Saul the King
Saul (שאול "מלך) (or
Sha'ul) (
שָׁאוּל "Borrowed",
Standard Hebrew Šaʾul,
Tiberian Hebrew Šāʾûl) was the first king of the ancient
Kingdom of Israel described in the
Hebrew Bible. His story is found in the first of the
Books of Samuel.
Saul was the son of Kish, of the
tribe of Benjamin.
According to the Book of Samuel, Saul was sent with a servant to look for his father's she-asses, who had strayed. Leaving his home at
Gibeah, Saul and his servant wandered eventually to the district of
Zuph, near
Samuel's home at
Ramah (9:5-10). At this point, Saul proposed to them to return from the three days' fruitless search, but his servant suggested that they should first consult the "seer." The two met with Samuel, who secretly anointed Saul as king over Israel.
After Saul returned home, Samuel summoned the people to an assembly at
Mizpah. Lots were drawn to determine the new king, and Saul was confirmed before the people as king. Shortly thereafter, Saul led the army of Israel in battle against the invading
Amorites, whom he defeated at
Jabesh-Gilead, thus confirming his status as king. Then Saul and his son
Jonathan made war against the
Philistines. Saul was apparently somewhat impatient to go into battle against a vastly superior Philistine force at
Michmash, leading to a curse from Samuel and the departure of the old judge. Shortly thereafter, while Saul still waited, Jonathan launched a surprise attack against the Philistines without his father's knowledge, leading to panic among the Philistine forces. Saul took advantage of the confusion to inflict a great defeat upon the Philistines.
Saul then went to war against the
Amalekites. After routing the Amalekites, however, Saul refused to execute their king
Agag and destroy their livestock, angering Samuel, who had instructed that the Amalekites be utterly "consecrated" (eradicated) (in Hebrew:
herem).
According to the Book of Samuel, this omission led to the kingship anointing being taken from Saul and given to another,
David, and led Samuel to cease to give Saul guidance. Saul effectively remained as king, however. In time, David carried out the command of Samuel and utterly destroyed the Amalekites and all their worldly possessions.
It is at this point that
David, a young shepherd from the
tribe of Judah, enters the story. David was sent for as a harp player to soothe Saul, troubled by an evil spirit after losing the anointing. Three years later when the Philistines again invaded, David came to Saul's attention when he killed the Philistine giant
Goliath of
Gath with a
slingshot in single combat, leading to another Philistine defeat.
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"Saul Throws Spear at David" by George Tinworth |
Saul soon began to become jealous of David, who had managed to secure Saul's daughter
Michal for his wife (for a
bride price of 200 Philistine
foreskins), as well as the close friendship of Saul's own son, Jonathan. Saul, however, plotted to kill his popular young rival, and David fled into the hills where he became an outlaw.
Soon after this Saul gathered the Israelites against the Philistines again, at
Gilboa. Before the battle, Saul went to consult the
witch of Endor, but was mysteriously confronted by Samuel, who told him that he would be defeated. True to his word, the Israelites were indeed defeated, and three of Saul's sons, including Jonathan, were killed. According to the Book of Samuel, Saul took his own life as the battle turned against him. He tried to stab himself with his own sword, but he survived so he asked an Amalekite to put him out of his misery.
The book of Samuel foretells the story of David through the tragic kingship granted to Saul. Saul's dreadful downfall can be traced back to the book of Samuel's duplicate views of monarchy. According to Samuel in chapter 8, the establishment of a monarchy was based on the distrust of the people's faith in Yahweh, thus causing Yahweh to reluctantly give in, "virtually assuring Saul's eventual failure".
[ Understanding the Bible, The Sixth Edition, by Stephen Harris, McGraw Hill, 2003] This conversation with Yahweh takes the form of prophecy, a one on one interaction between the prophet Samuel and God with no other listener. Scholars generally concede that these conversations with God and no other listener is the writer speaking, thus Yahweh reluctantly granting Saul's kingship while Saul warns the Israelites of the evils of monarchy are viewed as Deuteronomistic hindsight, "a looking back on the oppressive burden that the expensive splendors of David's royal dynasty imposed on Israel" (Deut 17). This doomful view of monarchy relevant to Saul drastically conflicts with the view of monarchy under David. David's line is never condemned and Yahweh even grants him an unconditional royal line forever, "Your family and your kingdom will be established for ever in my sight; your throne will endure for all time" (2 Sam 7:16). These promises will eventually be compromised when David impregnates Bathsheba and kills her husband, ultimately resulting in the incest and murder of David's children. This tragic fate of David along with Yahweh's abandoning of his promises is all but foretold in the earlier story of King Saul.
Saul is named King by Samuel when the Israelites request a kingship for the purposes of tribal unity. This is the case because they believe a king will prolong their existence in the face of rising aggressors. Samuel warns them of the pitfalls of a monarchy; he will exploit them economically and confiscate their best property. He also finally warns, "but if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, then his hand will be against you and your king" (1 Sam 12:15).
The appointed King Saul eventually taints his own kingship when performing priestly rituals before battle when people begin leaving; such rituals were only to be performed by priests although they had not showed. Saul also errs by not following God exactly when he commands him to destroy all of the Amalekites, "Spare no one; put them all to death, men and women, children and babes in arms, herds and flocks, camels and donkeys" (1 Sam 15:3) Saul spares Amalekite King Agag hoping to sacrifice him and sheep for God in his own land. God is so infuriated that he dooms Saul's kingship to be replaced by a better man (This better man would be David). As for King Agag, "Then Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord at Gilgal" (1 Sam 15:33).
Saul's death is just as bizarre, when struck by an archer while battling the Philistines, "He said to his armour-bearer, Draw your sword and run me through, so that these uncircumcised brutes may not come and taunt me and make sport of me. But the armour-bearer refused; he dared not do it. Thereupon Saul took his own sword and fell on it." (Samuel 31:4)
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SAMUEL AND SAUL: A NEGATIVE SYMBIOSIS by Rabbi Moshe Reiss
