How did King Saul die? Was it by suicide, an Amalekite, the Philistines, or by God’s own sovereign design? Does the Bible contradict itself on the account of King Saul’s death? Is this a genuine error in the Bible?
King Saul was Israel’s first king, and he was eventually killed during a battle with the Philistines. The Bible references his death in the books of 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles. The skeptic or new Bible student may initially be puzzled by the apparent discrepancy. However, this is very easy to understand once we see all of the details surrounding the event.
The short answer is this: God sovereignly appointed Saul’s death due to his long-term disobedience. He used the Philistines to mortally wound him with an arrow. Finally, Saul, realizing the slow nature of this death and the potential for his enemies to torture him in the process, ended his life by falling on his own sword. An Amalekite later lied in an attempt to win favor with David, but I’ll get to that in a moment.
Now let’s examine this in more detail.
Varying Accounts of King Saul’s Death
Here’s how the Bible records these varying accounts of Saul’s death:
Version #1: The Philistines mortally wounded Saul, and he then killed himself (this account is repeated in two passages):
“And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together” (1 Samuel 31:3-6).
“And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died” (1 Chronicles 10:3-5).
Version #2: An Amalekite claims Saul was wounded and leaning upon his spear, and he agreed to kill Saul at Saul’s request:
“And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord” (2 Samuel 1:6-10).
Version # 3: Reiterates that the Philistines had killed Saul:
“And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:” (2 Samuel 21:12).
Version # 4: This passage says that God Slew Saul
“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse” (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).
Reconciling King Saul’s Death: How it Really Happened
The Bible accurately tells us some important truths concerning Saul’s death. First, it was within God’s sovereign plan. First Chronicles 10:13 clearly tells us that God determined that it was time to end Saul’s life. Why? Saul had been disobedient to God for many years, and God was ready for His man David to assume the throne. Saul had even went so far as to consult a witch prior to the battle, and the summoned prophet Samuel told Saul his final prophecy: He would soon die (1 Samuel 28:19). As a side note, witchcraft itself was punishable by death in the Mosaic law (Exodus 22:18).
God essentially said, “Enough is enough. Your number is up, Saul. I’m no longer going to be with you in battle, and I’m going to let them kill you. I’m finally bringing judgment on you for your sins, and I’m putting David on the throne, just as I said I would.”
So God can correctly be said to have ended Saul’s life, because He is the true giver and taker of all life. Not one single person dies outside of God’s perfect or permissive will, and God sovereignly orchestrated Saul’s death.
Next, we see the means God used to kill King Saul: The battle with the Philistines. As they fought in this battle, an arrow sank into King Saul’s body. Saul was mortally wounded, and this would was the ultimate cause of his death. However, he knew he wasn’t dying instantly. He may have suffered for hours before succumbing to death. Knowing this, Saul feared that the Philistines would take him and torture him, and he didn’t want to go through that additional mocking and pain in his final moments. Therefore, King Saul asked his armorbearer to kill him, but he declined. So Saul killed himself by falling on his own sword.
That reconciles all of the important passages but one: The Amalekite’s account.
Did The Amalekite Kill King Saul?
There are two different ways to interpret the Amalekite’s story:
1. Saul still didn’t die after thrusting in his sword, but he may have temporarily passed out, making his armorbearer think he was dead. He later got up again, leaning upon his spear, and asked the Amalekite to finish him off. That’s a possibility, and it would reconcile all of the accounts. However, I don’t think this is how it happened. I think Saul probably died when he fell on his sword. After all, he was probably already bleeding from the arrow wound, and the sword thrust would have likely been enough to finish him off.
That leads me to the second (most likely) scenario:
2. The Amalekite, being a cunning man, stumbled upon King Saul’s dead body (or he may have even observed Saul’s final moments). Knowing that the kingdom would now go to David, he saw a prime opportunity to gain favor with the “new” king. It was as if he had won the lottery. Therefore, he snatched Saul’s crown and bracelet, and sought David to give him this new “present.”
His motive was that he probably thought David would offer him some high position, or give him some great reward for his deed. After all, Saul had tried to kill David on a number of occasions, so surely David would have been happy to know his enemy was dead (and that the kingdom was his for the taking), right?
Let’s read the account again, because I think this last scenario becomes apparent. This man was very clever in his wording. I’ll underline the important keywords I want you to note:
“And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord” (2 Samuel 1:6-10).
First, he gives himself an “out.” By saying that Saul asked him to finish him off, he can both take credit for killing David’s enemy, while also shifting blame away from himself (to prevent anyone from becoming too offended). He made sure to stress this: “I was sure he could not live after that he was fallen.” Next, he really sucks up to David. He takes the crown and bracelet, which is basically like saying, “I’m here to crown you king, David.” He even calls him “my lord.”
Make no mistake, this Amalekite fellow was clever, and he really sold the story well, didn’t he? With that story in his mouth and a crown in his hand, I’ll bet he thought that he couldn’t lose! Interestingly, David saw right through his scheme, and he recognized that this Amalekite was just hoping for a reward. In fact, David later recalled this very event when another group of men killed Ishbosheth in hopes of pleasing David in the same way. Listen to David’s recollection of this Amalekite:
“When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings” (2 Samuel 4:10).
Oh, yes. This man thought he was going to get a good “reward” from David. Unfortunately, his “lie” backfired.
As relieved as David probably was that Saul would no longer try to kill him, he still thought it was a wicked sin to kill “the Lord’s anointed.” Therefore, David put the Amalekite to death. He also killed the men who beheaded Ishbosheth.
Conclusion: King Saul’s Death Summarized
In closing, King Saul died by God’s will, through the means of a mortal wound by a Philistine’s arrow, and Saul merely hastened his death by falling on his own sword. You could accurately say that God killed Saul, the Philistines killed Saul, and Saul killed himself. It’s all true.
To illustrate it in another way: Suppose a man desires to build a house. He hires a contractor, who then subcontracts work out to various professionals. Did the man build the house? Yes. Did the contractor build the house? Yes. Did the professionals build the house? Yes. And so it was with Saul’s death.
A clever Amalekite later snatched Saul’s crown and lied, all in an attempt to get favor and a “reward” from the new king, but it cost him his life.
There is no contradiction at all. God’s word gives us the complete picture (from God and man’s perspective) of how Israel’s first king died.
Friends, you can always trust God’s word. If something doesn’t make sense, you can rest assured that there is always a reasonable explanation for it. There are many “alleged” contradictions, but you’ll see that they always dissolve under rational, logical analysis.
May God bless you.