 31 · Verse 1

1 Samuel 31:1

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
1 Samuel 31:1, King James Version

1 Samuel 31:1 in other translations

BSBNow the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
WEBNow the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa.
ASVNow the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
YLTAnd the Philistines are fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel flee from the face of the Philistines, and fall wounded in mount Gilboa,
DARBYAnd the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on mount Gilboa.
BBENow the Philistines were fighting against Israel: and the men of Israel went in flight before the Philistines, falling down wounded in Mount Gilboa.
WebsterNow the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

What does 1 Samuel 31:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
1Sa 31:1-7. Saul Having Lost His Army at Gilboa, and His Sons Being Slain, He and His Armor-bearer Kill Themselves. 1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel--In a regular engagement, in which the two armies met (1Sa 28:1-4), the Israelites were forced to give way, being annoyed by the arrows of the enemy, which, destroying them at a distance before they came to close combat, threw them into panic and disorder. Taking advantage of the heights of Mount Gilboa, [the Israelites] attempted to rally, but in vain. Saul and his sons fought like heroes; but the onset of the Philistines being at length mainly directed against the quarter where they were, Jonathan and two brothers, Abinadab or Ishui (1Sa 14:49) and Melchishua, overpowered by numbers, were killed on the spot.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

A battle in Mount Gilboa between Israel and the Philistines; in which the former are defeated, and Saul's three sons slain, 1Sam 31:1, 1Sam 31:2. Saul, being mortally wounded, and afraid to fall alive into the hands of the Philistines, desires his armor-bearer to despatch him; which he refusing, Saul falls on his sword, and his armor-bearer does the same, 1Sam 31:3-6. The Israelites on the other side of the valley forsake their cities, and the Philistines come and dwell in them, 1Sam 31:7. The Philistines, finding Saul and his three sons among the slain, strip them of their armor, which they put in the house of Ashtaroth, cut of their heads, send the news to all the houses of their idols, and fasten the bodies of Saul and his three sons to the walls of Beth-shan, 1Sam 31:8-10. Valiant men of Jabesh-gilead go by night, and take away the bodies; burn them at Jabesh; bury their bones under a tree; and fast seven days, 1Sam 31:11-13. Verse 1 Now the Philistines fought - This is the continuation of the account given in 1Sam 29:1-11. The men of Israel fled - It seems as if they were thrown into confusion at the first onset, and turned their backs upon their enemies.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 31:1-7
Saul's body rescued by the men of Jabesh-gilead. (8-13) Verses 1-7 We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manner of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee, expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired that the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and he became his own murderer. As it is the grand deceit of the devil, to persuade sinners, under great difficulties, to fly to this last act of desperation, it is well to fortify the mind against it, by a serious consideration of its sinfulness before God, and its miserable consequences in society. But our security is not in ourselves. Let us seek protection from Him who keepeth Israel. Let us watch and pray; and take unto us the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

1 Samuel 31:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖יםu.fe.lish.Timand [the] PhilistinesH6430
נִלְחָמִ֣יםnil.cha.Mim[were] fightingH3898
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לbe.Yis.ra.'Elagainst IsraelH3478
וַיָּנֻ֜סוּvai.ya.Nu.suand they fledH5127
אַנְשֵׁ֤י'an.Shei[the] men ofH582
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Yis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
מִפְּנֵ֣יmi.pe.Neifrom beforeH6440
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔יםfe.lish.Tim[the] PhilistinesH6430
וַיִּפְּל֥וּvai.yi.pe.Luand they fellH5307
חֲלָלִ֖יםcha.la.LimslainH2491
בְּהַ֥רbe.Haron [the] mountain ofH2022
הַגִּלְבֹּֽעַ\׃ha.gil.Bo.a'<the> GilboaH1533

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 31:1

  • 1 Chronicles 10:1-12

    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 Malchi–shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. …

  • 1 Samuel 28:4

    And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.

  • 2 Samuel 1:21

    Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

  • 1 Samuel 28:15

    And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

  • 1 Samuel 29:1

    Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.

  • 1 Samuel 12:25

    But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

  • 1 Samuel 28:1

    And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 Saul, having lost his army, and his sons slain, he and his armour-bearer kill themselves.
7 The Philistines possess the forsaken towns of the Israelites.
8 They triumph over the dead carcases.
11 They of Jabesh-gilead recovering the dead bodies by night, burn them at Jabesh, and mournfully bury their bones.

the Philistines.
28:1,15; 29:1
fell down.
12:25; 1Ch 10:1-12
slain. Heb. wounded. Gilboa.Eusebius and Jerome place this mountain six miles west from Bethshan, where was a large place called Gelbus. The natives still call it Djebel Gilbo.
28:4; 2Sa 1:21

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 31:1

    Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

  • 1 Samuel 31:2

    And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi–shua, Saul’s sons.

Read all of 1 Samuel 31

1 Samuel 31:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		LOS Filisteos pues pelearon con Israel, y los de Israel huyeron delante de los Filisteos, y cayeron muertos en el monte de Gilboa.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		*Et les Philistins combattirent contre Israël, et les hommes d’Israël s’enfuirent devant les Philistins, et tombèrent tués sur la montagne de Guilboa.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Die Philister aber stritten wider Israel und die Männer von Israel flohen vor den Philistern, und Erschlagene fielen auf dem Gebirge Gilboa.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Philisthiim autem pugnabant adversum Israël: et fugerunt viri Israël ante faciem Philisthiim, et ceciderunt interfecti in monte Gelboë.