Footnotes

1. 1 Samuel 31:4 This account of Saul’s death obviously contradicts that given by the Amalekite who came to David with Saul’s spear and crown, claiming to have killed him (II Sam. 1:9ff). His story was probably a fabrication. He found the king’s body on the battlefield, stripped it, and brought the spoil to David hoping for a reward, as The Cambridge Bible comments. However, it is possible that Saul was not entirely dead when the Amalekite found him, though his armor-bearer had thought him dead and had killed himself, in which case the Amalekite’s story may have been true.