1 Samuel 31 · Verse 12

1 Samuel 31:12

All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth–shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
1 Samuel 31:12, King James Version

1 Samuel 31:12 in other translations

BSBall their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
WEBall the valiant men arose, went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
ASVall the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
YLTand all the men of valour arise, and go all the night, and take the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-Shan, and come in to Jabesh, and burn them there,
DARBYall the valiant men arose and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burned them there.
BBEAll the fighting men got up and, travelling all night, took Saul's body and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh and had them burned there.
WebsterAll the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

What does 1 Samuel 31:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 31:11-13

11-13. the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done--Mindful of the important and timely services Saul had rendered them, they gratefully and heroically resolved not to suffer such indignities to be inflicted on the remains of the royal family.

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 31:11-13 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 And burnt them there - It has been denied that the Hebrews burnt the bodies of the dead, but that they buried them in the earth, or embalmed them, and often burnt spices around them, etc. These no doubt were the common forms of sepulture, but neither of these could be conveniently practiced in the present case. They could not have buried them about Beth-shan without being discovered; and as to embalming, that was most likely out of all question, as doubtless the bodies were now too putrid to bear it. They therefore burnt them, because there was no other way of disposing of them at that time so as to do them honor; and the bones and ashes they collected, and buried under a tree or in a grove at Jabesh.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 31:8-13

The Scripture makes no mention what became of the souls of Saul and his sons, after they were dead; but of their bodies only: secret things belong not to us. It is of little consequence by what means we die, or what is done with our dead bodies. If our souls are saved, our bodies will be raised incorruptible and glorious; but not to fear His wrath, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, is the extreme of…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 31:8-13 →

1 Samuel 31:12 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.

וַיָּק֜וּמוּvai.ya.Ku.muand they aroseH6965
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
אִ֣ישׁ'ishman ofH376
חַיִל֮cha.YilstrengthH2428
וַיֵּלְכ֣וּvai.ye.le.Khuand they wentH1980
כָל\־khol-allH3605
הַלַּיְלָה֒ha.lay.Lahthe nightH3915
וַיִּקְח֞וּvai.yik.Chuand they tookH3947
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
גְּוִיַּ֣תge.vi.Yat[the] corpse ofH1472
שָׁא֗וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
וְאֵת֙ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
גְּוִיֹּ֣תge.vi.Yot[the] corpses ofH1472
בָּנָ֔יוba.Navsons hisH1121
מֵחוֹמַ֖תme.cho.Matfrom [the] wall ofH2346
בֵּ֣יתbeitBethH1052
שָׁ֑ןShanShanH1052
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּvai.ya.Vo.'uand they wentH935
יָבֵ֔שָׁהya.Ve.shahJabesh towardsH3003
וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּvai.yis.re.Fuand they burnedH8313
אֹתָ֖ם'o.Tam<obj.> themH853
שָֽׁם\׃ShamthereH8033

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

Cross references for 1 Samuel 31:12

  • 2 Chronicles 16:14

    And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.

  • Jeremiah 34:5

    But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord.

  • 2 Samuel 2:4-7

    And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh–gilead were they that buried Saul. And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh–gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. And now the Lord shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

  • Amos 6:10

    And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
burnt them there.
2Ch 16:14; Jer 34:5; Am 6:10

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 31:11

    And when the inhabitants of Jabesh–gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul;

  • 1 Samuel 31:12

    All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth–shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

  • 1 Samuel 31:13

    And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Read all of 1 Samuel 31

1 Samuel 31:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Todos los hombres valientes se levantaron, y anduvieron toda aquella noche, y quitaron el cuerpo de Saúl y los cuerpos de sus hijos del muro de Beth-san; y viniendo á Jabes, quemáronlos allí.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et tous les hommes vaillants se levèrent et marchèrent toute la nuit, et prirent de la muraille de Beth-Shan le corps de Saül et les corps de ses fils, et vinrent à Jabès, et les brûlèrent là.
German
Elberfelder 1871		da machten sich alle tapferen Männer auf und gingen die ganze Nacht; und sie nahmen den Leichnam Sauls und die Leichname seiner Söhne von der Mauer von Beth-Schan weg; und sie kamen nach Jabes zurück und verbrannten sie daselbst.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		surrexerunt omnes viri fortissimi, et ambulaverunt tota nocte, et tulerunt cadaver Saul, et cadavera filiorum ejus, de muro Bethsan: veneruntque Jabes Galaad, et combusserunt ea ibi: