Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

First Suicide in the Bible?

King Mob

16:16 / 21.11.03

does anybody know who it was or where would be a good place to find out.... without having to read the whole fucking bible?

deja_vroom

16:27 / 21.11.03

I don't know if it was the first... but I think Judas Iscariotes hanged himself after hearing that Jesus had died...

pachinko droog

16:35 / 21.11.03

I thought somebody "fell on their sword" as it were. One of the kings maybe? King Saul? I'm pretty sure someone did.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

16:39 / 21.11.03

I believe it was Samson. (JUDGES 16:28-31) After he had broken his vows he lost his power, his sight, and his liberty. He was made a slave. While on display one day in a temple to an idol, he prayed and God gave him strength to pull down the support columns of the temple. This caused the death of many of the leading Philistines but it also caused his own death.

One could argue for Abimelech (JUDGES 9:54), although he asked somone else to kill him. He was incapacitated to the point of not being able to do it himself. It was to avoid the disgrace of being killed in battle by a woman.

ibis the being

16:43 / 21.11.03

There was Saul & his armor-bearer (Chronicles 10, verses 4 , 5); Ahithophel (Samuel 17, verse 23); Zimri (1 Kings 16, verse 18); and Judas; but indeed, Samson appears to be the first suicide in the Bible.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

16:44 / 21.11.03

That was in I Samuel, pachinko droog. It was King Saul's sword bearer. When asked to commit regicide by the king, he chose his own death rather than the moral conundrum of whether to obey his king or his God.

8===>Q: alyn

19:41 / 21.11.03

That big chickenshit.

ibis the being

13:07 / 24.11.03

Steelwelder, that can't be right, bc Saul killed himself before the sword-bearer did. See here:

...and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers.4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died.6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together.7

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

14:53 / 24.11.03

Wow, sorry ibis. It has been a while since I read that passage. I was going from memory.

Add Your Reply