1 Samuel 31:3

When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrator describes the climax of the battle at Mount Gilboa where Philistine forces pursue King Saul after killing his three sons. The words — וַ/תִּכְבַּ֤ד (va./tikh.Bad) translates literally as "and it was heavy," describing the battle's intensity, while הַ/מּוֹרִ֖ים (ha./mo.Rim) means "the archers." The thread — The specific mention of archers attacking a king echoes Genesis 49:23, while the battlefield collapse parallels the fleeing troops in 2 Samuel 1:4 and the king leaning on his spear amid chariots and cavalry in 2 Samuel 1:6. Why it lands — The text records the physical mechanism of Saul's defeat before his subsequent suicide, requiring the reader to trace how divine judgment and human desperation intersect in a single moment of military failure.

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The Hebrew words

וַתִּכְבַּ֤דva./tikh.Badand/ it was heavy הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ha./mil.cha.Mahthe/ battle אֶל־'el-against שָׁא֔וּלsha.'UlSaul וַיִּמְצָאֻ֥הוּva/i.yim.tza.'U./huand/ they found/ him הַמּוֹרִ֖יםha./mo.Rimthe/ archers אֲנָשִׁ֣ים'a.na.Shimmen בַּקָּ֑שֶׁתba./Ka.shetwith the/ bow וַיָּ֥חֶלva/i.Ya.cheland/ he was in severe pain מְאֹ֖דme.'Odexceedingly מֵהַמּוֹרִֽים׃me./ha./mo.Rimfrom/ the/ archers

King James Version

And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 1:6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.
Genesis 49:23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
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.”
1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
Amos 2:14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.

People named

Saul