Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 31:3
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
3. the battle went sore against Saul ] Cp. 1Ki 22:31 ff. The Vulg. has a striking paraphrase: “the whole weight of the battle was directed against Saul,” ( totumque pondus praelii versum est in Saul).
he was sore wounded ] So the Sept. and Vulg. But the Heb. may also be rendered, “and he was sore afraid.” Despair and the fear of insult paralysed his courage. For “of the archers” the Sept. reads “in the abdomen,” but the Heb. text is preferable.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He was sore wounded – Better, he was sore afraid (compare Deu 2:25). Sauls fear is explained in 1Sa 31:4.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. He was sore wounded of the archers.] It is likely that Saul’s sons were slain by the archers, and that Saul was now mortally wounded by the same. Houbigant translates, The archers rushed upon him, from whom he received a grievous wound. He farther remarks that had not Saul been grievously wounded, and beyond hope of recovery, he would not have wished his armour-bearer to despatch him; as he might have continued still to fight, or have made his escape from this most disastrous battle. Some of the versions render it, He FEARED the archers greatly; but this is by no means likely.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
3-5. the battle went sore againstSaul, c.He seems to have bravely maintained his ground forsome time longer but exhausted with fatigue and loss of blood, anddreading that if he fell alive into the enemy’s hands, they wouldinsolently maltreat him (Jos 8:29;Jos 10:24; Jdg 8:21),he requested his armor bearer to despatch him. However, that officerrefused to do so. Saul then falling on the point of his sword killedhimself; and the armor bearer, who, according to Jewish writers, wasDoeg, following the example of his master, put an end to his lifealso. They died by one and the same swordthe very weapon withwhich they had massacred the Lord’s servants at Nob.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the battle went sore against Saul,…. Pressed heavy upon him; he was the butt of the Philistines, they aimed at his person and life:
and the archers hit him; or “found him” a; the place where was, and directed their arrows at him:
and he was sore wounded of the archers; or rather “he was afraid” of them, as the Targum, for as yet he was not wounded; and so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, and is the sense Kimchi and Ben Melech give of the word: he was not afraid of death, as Abarbinel observes, he chose to die; but he was afraid he should be hit by the archers in such a way that he should not die immediately, and should be taken alive and ill used; the Philistines, especially the Cherethites, were famous for archery; [See comments on Zep 2:5].
a “et inveserust cum”, Pagninus, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) And the battle went sore against Saul.That is, after the death of Jonathan and his brothers. The great warrior king no doubt fought like a lion, but one by one his brave defenders fell in harness by his side; and the enemy seems to have directed their principal attention, at this period of the fight, to killing or capturing the famous Saul.
And the archers hit him.It would seem as though, in that deadly combat, none could strike down that giant kingly form, so the archersliterally, as in the margin of our Version, shooters, men with bows, skilful shotswere told off, and these, aiming at the warrior towering above the other combatants, with the crown on his head (2Sa. 1:10), hit him.
And he was sore wounded by the archers.This is the usual rendering of the word, but the more accurate translation is, He was sore afraid (or was greatly alarmed at them): so Gesenius, Keil, Lange, &c. All seemed against him. His army was routed, his sons were dead, his faithful captains and companions were gone, and these bow-men were shooting at him from a distance where his strong arm could not reach them. Gradually weakened through loss of bloodperhaps with the words he had heard only a few hours before at En-dor from the dead prophet ringing in his ears, To-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with methe great undaunted courage at last failed him, and he turned to his armourbearer, who was still by his side.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Battle went sore This verse is rendered better thus: Then the battle was heavy against Saul, and the archers, men with the bow, discovered him, and he became greatly terrified because of the archers After his sons had fallen, Saul was in worse straits than ever, for now the brunt of the battle came on him.
Archers , shooters; explained further by the phrase men with the bow; that is, men who shot arrows with the bow. , found him; discovered him; singled him out; not hit him, as our version. After the fall of his sons, the archers discovered Saul, and began to aim their missiles at him. , imperfect, shortened from , to writhe, to quake with pain. The word nowhere means to be wounded, as our version has it here. It is, indeed, probable that some of their arrows struck him, and this caused his alarm. He saw that he was the mark of the Philistine sharp-shooters, and he therefore writhed and quaked with terror at the thought of falling by such hands.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 31:3. And the archers hit him Houbigant renders this verse thus, Then the battle going hard against Saul, the archers rushed upon him, from whom he received a great wound. Saul, says he, would hardly have commanded his armour-bearer to kill him, if he had not been in a desperate state. The words, lest they thrust me through and abuse me, are not to be separated. Saul was not so much afraid of being killed, as of being abused, by these insulting enemies. Commentators observe, that there is no mention of any archers in any of the Philistine armies or battles before this. The use of the bow, however, was not unknown: Jonathan is celebrated for his skill and dexterity in it, and so were some of the worthies who resorted to David; but it seems not to have been yet brought into common practice, if, as it has been collected from 2Sa 1:18., David after this battle had the Israelites taught the use of it. If this was so, it seems to prove that they gained in this battle great advantage by means of their archers: for, doubtless, he would have taught it them much sooner, when he commanded the armies of Saul against the Philistines, had they then gained any advantage over the Israelites by means of these weapons. Sir Isaac Newton tells us, that those mighty numbers of men who aided the Philistines against Saul in the beginning of his reign, were the shepherds expelled from Egypt by Amasis; some of whom fled into Phoenicia, and others into Arabia Petraea. Now his son Ammon conquered Arabia. Why then may we not fairly presume, that these archers, who now aided the Philistines, were either Arabs who fled thither from Ammon, or those Egyptians who fled before to Arabia, and learned archery there from the natives, who were allowed to be the best bowmen in the world: since the time and circumstances suit, the conjecture will not, I believe, be thought ill-grounded. The Cherethites, so often mentioned in the following books, were of these archers whom David employed in his armies.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(3) And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
Saul’s death, and the approach of it, were tremblingly awful. He is sore wounded; perhaps deadly wounded by the archers; more darts than one, it should seem.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 31:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
Ver. 3. And he was sore wounded of the archers. ] Sulpitius Severus saith he was so wounded that he fell from his horse. a But this he addeth of his own; for neither in the Scriptures nor yet in Josephus read we any such thing.
a Saul equo delapsus. – Sac. Hist., lib. i.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sore wounded = in sore anguish.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hit him
Cf. 2Sa 1:10; 2Sa 21:12. The order is:
(1) Saul is “hit”–wounded mortally, potentially “slain,” by the Philistines;
(2) either to escape agony, or insult by the enemy, he falls upon his sword, and his armour-bearer, supposing him to be dead, slew himself;
(3) but Saul was not dead; raising himself upon his spear, he besought the Amalekite to put him to death. 2Sa 1:10; 2Sa 21:12.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
went sore: 2Sa 1:4, Amo 2:14
archers hit him: Heb. shooters, men with bows, found him, Gen 49:23, 1Ki 22:34
Reciprocal: Jdg 8:21 – Rise thou 1Ch 10:3 – went Psa 7:16 – General Psa 21:8 – General Psa 64:8 – all that Pro 17:13 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 31:3. The archers hit him Hebrews jim-stauhu, found him. Houbigant renders it, rushed upon him. It seems by this that the Philistines gained the battle, chiefly by the advantage of their archers. Probably these were some hired troops, for we meet with no mention before this of any archers in any of the Philistines armies or battles; and it seems to have been a way of fighting that Saul and the Israelites were not prepared for, and therefore they were soon thrown into confusion by it. The use of the bow, however, says Dr. Dodd, was not unknown. Jonathan is celebrated for his skill and dexterity in it; and so were some of the worthies who resorted to David; but it seems not yet to have been brought into common practice, if, as has been collected from 2Sa 1:18, David, after this battle, had the Israelites taught the use of it.