The noble death of King Saul

 

King Saul was the first king of Israel, reigning 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. Because of this, he lost his dynasty. According to the Book of Chronicles, this was also the reason 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 appreciated the need for a strong military leader to protect them from the Philistines living along the coastal plain.

 

By all indications, Saul was very successful in defending the Israelite kingdom (other than at his final battle). As the Bible tell us: “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 engaged successfully in 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 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 (probably for a public execution) and the best of their flocks. On the instructions of God, Samuel 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). However, this was not the type of song that Saul would have wished to hear.

 

After an upbeat beginning, much of the biblical story about Saul is devoted to his mood swings and depression, and his jealousy and paranoia about David attempting to take over his throne. Also, his pursuit of David and his efforts to kill him as a potential danger to the state. The irony is that David had indeed been anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. However, it is clear from the Bible that David had no intention of ever killing an appointed king of Israel, and together with a band of discontents that had attached themselves to him, he did his best to stay as far away 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 stones (elements of the High Priest's' breast plate used in biblical times to foretell the future) 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 necromancy 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 of the Israelite soldiers 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, and they decapitated Saul and impaled his body on the wall of Beit She'an. Soldiers from the Gilead, who were once rescued by Saul, removed his body from Beit She’an 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 against a son of Saul, David became king of a united kingdom. He also ensured that the Philistines were no longer a threat to the Jewish kingdom.