and hands cut off (1 Sam. 5:1–4); but now it is Saul’s head that has been cut off. Secondly, after the Philistine Goliath had been killed by David, his head had been carried to Jerusalem and David had kept his armour (1 Sam. 17:54); but on this occasion Saul’s head and armour had been taken by the Philistines. By portraying in this way the utter defeat and subjugation of the Israelites by the Philistines, the theme of an ‘exilic’ situation is underlined. The Chronicler’s comment in vv. 13–14 summarizes
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