Suicide

Scripture treats self-killing not as a category of its own but inside a small set of named instances and a wider frame in which life and death belong to Yahweh, not to the one who lives. UPDV records the deaths of Samson, Saul and his armor-bearer, Ahithophel, and Zimri, each in narrative form without judicial comment. The two New Testament accounts of Judas's death (Mt 27:5; Ac 1:18) and the Philippian jailer's averted attempt (Ac 16:27) fall outside UPDV's textual scope and are not treated here.

Instances

Samson. At the end of his captivity Samson asks for one final act of strength against the Philistines who had blinded him. "And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left" (Jud 16:29). Then: "And Samson said, Let my soul die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were in it. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those who he slew in his life" (Jud 16:30). The text reports Samson's intention plainly — let my soul die with the Philistines — and frames the outcome as a count of the slain rather than as a verdict on the act.

Saul and his armor-bearer. Wounded in battle on Mount Gilboa, Saul turns to the man carrying his weapons: "Then Saul said to his armorbearer, Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, or else these uncircumcised will come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was very afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell on it" (1Sa 31:4). The armor-bearer follows: "And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword, and died with him" (1Sa 31:5). The Chronicler tells the same scene at 1Ch 10:4-5, with Saul's reasoning shortened ("or else these uncircumcised will come and abuse me") and the armor-bearer's death noted without the words "with him."

Ahithophel. When David's counselor sees Absalom take Hushai's advice over his own, his response is deliberate and ordered: "And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, and arose, and went home, to his city, and set his house in order, and hanged himself; and he died, and was buried in the tomb of his father" (2Sa 17:23). UPDV records both the act and the burial in the family tomb.

Zimri. Seven days into his reign over Israel, besieged in Tirzah, Zimri brings the king's house down on himself: "And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the castle of the king's house, and burned the king's house over him with fire, and died" (1Ki 16:18).

The Temptation in the Wilderness

Nave indexes Lu 4:9-11 (with the parallel at Mt 4:5-6, outside UPDV scope) under suicide because in that scene the devil presses Jesus to throw himself from a height and trust angelic rescue. "And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here: for it is written, He will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you: and, On their hands they will bear you up, Lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone" (Lu 4:9-11). UPDV records the temptation and the scriptural cover the devil cites for it; Jesus's refusal in the verses immediately following completes the scene.

The Sanctity of Life

The narratives sit inside a wider frame. The flood-covenant grounds the prohibition on shedding human blood in the divine image: "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man will his blood be shed: For in the image of God he made man" (Ge 9:6). The Sinai law states it absolutely: "You will not kill" (Ex 20:13). UPDV does not append commentary that distinguishes self-killing from the killing of others, and the narrative reports above carry no such gloss either; the texts speak through their placement and their silence.

What UPDV Does Not Do

UPDV does not pronounce moral judgment on Samson, Saul, Ahithophel, or Zimri at the point of their deaths. The narratives report the act, occasionally the manner and motive, and in two cases (Ahithophel, Saul-with-his-armor-bearer) the burial or the fall of a companion. Theological framing of these deaths — whether condemnation, exoneration, or pastoral application — is not in the UPDV text and is not constructed here.

A Note on Scope

The two New Testament passages most often cited in connection with suicide — Mt 27:5 (Judas's hanging) and Ac 1:18 (the field of blood) — fall outside the UPDV textual scope, as does Ac 16:27 (the Philippian jailer). Readers consulting Nave's full entry will find those references there; this page does not quote them.