Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Philistines slaughter the Hebrews: whereupon Saul, lest he fall into their hands, falls upon his sword and kills himself. Then, verse 9, the Philistines send Saul's severed head throughout Philistia, place his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and hang his body on the wall of Beth-shan; but the men of Jabesh-gilead remove it from there, and after burning it, bury it.
Vulgate Text: 1 Kings 31:1-13
1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2. And the Philistines pressed hard upon Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul, 3. and the whole weight of the battle turned against Saul; and the archers overtook him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. 4. And Saul said to his armor-bearer: Draw your sword and strike me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and kill me, mocking me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was struck with great terror: so Saul took the sword and fell upon it. 5. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his own sword and died with him. 6. So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men that same day together. 7. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8. And on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. 9. And they cut off his head and stripped him of his armor, and sent it throughout the land of the Philistines, to be announced in the temple of their idols and among the peoples. 10. And they put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. 11. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12. all the valiant men arose and marched all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh-gilead and burned them there, 13. and they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.
Verse 2: The Sons of Saul Slain
2. THEY STRUCK JONATHAN AND ABINADAB AND MALCHISHUA, THE SONS OF SAUL. -- This was done by God's counsel, so that with all the sons of Saul killed, He might smooth and pave the way for David to the kingdom: for Ishbosheth, Saul's fourth son, sitting at home, seemed less warlike and unfit for a kingdom entangled in so many wars.
Verse 4: Saul Falls on His Sword
4. AND HE FELL UPON IT. -- Hence it is clear that Saul killed himself. Josephus and Rabbi Levi deny this, saying that Saul attempted to kill himself but did not succeed; therefore he was killed by that Amalekite who brought the news to David. But these are fables invented in honor of Saul. For clearly the Hebrew, Septuagint, Chaldean, and Latin in this verse say that Saul died by falling upon his sword, and consequently his armor-bearer killed himself in the same way. This was God's just judgment, that Saul should turn against himself the sword he had unjustly drawn against David, just as Nero did in the same year in which he had killed Saints Peter and Paul, indeed in the very same recurring month of June, killing himself.
"With the sword," says Hugo, "by which he had spared the Amalekites against the Lord's command in chapter 15, he justly killed himself; if anyone who has received power for the common good either does not use it or abuses it, he indeed stabs himself with his own sword." Hence before the very Amalekite whom he had spared, he killed himself, and the Amalekite took the crown from him and brought it to David, as will be told in the next chapter.
Thus tropologically, in the hour of death the passions and vices which you neglect to kill and mortify in life will afflict you and take from you honor, peace, and present and eternal life; for these are our Amalekites.
Did Saul Sin in Killing Himself?
You may ask, did Saul sin in killing himself? Josephus and the Rabbis deny it, and indeed praise Saul for greatness of soul. Similarly Cato killed himself rather than fall defeated into the hands of Julius Caesar, for which reason Seneca praises him.
But the orthodox faith condemns this opinion, as do the better philosophers, such as Plato in the Phaedo, and Aristotle. The reason is that man is not the master of his own life, but God is; therefore he cannot take it from himself, or rather from God. Second, because God gave us our soul and life in custody, so that we may use it for God's service and praise. Third, because God has appointed for each person the day and manner both of being born and of dying. Fourth, because by the fifth commandment, "You shall not kill," it is just as much, indeed more, forbidden for anyone to kill himself as to kill another. Fifth, because the one who kills himself does injury to the commonwealth.
See St. Augustine, Book I of The City of God: "This we say, this we assert: that no one should bring voluntary death upon himself as though fleeing temporal troubles, lest he fall into eternal ones. No one should do so on account of others' sins, nor on account of his own past sins, for which this life is all the more necessary so that they may be healed by repenting. No one out of desire for a better life after death, because a better life after death does not receive those guilty of their own death."
Furthermore, the fact that Saul, Cato, and similar men killed themselves to avoid servitude or disgrace was a sign not of a brave and great soul, but of a soft and pusillanimous one, unable to endure adversity. Nor did Saul escape the ignominy of the Philistines; for they mocked his dead body, as is clear from verses 9 and 10; indeed they hung Saul's severed head in the temple of Dagon as a trophy.
Is Saul Damned?
You may ask, is Saul damned? The Hebrews and Lyranus deny it, and think he repented and was saved. But others generally assert that he was damned, namely Eucherius, Bede, Rupert, Abulensis, Dionysius, Cajetan, Serarius, Salianus, and St. Bernard.
The reason is that he died in the sin of sorcery, by which shortly before the battle he had consulted the Witch of Endor, indeed in the very act of self-murder, so that he had neither the inclination nor the time for repentance. Therefore he seems to be damned along with Ahithophel and Judas. It is different with Jonathan, who conducted himself nobly throughout his whole life, fighting for the Israelites and defending David against Saul, and who died in a meritorious act, namely fighting for his country; whence he appears to have been saved.
All of this is confirmed from 1 Chronicles 10:13, where it says: "So Saul died for his iniquities, because he transgressed the command of the Lord and did not keep it; but moreover also consulted the Witch of Endor, and did not hope in the Lord; for which reason He killed him, and transferred his kingdom to David the son of Jesse."
He was pious and fortunate at the beginning of his reign, but impious and unfortunate at its end; so that he might serve as an example and mirror for posterity, which all, but especially kings and princes, should frequently contemplate.
Verse 5: The Armor-Bearer
5. AND WHEN HIS ARMOR-BEARER SAW THIS. -- The Hebrews fabulously claim that this armor-bearer of Saul was Doeg the Edomite, about whom see chapter 22, verse 18.
Verse 11: The Men of Jabesh-Gilead
11. AND WHEN THE INHABITANTS OF JABESH-GILEAD HEARD, THEY TOOK THE BODY OF SAUL. -- They did this out of gratitude toward Saul: for Saul had delivered them from Nahash king of Ammon, chapter 11, verse 1.
Verse 12: The Burning of the Bodies
AND THEY BURNED THEM. -- For the Hebrews used to burn the bodies of their kings, lest while the pomp of the royal funeral was being prepared over many days, the bodies should rot unburied. Here they burned the body of Saul, who had been killed three days before and was therefore putrefying, and then buried the remaining bones in a grove. Thus they burned the body of King Asa with spices, 2 Chronicles 16:14.
Verse 13: Seven Days of Fasting
13. AND THEY FASTED SEVEN DAYS -- not only because of grief and mourning, but also to help Saul's soul; for they did not know that he had killed himself and died in mortal sin, but piously and devoutly hoped for his salvation. So says Bede, who also adds: "In this same way the pious race of Christians weeps for those who, while fighting against demons, slip in the world, which is slippery; for the mountains of Gilboa are interpreted as 'slippery mountains.'"
Synchronism with Profane History
As for the synchronism with profane history, under Samuel and Saul, Codrus reigned at Athens, who, hearing from an oracle that the Athenians would be victorious in battle if he himself fell in it, offered himself to death and slaughter for his fatherland, and thus by his death secured victory and empire; at that time also the kingdom of Sicyon and Mycenae ended, and the Corinthian kingdom began. So says Eusebius in his Chronicle.
Saul died two years after Samuel, say Clement of Alexandria, Bede, Josephus, Abulensis, Salianus, and others.