Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 31:10

And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

10. the house of Ashtaroth ] See on 1Sa 7:3. “This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus (I. 105) as the most ancient of all her temples. Hence the special mention of Askelon in 2Sa 1:20.” Speaker’s Comm.

they fastened his body to the wall ] Together with the bodies of his sons ( 1Sa 31:12). They were hung on the wall in the “open place” (2Sa 21:12, E. V. street) by the gate, that all the passers by might join in exulting over the defeat and disgrace of Israel.

Beth-shan ] Now Beisn, situated in the Wady Jld four miles west of the Jordan, “on the brow just where the plain of Jezreel drops down by a rather steep descent some three hundred feet to the level of the Ghr,” or Jordan valley. After the Return from the Captivity it was known as Scythopolis ( 2Ma 12:29 ; cp. the Sept. of Jdg 1:27).

In 1Ch 10:10 this statement about Saul’s body is omitted, and in its place we read that “they fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.”

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

In the house of Ashtaroth – This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus as the most ancient of all her temples. Hence, the special mention of Askelon 2Sa 1:20. The placing Sauls armour as a trophy in the temple of Ashtaroth was a counterpart to the placing Goliaths sword in the tabernacle 1Sa 21:9. In 1Ch 10:10 it is added that they fastened Sauls head in the temple of Dagon, probably either in Gaza Jdg 16:21, or in Ashdod 1Sa 5:1-3. This was, perhaps, in retaliation for the similar treatment of Goliaths head 1Sa 17:54. The variations seem to imply that both this narrative and that in 1Ch 10:1-14 are compiled from a common and a fuller document.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 10. They put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth] As David had done in placing the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. We have already seen that it was common for the conquerors to consecrate armour and spoils taken in war, to those who were the objects of religious worship.

They fastened his body to the wall] Probably by means of iron hooks; but it is said, 2Sa 21:12, that these bodies were fastened in the STREET of Beth-shan. This may mean that the place where they were fastened to the wall was the main street or entrance into the city.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

10. to the wall (2Sa21:12) “the street” of Beth-shan. The street wascalled from the temple which stood in it. And they had to go along itto the wall of the city (see Jos17:11).

1Sa31:11-13. THE MENOF JABESH-GILEADRECOVER THE BODIESAND BURY THEMAT JABESH.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth,…. A temple dedicated to their deities, called by this name; of which

[See comments on Jud 2:13]; Nothing was more common with the Gentiles than to place in their temples the arms they took from their enemies, as is strongly expressed by Homer i and Virgil k; and indeed the Jews did the same, as appears by the sword of Goliath being laid up in the tabernacle, 1Sa 21:9. Here also the Heathens l hung up their own arms when the war was ended:

and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan; which Josephus m says is the same which in his time was called Scythopolis, from the Scythians that possessed it, before called Nysa, according to Pliny n: it was given to the tribe of Manasseh, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of it, so that it was always in the possession of others, Jos 17:11; where it is called Bethshean; to the wall of the city they fastened the body of Saul with nails, as it is commonly understood; but it is more likely they hung it on a gibbet without, and near the walls of the city; so the Targum, they hung his body; or, as Josephus o, they crucified it there; and so they did also the bodies of his sons, as appears from 1Sa 31:12.

i , Iliad. 7. ver. 83. k “Multaque praeterea sacris in postibus arma”, &c. Aeneid. 7. ver. 183. So Persius, Satyr. 6. ver. 45. l Messal. Corvin. de August. Progen. m Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14.) l. 8. n Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. Vid. Solin. Polyhistor. c. 49. o Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. l. 8.)

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(10) The house of Ashtaroth.Literally, of the Ashtaroth. The expression may signify that the pieces of armour belonging to the four men were divided between the different shrines of Astarte in the land, or placed together in the famous Astarte Temple, at Askelon, which Herodotus (i. 105) describes as the most ancient of the temples dedicated to the worship of the Syrian Venus. The latter supposition seems the more probable, as Askelon is specially mentioned by David in the funeral hymn of Saul and Jonathan (2Sa. 1:20).

The wall of Beth-shan.Beth-shan was in the tribe of Manasseh, some four miles west of the Jordan, and twelve miles south of the sea of Galilee. We are told in Jdg. 1:27, that the Canaanites, the original inhabitants of the city, were permitted by the conqueror to dwell still in the city. This Canaanitish element in the population was perhaps the reason why Beth-shan was chosen for the barbarous exhibition. The Canaanites would probably have welcomed the miserable spectacle which seemed to degrade their ancient enemies. The writer of the chronicle adds one more ghastly detail to this account: They fastened the head (skull) of Saul in the Temple of Dagon.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

10. Ashtaroth See on Jdg 2:13.

Beth-shan The modern Beisan, between the mountains of Gilboa and the river Jordan. See on Jos 17:11. The wall of Beth-shan, to which the bodies were fastened, appears to have faced some main street of the city. 2Sa 21:12.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1Sa 31:10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

Ver. 10. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth. ] That is, Of Venus, or, as some think, Juno. See Mr Selden, “De diis Syris,” – opus illud accuratissimum, eruditionisqne reconditioris cum primis faetum, saith learned Mr Gataker. a

a Dissert. de Tetragram.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)