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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comJamieson Fausset Brown Commentary - 1 Samuel 31:1 - 31:1
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1Sa 31:1-7. Saul having lost his army at Gilboa, and his sons being slain, he and his armor-bearer kill themselves.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel - In a regular engagement, in which the two armies met (1Sa 28:1-4), the Israelites were forced to give way, being annoyed by the arrows of the enemy, which, destroying them at a distance before they came to close combat, threw them into panic and disorder. Taking advantage of the heights of Mount Gilboa, [the Israelites] attempted to rally, but in vain. Saul and his sons fought like heroes; but the onset of the Philistines being at length mainly directed against the quarter where they were, Jonathan and two brothers, Abinadab or Ishui (1Sa 14:49) and Melchishua, overpowered by numbers, were killed on the spot.