What Does the Bible Say About Suicide – A Look At Suicide Through The Eyes Of Bible

In 2017 alone, an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts were made out of which 47,173 American were successful, unfortunately. According to WHO, suicide leads to one death every 40 seconds. So, by the time you finish reading the previous statement, a life is lost to suicide. It is quite interesting to note that the act of taking one’s own life – suicide has a quite different connotation in today’s day and age than it used to be in the bygone era. Most will be interested to know what does the bible say about suicide, given the polarizing nature of this controversial topic.
Suicides in the Bible
Minds that condemn the idea of suicide might find a new and interesting perspective towards the act on the holy pages of the Bible. Contrary to popular beliefs, the Bible not only expresses its opinion on suicide explicitly but also adopts an ambiguous and even positive attitude towards the act. There are six ambiguous instances that suggest successful attempts of suicide in the Bible. 1) Abimelech, the King of Schechem, was slain by a woman with a millstone. The King ordered his armor bearer to put him to dead with a sword, unable to bear the humiliation of being mortally wounded by a woman. (Judges 9) 2) Ahitophel, King David’s sagacious councilor, hanged himself to death after betraying King David during Absalom’s Revolt. (2 Samuel 17:23) 3) King Saul ordered his armor bearer to kill him before the “pagan Philistines” could capture him. Realizing his loyal armor bearer will not do the heinous deed; the king took his on sword and fell on it. The armor-bearer realized his king was he, he too plunged himself onto the King’s sword. (1 Samuel 31) 4) Zimri usurped the throne by murdering the King and then reigned for a short span of a week. Being surrounded by a military coup and a heat filled with guilt, he set himself ablaze along with his palace. (1 Kings 16:19) 5) Judas revealed the location of Jesus for a mere pay-off of 30 silver pieces which led to the Crucification of Christ. Filled with guilt and remorse, Judas hanged himself to death. (Matthew 27:3). 6) Samson, the legendary warrior and judge, possessed astounding physical strength. He demolished the Philistine temple of God Dagon by grasping two pillars, bringing them down, killing his Philistinian captors and himself.