1Sa 31:8-10 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 8 On the morrow - It is very likely that the battle and pursuit continued till the night, so that there was no time till the next day to strip and plunder the slain.

1 Samuel 31:8-10

Verse 8

On the morrow - It is very likely that the battle and pursuit continued till the night, so that there was no time till the next day to strip and plunder the slain. 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, 1Sam 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, 1Chr 10:10. Verse 10

They put his armor 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 armor 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, 2Sam 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.