John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 4. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer , etc.] Who, the Jews say, was Doeg the Edomite, promoted to this office for slaying the priests: draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith ; for if he was wounded, yet not mortally, and it is certain he did not so apprehend it. It is much the sword of the armourbearer should be sheathed in a battle; but perhaps he was preparing for flight, and so had put it up in its scabbard: lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me ; lest they should not dispatch him at once, but put him to a lingering and torturing death, and insult him, and mock at him, as they did Samson: but his armourbearer would not, for he was sore afraid ; to lay his hand on the king the Lord’s anointed, to take away his life, being more scrupulous of doing that, if this was Doeg, than of slaying the priests of the Lord; or he might be afraid of doing this, since should he survive this action, he would be called to an account by the Israelites, and be put to death for killing the king: therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it ; or rather “the sword”, the sword of his armourbearer, and so was a suicide: the Jews endeavour to excuse this fact of Saul, because he knew he should die in battle from the words of Samuel; and being pressed sore by the archers, he saw it was impossible to escape out of their hands and therefore judged it better to kill himself than to fall by the hands of the uncircumcised; but these excuses will not do. Josephus denies he killed himself; that though he attempted it, his sword would not pierce through him, and that he was killed by the Amalekite, and that that was a true account he gave to David in the following chapter; though it seems rather to be a lie, to curry favour with David, and that Saul did destroy himself.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - We cannot judge of the spiritual or eternal state of any by the manne of their death; for in that, there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Saul, when sorely wounded, and unable to resist or to flee expressed no concern about his never-dying soul; but only desired tha the Philistines might not insult over him, or put him to pain, and he became his own murderer. As it is the grand deceit of the devil, to persuade sinners, under great difficulties, to fly to this last act of desperation, it is well to fortify the mind against it, by a seriou consideration of its sinfulness before God, and its miserabl consequences in society. But our security is not in ourselves. Let u seek protection from Him who keepeth Israel. Let us watch and pray; an take unto us the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstan in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 שׁאול7586 לנשׂא5375 כליו3627 שׁלף8025 חרבך2719 ודקרני1856 בה פן6435 יבואו935 הערלים6189 האלה428 ודקרני1856 והתעללו5953 בי ולא3808 אבה14 נשׂא5375 כליו3627 כי3588 ירא3372 מאד3966 ויקח3947 שׁאול7586 את853 החרב2719 ויפל5307 עליה׃5921
