וּפְלִשְׁתִּים נִלְחֲמוּ בְיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּנָס אִישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִפְּנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּפְּלוּ חֲלָלִים בְּהַר גִּלְבֹּעַ

The Philistines waged war, one of the most devastating wars there were against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell, slain, on Mount Gilboa and its environs, where the battle took place.

וַיַּדְבְּקוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל וְאַחֲרֵי בָנָיו וַיַּכּוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת־יוֹנָתָן וְאֶת־אֲבִינָדָב וְאֶת־מַלְכִּי־שׁוּעַ בְּנֵי שָׁאוּל

In addition to the general conflict between the Israelites and the Philistines, there was a more focused battle: The Philistines pursued after Saul and after his sons. The Philistines sought not merely to defeat the Israelites, but to kill their leaders as well. And the Philistines smote Yonatan, Avinadav, and Malkishua, sons of Saul. One son, Ish Boshet, also known as Eshbaal, remained alive, and later assumed his father’s throne for a brief period. Following this defeat, the Israelites ceased fighting as an organized combat force, and split into scattered groups of warriors who fled the advancing Philistines.

וַתִּכְבַּד הַמִּלְחָמָה עַל־שָׁאוּל וַיִּמְצָאֻהוּ הַמּוֹרִים בַּקָּשֶׁת וַיָּחֶל מִן־הַיּוֹרִים

The fighting was intense against Saul, and only a small group of warriors remained to protect him. Although they were unaware of his exact location, the Philistines closed in on him, and the Philistine archers located him. There were apparently not many skilled archers in the Israelite army; rather, they fought primarily with swords and spears. And he feared greatly because of the archers who were closing in on him. Alternatively, the latter phrase of this verse may be translated to mean that he was mortally wounded by the archers.

וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל־נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו שְׁלֹף חַרְבְּךָ וְדָקְרֵנִי בָהּ פֶּן־יָבֹאוּ הָעֲרֵלִים הָאֵלֶּה וְהִתְעַלְּלוּ־בִי וְלֹא אָבָה נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו כִּי יָרֵא מְאֹד וַיִּקַּח שָׁאוּל אֶת־הַחֶרֶב וַיִּפֹּל עָלֶיהָ

Saul said to his armor-bearer, who was always at his side: Draw your sword, and stab me to death with it, lest these uncircumcised Philistines come and find me alive, and abuse me. Even if they abuse my body, at least I will not suffer their torture alive. His armor-bearer was unwilling. As the closest and most loyal person to his commander, he was so attached to Saul that he was even willing to die for him, and he was therefore very afraid to perform such a deed. Saul took his sword and fell on it, in an attempt to commit suicide. It is not easy to kill oneself by falling on a sword. From one of the descriptions of this incident in the book of Samuel, it seems that Saul’s attempt was not entirely successful. Although he was mortally wounded, he remained somewhat conscious until he was killed by an Amalekite lad.

וַיַּרְא נֹשֵׂא־כֵלָיו כִּי מֵת שָׁאוּל וַיִּפֹּל גַּם־הוּא עַל־הַחֶרֶב וַיָּמֹת

His armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he too fell on his sword and died. Due to his profound connection to Saul, when he saw that Saul was dead, the armor-bearer felt that he too had no reason to live.

וַיָּמָת שָׁאוּל וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת בָּנָיו וְכָל־בֵּיתוֹ יַחְדָּו מֵתוּ

Saul died, and his three sons and his entire household together died.

וַיִּרְאוּ כָּל־אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר־בָּעֵמֶק כִּי נָסוּ וְכִי־מֵתוּ שָׁאוּל וּבָנָיו וַיַּעַזְבוּ עָרֵיהֶם וַיָּנֻסוּ וַיָּבֹאוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בָּהֶם

All the men of Israel who were in the valley, Yizre’el, saw that they, the warriors, had fled after their defeat, and that Saul and his sons died, and they too abandoned their cities and fled. Any Israelites who remained in the area after the defeat had no means of defense against the Philistines. Therefore, they abandoned their homes and moved to more secure areas, and the Philistines came and settled in them, the abandoned Israelite areas.

וַיְהִי מִמָּחֳרָת וַיָּבֹאוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לְפַשֵּׁט אֶת־הַחֲלָלִים וַיִּמְצְאוּ אֶת־שָׁאוּל וְאֶת־בָּנָיו נֹפְלִים בְּהַר גִּלְבֹּעַ

Apparently, the battle ended at nightfall, as it is pointless to conduct a battle in the dark. It was on the next day that the Philistines came to strip the corpses of any clothes or articles of value and take them as spoils of war, standard practice throughout the generations, and unexpectedly, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. Saul could have escaped the battlefield under the cover of night; they were unaware that he had remained until the end.

וַיַּפְשִׁיטֻהוּ וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וְאֶת־כֵּלָיו וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ בְאֶרֶץ־פְּלִשְׁתִּים סָבִיב לְבַשֵּׂר אֶת־עֲצַבֵּיהֶם וְאֶת־הָעָם

They stripped him, carried his head, which they had severed, and his personal armor, and sent them all around the regions of the land of the Philistines, to bring the news to their idols and to the people. In their celebration of their victory, they brought the symbolic objects of their triumph to their houses of worship before presenting them to the entire people.

וַיָּשִׂימוּ אֶת־כֵּלָיו בֵּית אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֶת־גֻּלְגָּלְתּוֹ תָקְעוּ בֵּית דָּגוֹן

Afterward, they placed his, Saul’s, armor in the house of their gods, and they fastened his skull in the house of their deity Dagon.

וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ כֹּל יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים לְשָׁאוּל

All the inhabitants of Yavesh Gilad,who had had very close ties to the tribe of Benjamin, and to Saul in particular, over the course of many years, heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul.

וַיָּקוּמוּ כָּל־אִישׁ חַיִל וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת־גּוּפַת שָׁאוּל וְאֵת גּוּפֹת בָּנָיו וַיְבִיאוּם יָבֵישָׁה וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֶת־עַצְמוֹתֵיהֶם תַּחַת הָאֵלָה בְּיָבֵשׁ וַיָּצוּמוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים

All the valiant men rose and carried the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Yavesh. They stole Saul’s remains and the remains of his sons that had been displayed in the Philistine cities. Although the bodies were not heavily guarded, it took bold men to infiltrate the Philistine cities and extract them. They buried their bones under the terebinth in a designated area in Yavesh, and they fasted seven days.

וַיָּמָת שָׁאוּל בְּמַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר־מָעַל בַּה' עַל־דְּבַר ה' אֲשֶׁר לֹא־שָׁמָר וְגַם לִשְׁאוֹל בָּאוֹב לִדְרוֹשׁ

After concluding its description of the tragic events, the chapter provides an explanation for them, as is often the case in the Bible: Saul died for his trespass that he trespassed against the Lord, in the war against Amalek and other instances, in that he did not keep the word of the Lord precisely, and also for another sin, toward the end of his life; for consulting the medium to seek counsel of the dead,

וְלֹא־דָרַשׁ בַּה' וַיְמִיתֵהוּ וַיַּסֵּב אֶת־הַמְּלוּכָה לְדָוִיד בֶּן־יִשָׁי

and he did not seek counsel of the Lord. Although Saul had sought unsuccessfully to seek God at that time, he should have persisted in his efforts. And He put him to death; He transferred the kingdom to David son of Yishai. This story is related to the demise of the house of Saul and his royal line. The book does not relate anything about the lives of Saul or of the rest of his family; rather, it relates his death in war, in the wake of which the monarchy was transferred to David. At this juncture, the book begins its treatment of the history of King David and his deeds.