Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on 1 Samuel 31:10
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth, etc.] A temple dedicated to their deities, called by this name; of which (see Gill on “<070213>Judges 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 f573 and Virgil f574; and indeed the Jews did the same, as appears by the sword of Goliath being laid up in the tabernacle, (<092109>1 Samuel 21:9). Here also the Heathens f575 hung up their own arms when the war was ended: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan; which Josephus f576 says is the same which in his time was called Scythopolis, from the Scythians that possessed it, before called Nysa, according to Pliny f577: 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, (<061711>Joshua 17:11 <070127>Judges 1:27); 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 f578 , they crucified it there; and so they did also the bodies of his sons, as appears from (<093112>1 Samuel 31:12).
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