Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 10:3

"And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers." — 1 Chronicles 10:3 (ASV)

The battle pressed severely against Saul. —Literally, was heavy upon (Samuel, "to") him, like a burden weighing him to the earth.

And the archers hit him. —Literally, And those who shoot with the bow came upon him; and he shuddered (Samuel, “greatly”) before the shooters. He shuddered or trembled (Deuteronomy 2:25). The verb properly means to writhe, to suffer anguish (Isaiah 23:4).

Saul’s deadly terror was natural. He believed himself forsaken by God and now stood, after a lost battle, beset by murderous foes whom he could not reach. There was no chance of a fair hand-to-hand encounter.

The Hebrew word for “archers” is the same in both places in Samuel (môrîm); here a rarer form (yôrîm, 2 Chronicles 35:23) fills the second place. The Philistines were from Egypt, and the bow was a favourite Egyptian weapon. The hieroglyph for “soldier” (menfat) is a man with a bow and quiver.