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1 Samuel 31:11-13
New Catholic Bible
1 Samuel 31:11-13
New Catholic Bible
11 Saul Is Buried.[a] When those living in Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all of their brave men traveled during the night and took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They went to Jabesh where they cremated them. 13 They took their bones and they buried them under a tree in Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.[b]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 31:11 Saul had rescued Jabesh (1 Sam 11:1-11). Cremation was forbidden, but is justified here because the decomposition of the corpses was far advanced. This is the only instance of cremation in the Bible.
- 1 Samuel 31:13 The death of Saul exposed a bitter truth to the people, who believed that a king would bring them power and prestige. They now knew that having a bad king was far worse than having no king.
