1 Chronicles 10
About 1 ChroniclesWritten by AI
1 Chronicles retells Israel's story for people who had come home from exile in Babylon and were asking whether God was still with them. It covers ground you have already read in Samuel, but from a different angle, with a special interest in David, the temple, the priests and Levites, and worship. The author is unnamed; Jewish tradition credits Ezra, and many scholars speak more cautiously of the Chronicler, writing perhaps in the 400s BC. 1 and 2 Chronicles were first one book.
It begins with nine chapters of genealogies, from Adam to the families who resettled Jerusalem, quietly showing that Israel's story is unbroken. Then it moves quickly past Saul to David: his rise, the ark brought to Jerusalem, God's covenant, and his careful preparations for a temple his son Solomon will build.
Watch for what is emphasized and what is left out, and for the note of worship running through it all: “everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.”
Before you read 1 Chronicles 10Written by AI
The narrative begins with Saul's death on Mount Gilboa, told almost word for word as in 1 Samuel 31. But the Chronicler adds his own verdict: Saul died for his unfaithfulness, including consulting a medium instead of the LORD, and so the kingdom was turned over to David. Saul's whole reign is covered in this single chapter.
Saul’s Overthrow and Death
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and torture me!”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died. So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.
The Philistines Possess the Towns
When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They stripped Saul, cut off his head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul
When all the people of Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.