Bible Strands
1 Samuel 31:12
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The men of Jabesh-gilead act immediately after learning how the Philistines desecrated Saul and his sons. They depart from their city to recover the remains.
The words — וַ/יָּק֜וּמוּ (va/i.ya.Ku.mu) denotes their sudden rising, while כָּל־אִישׁ חַיִל (kol-ish chaiyl) specifies that every warrior participated. וַ/יִּקְח֞וּ (va/i.yik.Chu) records their physical retrieval of the corpses from Beth-shan.
The thread — The recovery of Saul’s bones connects to the burial practices described in 2 Chronicles 16:14 and Jeremiah 34:5, while the subsequent burial under the tamarisk tree appears in 1 Samuel 31:13.
Why it lands — The text records a disciplined, nocturnal rescue mission followed by cremation, without commentary on honor or dishonor. It demands the reader observe the factual sequence of recovery, burning, and burial before adding theological judgment.
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
All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth–shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
- Jeremiah 34:5 you will die in peace. As spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so people will burn spices for you and lament, ‘Alas, O master!’ For I Myself have spoken this word, declares the LORD.”
- 2 Samuel 2:4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”
- Amos 6:10 And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.”