There are seven people mentioned in the Bible who committed suicide.
It's interesting to note that all seven of suicides in the Bible were committed by men. Why is that? Click HERE to see suicide rates by sex from the American Foundation For Suicide Preventions (AFSP)
Here are the 7 suicides recorded in the Bible with name and scripture verses.
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JUDAS committed suicide because of greed and guilt after he betrayed Jesus, His Rabbi, Master, and Friend.
Matthew 27:3-5 NIV 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to
us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he
went away and hanged himself. ==========================================
ZIMRI committed suicide by burning himself for the evil sins he committed and did not want to face the consequences of his actions..
20 As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
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AHITHOPHEL committed suicide because he felt rejected. Family and friends stopped believing in him and did not accept his advice.
2 Samuel 17:14-23 14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The advice
of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel.” For the Lord had determined to frustrate the
good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.
15 Hushai
told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the
elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so. 16 Now send a message at once and tell David, ‘Do
not spend the night at the fords in the wilderness; cross over without fail,
or the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En Rogel. A female servant was to go and inform them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they could not risk being seen entering the city. 18 But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So the two of them left at once and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. 19 His wife took a covering and spread it out over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it. No one knew anything about it.
20 When Absalom’s men came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?”
The woman answered them, “They crossed over the brook.”[a] The men searched but found no one, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 After they had gone, the two climbed out of the well and went to inform King David. They said to him, “Set out and cross the river at once; Ahithophel has advised such and such against you.” 22 So David and all the people with him set out and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, no one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb.
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SAUL committed suicide in time of battle because he felt defeated and did not want to be abused or tortured by his enemies. He also contemplated suicide because of feelings of failure as a leader.
1
Samuel 31:1-6 NIV
Now the Philistines fought against
Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The
Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his
sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when
the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4 Saul said
to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these
uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”==========================================
SAUL’s Armor-bearer committed suicide because he was fearful of being captured and experienced the loss of a loved one. His suicide was impulsive which one of the major factors in Teen suicide.
1 Samuel 31:5-6 NIV 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.==========================================
SAMSON willingly died to get revenge on the Philistines. Some consider his death to be suicidal, however, like the Samurai ((Click HERE)) to read about Death and the Samurai), I feel his death was an act of honor in laying his life down to help save God's people.
Judges 16:23-31 NIV 23 Now the
rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their
god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into
our hands.”
“Our god has delivered our enemy into our
hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.”
25 While they
were in high spirits, they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So
they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they
stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand,
“Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may
lean against them.” 27 Now
the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines
were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching
Samson perform. 28 Then
Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let
me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson reached
toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself
against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other,
30 Samson said, “Let
me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down
came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many
more when he died than while he lived.31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.
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ABIMELECH committed suicide because of arrogance and pride.
Judges
9:50-57 50 Next Abimelek went to Thebez and besieged it and
captured it. 51 Inside the city, however,
was a strong tower, to which all the men and women—all the people of the
city—had fled. They had locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.
52 Abimelek went to the
tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set
it on fire, 53 a
woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.
54 Hurriedly
he called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they
can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his servant ran him through, and
he died. 55 When the Israelites saw
that Abimelek was dead, they went home.56 Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelek had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. 57 God also made the people of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.
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