The question boils down to: Did Saul kill himself, or was he killed by the young Amalekite who claimed to do a mercy killing? How exactly did Saul die?
In the account of the first Book of Samuel, it says:
“Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell on it.” (1 Samuel 31:4-5)
Whereas in the book of 2 Samuel, it says:
“Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So, I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’
So, I stood over him and killed him because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.” (2 Samuel 1:6-10)
There seems to be a contradiction here as to whether Saul killed himself or whether he was killed by this young man.
Explanation:
Solution 1:
A closer look at the verses shows that Saul fell on his sword, probably lying on the ground dying. However, when the Amalekite came to Saul, he found him already dead and stole his crown from his head and his bracelets from his arm. He brought them to David, thinking he was bringing good news given the animosity between Saul and David. The Amalekite lied about Saul’s death, thinking he would get a reward from David. His reward, however, was death as David grieved Saul.
Solution 2:
Another alternative explanation is also possible. A close look at the verses shows that Saul fell on his sword, probably lying on the ground dying, but perhaps not quite dead. In verse 2 Samuel, it is explained that Saul is leaning on his spear. He says to the Amalekites that the weakness of death seized him while he was still fully conscious. It’s probably because he stabbed himself but hasn’t died yet. So, the Amalekite presumably killed him here at Saul’s request.
Conclusion: How did Saul die?
There is no contradiction, only more to the story than was simply written. Why would the same author write different versions of the same incident? In his first volume, Samuel wrote the first part of the story—Saul tried to kill himself on his sword. In his second volume, he wrote what happened after Saul tried to kill himself—either he was already dead and someone tried to take credit for his death by lying, or he was mortally wounded and couldn’t bear the pain anymore and asked for a mercy killing.
You can find more articles dealing with difficult Bible verses at the link below:
https://copticapologetics.com/category/bible-difficulties/
