In a story related in the Bible, King Saul, injured in battle, asked his armor bearer to finish him off. He refused, “for he was sore afraid.” Saul then fell on his own sword and called out to a passing young man, “Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.” The young man did so and later told the story to King David, saying, “I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive.” David condemned the young man to death for his actions.
