The noble death of King Saul

 

King Saul was the first king of Israel, and he reigned at the end of the 11th century BCE. The Bible’s depiction of him is very much colored by his failure to complete the assignment given to him by the prophet Samuel of eradicating the tribe of Amalek. This is why he lost his dynasty, and according to the Book of Chronicles, why he was killed in battle (I Chronicles 10:13)). On the other hand, he was a courageous, effective and God-fearing military leader – which is why he was chosen for kingship.

 

Saul was appointed by the prophet Samuel following the urging of the tribes (and against Samuel’s advice) because they felt the need for a strong military leader to protect them from the Philistines who lived along the coastal plain.

 

By all indications, Saul was very successful in defending the Israelite kingdom (other than at his final battle): “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw a strong man, or any valued man, he attached him to himself” (Samuel 1 14:52). He also made war against the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the king of Zobah and Amalekites (1 Samuel 14:47-8). He is described as being a humble person, adoring of the prophet Samuel, and completely monotheistic. He also enforced aspects of Torah law in the country, such as the prohibition against necromancy and divination.

 

Nevertheless, his humility and self-effacing were not always appropriate, and when asked by Samuel to launch an attack and destroy Amalek, thereby fulfilling a Torah command, he acceded to the wishes of his soldiers and kept alive the Amalekite king and the best of their flocks. Because of this, Samuel publicly rejected Saul’s dynasty and appointed a new leader in secret in his stead. The young man appointed was David the son of Jesse. David would soon display his courage by defeating Goliath. He was also active in Saul’s army as a commander. His military prowess was recognized to the extent that the women sang “Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” (I Samuel 18:8). This was not the type of song that Saul wanted to hear.

 

After an upbeat beginning, much of the Biblical story about Saul is devoted to his mood swings and depression, his jealousy and paranoia about David attempting to take over his throne, and his pursuit of David and his efforts to kill him. In actuality, David had already been anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. It is clear from the Bible, however, that David had no intention of ever murdering an appointed king of Israel, and together with the band of discontents that had attached themselves to him he did his best to stay as far from Saul as possible.

 

The story of Saul’s death is both tragic and noble. The Philistines had advanced through the Jezreel Valley in an attempt to split the northern from the southern tribes. Saul as the leader of the Israelite army felt the need for assurance from God about this impending battle, either through a prophet, the Urim and Thummim, or via a dream. But all were silent. Beside his mind with anxiety, he went in disguise to a medium in nearby Ein Dor to bring up the spirit of Samuel. Not only was this against Torah law, but Saul himself had made it a capital offense. Assured that she would come to no harm, the medium brought up the image of Samuel from the dead. Samuel laid it on the line – Saul would die, so would his sons, and his army would be defeated. Saul fell in shock to the ground. Despite this, he had no thoughts of deserting his army and not leading them into battle.

 

Putting three Biblical accounts of this battle together - the Israelite army fled from the Philistines. Many were killed on Mount Gilboa, including Saul’s sons. Seeing the Philistine archers closing in on him and aware that he would receive no mercy from the Philistines, Saul asked his armer bearer to kill him, but the armer bearer refused. Saul therefore fell on his own sword, as did the armer bearer. A young Amalekite found Saul on the battlefield and Saul asked him to finish the job, which he did (Samuel 2 1:9).

 

The Philistines found the dead bodies of Saul and his sons, decapitated Saul and impaled his body on the wall of Beit She'an. Soldiers from the Gilead, who themselves were once rescued by Saul, removed the body and buried him in their city.

 

It was time for new leadership of the Jewish people. After a prolonged civil war from his base in Hebron, David became the king of a united kingdom. Through his future military efforts, the Philistines ceased to be a threat to the Jewish kingdom.