Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 31:9
And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people.
8 13. The burial of Saul and his Sons
9. they cut off his head ] The Anointed of Jehovah fares no better than the uncircumcised Goliath, now that God has forsaken him.
to publish it ] To publish the good news. Sept. . Cp. 2Sa 1:20.
in the house of their idols ] In the temples of their idols, which were regarded as the givers of the victory. Cp. ch. 1Sa 5:2. Chron. reads “to carry tidings to their idols.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. And they cut off his head] It is possible that they cut off the heads of his three sons likewise; for although only his head is said to be cut off, and his body only to be fastened to the walls of Beth-shan, yet we find that the men of Jabesh-gilead found both his body and the bodies of his three sons, fastened to the walls, 1Sa 31:12.
Perhaps they only took off Saul’s head, which they sent about to their temples as a trophy of their victory, when they sent the news of the defeat of the Israelites through all their coasts, and at last placed it in the temple of Dagon, 1Ch 10:10.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
They cut off his head, as the Israelites did by Goliath.
To publish it in the house of their idols, to give them the glory of this victory.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they cut off his head,…. And fastened it in the temple of Dagon, 1Ch 10:10; perhaps that which was at Ashdod, one of the principalities of the Philistines, 1Sa 5:1;
and stripped off his armour; or vessels h, his clothes as well as his armour, and what he had about him; as for his crown on his head, and the bracelet on his arm, the Amalekite took them before the Philistines came, 2Sa 1:10;
and sent into the land of the Philistines round about: not his head and his armour, for they were placed in the temple of their idols; unless we can suppose these were first carried about for show, and as proofs of the victory: but rather messengers, who were sent express with the news,
to publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people; that so they might be glad and rejoice, and give praise to their idols, to whom they ascribed the success they had.
h “vasa ejus”, Munster, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour.Only Sauls head and armour is mentioned here, but on comparing 1Sa. 31:12, where the bodies of his sons are especially mentioned, it is clear that this act was not confined to the person of the king. The sense of the passage there is, the heads of the king and his three sons were cut off, and their armour stripped from their bodies. The heads and armour were sent as trophies round about the different towns and villages of Philistia, and the headless corpses were fastened to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. They cut off his head His sons seem to have received the same barbarous treatment. See 1Sa 31:12. This revenge on the lifeless bodies of the slain shows, according to some writers, the low and miserable barbarity of the Philistines; but did not David treat the dead body of Goliath in the same way? (1Sa 17:54😉 and what shall be said of Samuel’s hewing of Agag in pieces? 1Sa 15:33. We must not judge the usages of that age by our own.
To publish it That the daughters of the uncircumcised might rejoice and triumph. 2Sa 1:20.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people.
Ver. 9. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour. ] They served him in like sort as their champion Goliath had been served: that they might cry quittance with him. Men love to retaliate.
To publish it in the house of their idols.
And among the people.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
cut off: 1Sa 31:4, 1Sa 17:51, 1Sa 17:54, 1Ch 10:9, 1Ch 10:10
to publish: Jdg 16:23, Jdg 16:24, 2Sa 1:20
Reciprocal: 2Sa 4:7 – took his head Dan 1:2 – and he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
31:9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to {d} publish [it in] the house of their idols, and among the people.
(d) In token of victory and triumph.