Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 10:3
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative describes the climax of the Mount Gilboa engagement, occurring immediately after the Philistines killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
The words — The Hebrew phrase וַתִּכְבַּד הַמִּלְחָמָה (va.tikkabbad ha-milchamah) literally means "and the battle grew heavy," while וַיּוֹחֵל (va.yochel) indicates Saul was pierced or brought to severe pain by the archers.
The thread — This account parallels the direct historical record in 1 Samuel 31:3, while the archer motif echoes the hostility described in Genesis 49:23.
Why it lands — The text establishes the physical reality of Saul’s defeat before his subsequent command to his armor-bearer, requiring the reader to confront the moment of vulnerability that precipitated his final actions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 31:3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.
- 2 Samuel 1:4 “What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
- Genesis 49:23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- Amos 2:14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.