Malchi-shua

Malchi-shua (meaning king of help or my king is salvation) was one of the four sons of King Saul (1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39), listed alongside Jonathan, Abinadab, and Eshbaal (Ish-bosheth). He died alongside his father Saul and brothers Jonathan and Abinadab in the disastrous battle of Mount Gilboa against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:2; 1 Chronicles 10:2), when Saul's forces were routed and the king himself fell on his sword to avoid capture.

Malchi-shua receives no individual narrative in Scripture beyond these mentions. His death at Gilboa marked the end of the Saulide dynasty's military capacity: with three of Saul's sons dead and Saul himself fallen, only the lame Mephibosheth (Jonathan's son) and Ish-bosheth survived, the latter for only two more years under Abner's protection before being assassinated (2 Samuel 4). The fall of Malchi-shua and his brothers represented the fulfillment of Samuel's prophecy to Saul at Endor (1 Samuel 28:19).