What does 1 Samuel 31:11 mean?

Early in Saul's reign as king of Israel, an Ammonite army besieged the city of Jabesh-gilead. The lord told the people they had seven days to find an army to defend them. If no one came, he would gouge out their right eyes and make them his slaves. In Saul's anger, he brought together 300,000 Israelite men to go to battle. They thoroughly destroyed the Ammonites. Because of this battle, those who had doubted Saul were convinced to accept him as king (1 Samuel 11).

Sadly, Saul's disobedience to God made him ineligible to pass on the kingship to his son. God allowed the Philistines to kill his sons and wound Saul to the point that he killed himself rather than face the humiliation of capture (1 Samuel 31:1–4).

The defeat of one's enemies during this era often began with injury and continued with harsh insult. The Philistines celebrated their victory over King Saul and the Israelites by beheading Saul's corpse and fastening his body and those of his sons to a wall at a major intersection in northern Israel (1 Samuel 31:8–10). Many people groups of the time believed that an improperly buried body may not be able to cross over into the afterlife. Displaying the bodies of one's enemies was more than just a spectacle.

When the people of the city of Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 11:1–11) hear that Saul's remains are being treated so disrespectfully, they decide to do something about it. "All the valiant men" risk their lives to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons. They bring the bodies back to Jabesh and bury them with honor (1 Samuel 31:12–13). Their debt to their king is paid.