Intro
The end of 1 Samuel is a crescendo. The first king in Israel is dead; but, how did he die? Did he kill himself, or did an Amalekite kill him? We will take a look at this later.
The story of 2 Samuel is the story of David. This book might contain one of the most important promises in the Old Testament. We will talk about this promise as we get closer to the end of the book.
David takes leadership of Israel in a time when Israel is in disarray. They have just experienced a massive defeat by the Philistines, and they are far from united under David at the start. It takes years and many wars for David to bring about peace in Israel. David’s efforts are the benchmark for all the kings to come after him. References to David as the example of how a king of Israel should reign appear more than a dozen times in the books 1/2 Kings and 1/2 Chronicles. (1 Kings 11:33, 2 Kings 22:2, 2 Chronicles 6:16, 2 Chronicles 11:17, 2 Chronicles 17:3, 2 Chronicles 34:2)
Maps of Where Saul Died
Timeline
As we move closer to our own time, there is more agreement about the exact dates of events from history. By this time, in our chronological Bible reading, we have reached about 1011 BC.
Theological Note: Two Stories
The story of the united monarchy is in full swing as we come to the end of 1 Samuel. The last chapter of the book recounts the death of Saul. However, we have a little mystery created for us as we move into the book of 2 Samuel. Saul’s death is re-recorded in 2 Samuel, and the stories do not add up.
The story in 1 Samuel said that Saul killed himself.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
1 Samuel 31:4–6, ESV
The story we read in 2 Samuel says that an Amalekite killed Saul.
Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ 10 So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen.
2 Samuel 1:5–10, ESV.
So, which is it? Did Saul kill himself, or did an Amalekite kill him? Both stories cannot be true. It seems clear that the Amalekite man is lying because he expected David’s favor. As R.C. Sproul put it,
In light of 1 Sam 31:4–6, it seems probable that the Amalekite happened upon Saul’s body before the Philistines and, in the hopes of receiving a reward from David, has fabricated a part for himself in Saul’s death.[1]
We should understand this text as R.C. Sproul has outlined for two reasons. First, the account in 1 Samuel is written by the inspired author. “[t]hus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.” (1 Samuel 31:6, ESV). This account is credible because it is given by the person that God inspired to write the text. Second, the Amalekite’s story has several reasons to be in doubt. The Amalekite had reason to lie to David and expect David to reward him for killing his enemy. For example, think of all the times David’s men wanted to kill Saul, (1 Samuel 24:4) but David stopped them. However, more importantly, for our consideration is that the Amalekite’s story contradicts the account given by the inspired author. The inspired author is speaking for God; he is writing what Paul calls θεόπνευστος (breathed out by God). In other words, we can trust the first account as God’s testimony to what happened that day. Since God has already said what happened that day, we have no reason to trust the Amalekite’s story.
[1] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 453.