Of the demise of king Saul, there are two disparate accounts recorded in the 'Holy Bible'. The first of these is found in the last chapter of the first book of Samuel.
1 Samuel 31 alleges Saul's final demise on Mount Gilboa was of a decidedly Samurai nature. Verses 3 & 4 say, “3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.”
The narrative of 1 Samuel 31 immediately goes on to say that king Saul's armorbearer confirmed Saul's death, sans any mention of further effort being required to effect Saul's passage. Verses 5 & 6 say, “5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.” Contrarily, the second book of Samuel tells another story altogether about this event.
In the first chapter of the second book of Samuel, a man who represents himself as an Amalekite comes to David at Ziklag (the redoubt endowed to the refugee David and his band of outlaws by Achish the Philistine king of Gath) with the news of Saul’s demise and with Saul's crown in possession. Contrary to the allegation of the last chapter of First Samuel that Saul killed himself, this Amalekite takes credit for being the one who dispatched king Saul.
According to David's Amalekite messenger, Saul's demise was on this wise: “As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I…. 9 And he said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord [2 Samuel 1:6 - 10].”
Perhaps the Amalekite messenger told the story he told in a vainglorious attempt to ingratiate himself with the presumptive new king of the Jews. That is to say, the Amalekite messenger’s version of king Saul’s demise may have been a fabrication told with an eye toward obtaining a reward from his new leige. Perhaps it happened as he said it did, and the description of Saul’s demise from the final chapter of First Samuel is an outright lie or an incomplete truth. Either way, the outlaw refugee (soon to be forever King of the Jews), David, killed the Amalekite messenger who crowned him king.
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