שמואל א 31:10

Hebrew Modern Translation

וישמו את כליו בית עשתרות ואת גויתו תקעו בחומת בית שן׃

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Aleppo Codex
וישימו את כליו בית עשתרות ואת גויתו תקעו בחומת בית שן

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)
וַיָּשִׂ֨מוּ֙ אֶת־כֵּלָ֔יו בֵּ֖ית עַשְׁתָּרֹ֑ות וְאֶת־גְּוִיָּתוֹ֙ תָּקְע֔וּ בְּחוֹמַ֖ת בֵּ֥ית שָֽׁן ׃

Westminster Leningrad Codex
וַיָּשִׂמוּ אֶת־כֵּלָיו בֵּית עַשְׁתָּרוֹת וְאֶת־גְּוִיָּתוֹ תָּקְעוּ בְּחוֹמַת בֵּית שָֽׁן ׃

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they put: The Philistines placed the armour of Saul in the temple of Ashtaroth as a trophy of victory, and a testimony of their gratitude, in the same manner as David placed the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. 1 Samuel 21:9

Ashtaroth: Judges 2:13

Bethshan: Joshua 17:11, Judges 1:27, 2 Samuel 21:12-14

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 4:12 - Bethshean 1 Chronicles 7:29 - Bethshean 1 Chronicles 10:9 - took 1 Chronicles 10:10 - their gods Daniel 1:2 - and he

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth,.... A temple dedicated to their deities, called by this name; of which

:-; Nothing was more common with the Gentiles than to place in their temples the arms they took from their enemies, as is strongly expressed by Homer i and Virgil k; and indeed the Jews did the same, as appears by the sword of Goliath being laid up in the tabernacle, 1 Samuel 21:9. Here also the Heathens l hung up their own arms when the war was ended:

and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan; which Josephus m says is the same which in his time was called Scythopolis, from the Scythians that possessed it, before called Nysa, according to Pliny n: it was given to the tribe of Manasseh, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of it, so that it was always in the possession of others, Joshua 17:11; where it is called Bethshean; to the wall of the city they fastened the body of Saul with nails, as it is commonly understood; but it is more likely they hung it on a gibbet without, and near the walls of the city; so the Targum, they hung his body; or, as Josephus o, they crucified it there; and so they did also the bodies of his sons, as appears from 1 Samuel 31:12.

i τευχεα συλησας, Iliad. 7. ver. 83. k "Multaque praeterea sacris in postibus arma", &c. Aeneid. 7. ver. 183. So Persius, Satyr. 6. ver. 45. l Messal. Corvin. de August. Progen. m Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14.) l. 8. n Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 18. Vid. Solin. Polyhistor. c. 49. o Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. l. 8.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the house of Ashtaroth - This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus as the most ancient of all her temples. Hence, the special mention of Askelon 2 Samuel 1:20. The placing Saul’s armour as a trophy in the temple of Ashtaroth was a counterpart to the placing Goliath’s sword in the tabernacle 1 Samuel 21:9. In 1 Chronicles 10:10 it is added that they “fastened Saul’s head in the temple of Dagon,” probably either in Gaza Judges 16:21, or in Ashdod 1 Samuel 5:1-3. This was, perhaps, in retaliation for the similar treatment of Goliath’s head 1 Samuel 17:54. The variations seem to imply that both this narrative and that in 1 Chronicles 10:1-14 are compiled from a common and a fuller document.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 31:10. They put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth — As David had done in placing the sword of Goliath in the tabernacle. We have already seen that it was common for the conquerors to consecrate armour and spoils taken in war, to those who were the objects of religious worship.

They fastened his body to the wall — Probably by means of iron hooks; but it is said, 2 Samuel 21:12, that these bodies were fastened in the STREET of Beth-shan. This may mean that the place where they were fastened to the wall was the main street or entrance into the city.