They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
Parallel translations
- WEB They put his armor in the house of the Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
- KJV And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.
- NKJV Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
- NASB They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they nailed his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
- NLT They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Philistines place Saul's armor in a temple and fasten his body to the wall of Beth Shan. His shame is put on public display.
Overview
Saul's armor is dedicated to Ashtoreth and his body hung on the city wall as a public spectacle of defeat. The dishonoring of the king's body is meant to humiliate Israel and exalt the Philistine gods. This public disgrace, however, will provoke the brave loyalty of the men of Jabesh Gilead in the verses that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Judg 2:13for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
- Josh 17:11Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- 1 Sam 21:9The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
- Judg 1:27At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- 1 Sam 7:3Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
- 2 Sam 21:12–14he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 31:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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