삼상 31:1-13 사울과 요나단의 죽음

The Death of Saul
31 ^uNow the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^von Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^wJonathan and ^xAbinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 ^yThe battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 ^zThen Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^auncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^bfor he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^cand 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. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those 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 lived in them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^dto carry the good news ^eto the house of their idols and to the people. 10 ^fThey put his armor in the temple of ^gAshtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^hBeth-shan. 11 ⁱBut when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 ^jall the valiant men arose and went 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 ^kand burned them there. 13 And they took their bones ^land buried them under ^mthe tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ⁿfasted seven days.

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 삼상 31:1-13

The Battle at Mount Gilboa
c. 1010 b.c.
Philistine forces advanced to Shunem from Aphek and prepared to attack the Israelites near their camp in Jezreel. Saul, fearing the great army that faced him, slipped away during the night to consult a medium at En-dor in order to seek the counsel of the deceased Samuel. When the Philistines attacked the next morning, the Israelites retreated up the slopes of Mount Gilboa. Saul and three of his sons were killed, and the Philistines mocked Israel by hanging their bodies on the wall of Beth-shean. Later, men from Jabesh-gilead traveled through the night and recovered the bodies.

 Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 540.

3-5절) 사울이 병기든 자에게 자신을 죽여달라고 한 이유 / 블레셋의 궁수에게 치명적인 상처를 입고 나서 자신이 죽을 운명임을 직감했고 당시 근동 지역 전투에서 치욕적인 죽음을 경험하느니 자살을 선택한 것이다. 당시 성기 절단이나 제거, 목베임등으로 상대방의 기세를 꺽는 행동들을 했다. 

-  Saul knew that his time to die had come. The Philistines were quickly advancing from the position where the fatal arrow had been launched, and they would overrun the king’s position in only minutes. Saul was keenly aware of the ancient Near Eastern customs regarding the treatment of mortally wounded enemy soldiers on the battlefield—including the mutilation or removal of genitalia (cf. 18:27) and decapitation (cf. 17:51). Wishing to deny “these uncircumcised fellows” (v. 4) the opportunity to “abuse” him and subject him to a torture-execution, Saul ordered his armor-bearer to deliver a swift and merciful death blow with his sword. In this way Saul was acting like the tragic character Abimelech (cf. Judg 9:54), the original wicked Israelite “king” (cf. Judg 9:6). However, the assistant “was terrified and would not do it,” perhaps because he feared the consequences of harming the Lord’s anointed (cf. 26:9–11). Consequently, “Saul took his own sword and fell on it,” thus becoming like the tragic figure Eli, who also “fell” at his death.¹⁶³ In a tragic show of solidarity with his king, Saul’s armor-bearer followed his example and took his own life (31:5).

성경에서 이와같이 죽음을 돕는 행위들이 나온다. 

¹⁶³ Saul’s action represents the second of six recorded suicide or assisted-suicide attempts in the Bible (cf. also Judg 9:54 [Abimelech]; 1 Sam 31:6 [Saul’s armor-bearer]; 2 Sam 17:23 [Ahithophel]; 1 Kgs 16:18 [Zimri]; Matt 27:5; Acts 1:18 [Judas]). Though the Bible does not explicitly prohibit such actions, each portrayal of this practice is replete with tragic overtones. The Bible seems to suggest that suicide or assisted-suicide is a desperate act by a deeply troubled individual. None of the individuals who resorted to this action is portrayed as a role model for the pious. Even Ahithophel, perhaps the most praised of the lot, is shown to have done this as the direct result of a treacherous act against Yahweh’s anointed.

 Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 282.

6절) 결국 길보아 전투에서 이스라엘은 크게 패하여 사울과 그의 세아들(요나단, 아빈나답, 말기수아)가 죽임을 당한다. 

7-10절) 이 전투의 결과를 골짜기 건너편과 요단 건너편의 사람들이 보고 블레셋과 싸우기보다 도망을 선택한다. 결과적으로 성은 비었고 블레셋은 그곳에 들어와 거주하게 된다. 그리고 다음날 전리품을 챙기러 전장에 다시 나온 블레셋은 사울과 그 아들들이 길보아산에 죽어있는 것을 발견하고 사울의 목을 베고 갑옷을 벗겨 블레셋 사방에 보내어 알린다. 갑옷은 아스다롯의 산당에, 시체는 벧산 성벽에 못받아 자신들의 승리를 알리고 있는 것이다. / 왕의 시신을 수습하지 못할정도로 이 싸움이 얼마나 일방적인 살육이었는지 알수 있다. 

11-13절) 길르앗 야베스 주민들이 이 이야기를 듣고 새벽에 몇몇 용사들이 달려가서 사울과 그 아들들의 시체를 벧산 성벽에서 내려가지고 돌아와서 야베스에서 화장하고 그의 뼈를 가져다가 야베스 에셀 나무 아래 장사하고 7일간 금식하였다. 요단 건너편의 길르앗 야베스 주민들이 요단을 건너서 블레셋의 지경에 들어가는 것이 매우 위험한 일이었지만, 약 23km정도가 되는 거리, 자신들의 왕이 모욕을 받는 것에 분노하여 나아간 것이다. 에셀 나무는 이전 삼상 22:6절에 나오는 것으로 상징적인 의미를 지닌다. 

-  22:6 사울이 다윗과 그와 함께 있는 사람들이 나타났다 함을 들으니라 그 때에 사울이 기브아 높은 곳에서 손에 단창을 들고 에셀 나무 아래에 앉았고 모든 신하들은 그의 곁에 섰더니

 대한성서공회, 개역개정, n.d., 삼상 22:6.

길르앗 야베스의 용기있는 행동은 여러가지 이유가 있다. 

-  Though the efforts of the citizens of Jabesh Gilead were considerable and apparently exceeded those of any other Israelite city, they were thoroughly appropriate. After all, the city had once been rescued from humiliation at the hands of foreigners by Saul’s efforts on their behalf (cf. 11:1–11). In addition, Saul may have had genealogical ties with individuals within Jabesh Gilead (cf. Judg 21:10–12; 2 Sam 21:12–14). David would later commend the Gileadites for their heroic act of loyalty to Saul (cf. 2 Sam 2:5–7).

 Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 284.