Reference: Saul
American
The son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Israelites, anointed by Samuel, B. C. 1091, and after a reign of forty years filled with various events, slain with his sons on Mount Gilboa. He was succeeded by David, who was his son-in-law, and whom he had endeavored to put to death. His history is contained in 1Sa 10-31. It is a sad and admonitory narrative. The morning of his reign was bright with special divine favors, both providential, and spiritual, 1Sa 9:20; 10:1-11,24-25. But he soon began to disobey God, and was rejected as unworthy to found a line of kings; his sins and misfortunes multiplied, and his sun went down in gloom. In his first war with the Ammonites, God was with him; but then follow his presumptuous sacrifice, in the absence of Samuel; his equally rash vow; his victories over the Philistines and the Amalekites; his sparing Agag and the spoil; his spirit of distracted and foreboding melancholy; his jealousy and persecution of David; his barbarous massacre of the priests and people at Nob, and of the Gibeonites; his consulting the witch on Endor; the battle with the Philistines in which his army was defeated and his sons were slain; and lastly, his despairing self-slaughter, his insignia of royalty being conveyed to David by an Amalekite, 1Sa 31; 2Sa 1; 1Ch 10:13-14. The guilty course and the awful end of this first king of the Hebrews were a significant reproof of their sin in desiring any king but Jehovah; and also show to what extremes of guilt and ruin one may go who rebels against God, and is ruled by his own ambitious and envious passions.
SAUL was also the Hebrew name of the apostle Paul.
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And as for your female donkeys that were lost {three days ago}, {do not be concerned about them}, because they have been found. For whom [is] all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all the house of your father?"
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, "{Has not} Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance? As you go from with me {today}, you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.' Now look, your father {is no longer concerned about} the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you, saying, 'What should I do about my son?' read more. Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who [are] going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine. {They will ask how you are doing} and will give you two loaves, which you will take from their hand. After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will turn into {a different person}. When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds [to do], for God [will be] with you. Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings {and to make} fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do." {Just as he turned} his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God {changed his} heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day. When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. {And when} all who knew him {formerly} saw that he prophesied with prophets, the people said to one another, "What [is] this [that] has happened to the son of Kish? [Is] Saul also among the prophets?"
Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!" Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote [the rules] down on a scroll and laid [it] before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house.
So Saul died on account of his sin which he had sinned against Yahweh concerning the command of Yahweh that he did not keep. He also consulted a medium to seek [guidance]. But he did not seek Yahweh. So Yahweh put him to death and turned over the kingship to David, the son of Jesse.
Easton
asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Ge 36:37-38); called Shaul in 1Ch 1:48.
(2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, "asked for"), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. The singular providential circumstances connected with his election as king are recorded in 1Sa 8-10. His father's she-asses had strayed, and Saul was sent with a servant to seek for them. Leaving his home at Gibeah (1Sa 10:5, "the hill of God," A.V.; lit., as in R.V. marg., "Gibeah of God"), Saul and his servant went toward the north-west over Mount Ephraim, and then turning north-east they came to "the land of Shalisha," and thence eastward to the land of Shalim, and at length came to the district of Zuph, near Samuel's home at Ramah (1Sa 9:5-10). At this point Saul proposed to return from the three days' fruitless search, but his servant suggested that they should first consult the "seer." Hearing that he was about to offer sacrifice, the two hastened into Ramah, and "behold, Samuel came out against them," on his way to the "bamah", i.e., the "height", where sacrifice was to be offered; and in answer to Saul's question, "Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is," Samuel made himself known to him. Samuel had been divinely prepared for his coming (1Sa 9:15-17), and received Saul as his guest. He took him with him to the sacrifice, and then after the feast "communed with Saul upon the top of the house" of all that was in his heart. On the morrow Samuel "took a vial of oil and poured it on his head," and anointed Saul as king over Israel (1Sa 9:25-10:8), giving him three signs in confirmation of his call to be king. When Saul reached his home in Gibeah the last of these signs was fulfilled, and the Sprit of God came upon him, and "he was turned into another man." The simple countryman was transformed into the king of Israel, a remarkable change suddenly took place in his whole demeanour, and the people said in their astonishment, as they looked on the stalwart son of Kish, "Is Saul also among the prophets?", a saying which passed into a "proverb." (Comp. 1Sa 19:24.)
The intercourse between Saul and Samuel was as yet unknown to the people. The "anointing" had been in secret. But now the time had come when the transaction must be confirmed by the nation. Samuel accordingly summoned the people to a solemn assembly "before the Lord" at Mizpeh. Here the lot was drawn (1Sa 10:17-27), and it fell upon Saul, and when he was presented before them, the stateliest man in all Israel, the air was rent for the first time in Israel by the loud cry, "God save the king!" He now returned to his home in Gibeah, attended by a kind of bodyguard, "a band of men whose hearts God had touched." On reaching his home he dismissed them, and resumed the quiet toils of his former life.
Soon after this, on hearing of the conduct of Nahash the Ammonite at Jabeshgilead (q.v.), an army out of all the tribes of Israel rallied at his summons to the trysting-place at Bezek, and he led them forth a great army to battle, gaining a complete victory over the Ammonite invaders at Jabesh (1Sa 11:1-11). Amid the universal joy occasioned by this victory he was now fully recognized as the king of Israel. At the invitation of Samuel "all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal." Samuel now officially anointed him as king (1Sa 11:15). Although Samuel never ceased to be a judge in Israel, yet now his work in that capacity practically came to an end.
Saul now undertook the great and difficult enterprise of freeing the land from its hereditary enemies the Philistines, and for this end he gathered together an army of 3,000 men (1Sa 13:1-2). The Philistines were encamped at Geba. Saul, with 2,000 men, occupied Michmash and Mount Bethel; while his son Jonathan, with 1,000 men, occupied Gibeah, to the south of Geba, and seemingly without any direction from his father "smote" the Philistines in Geba. Thus roused, the Philistines, who gathered an army of 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and "people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude," encamped in Michmash, which Saul had evacuated for Gilgal. Saul now tarried for seven days in Gilgal before making any movement, as Samuel had appointed (1Sa 10:8); but becoming impatient on the seventh day, as it was drawing to a close, when he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared and warned him of the fatal consequences of his act of disobedience, for he had not waited long enough (1Sa 13:13-14).
When Saul, after Samuel's departure, went out from Gilgal with his 600 men, his followers having decreased to that number (1Sa 13:15), against the Philistines at Michmash (q.v.), he had his head-quarters under a pomegrante tree at Migron, over against Michmash, the Wady esSuweinit alone intervening. Here at Gibeah-Geba Saul and his army rested, uncertain what to do. Jonathan became impatient, and with his armour-bearer planned an assault against the Philistines, unknown to Saul and the army (1Sa 14:1-15). Jonathan and his armour-bearer went down into the wady, and on their hands and knees climbed to the top of the narrow rocky ridge called Bozez, where was the outpost of the Philistine army. They surprised and then slew twenty of the Philistines, and immediately the whole host of the Philistines was thrown into disorder and fled in great terror. "It was a very great trembling;" a supernatural panic seized the host. Saul and his 600 men, a band which speedily increased to 10,000, perceiving the confusion, pursued the army of the Philistines, and the tide of battle rolled on as far as to Bethaven, halfway between Michmash and Bethel. The Philistines were totally routed. "So the Lord saved Israel that day." While pursuing the Philistines, Saul rashly adjured the people, saying, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening." But though faint and weary, the Israelites "smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon" (a distance of from 15 to 20 miles). Jonathan had, while passing through the wood in pursuit of the Philistines, tasted a little of the honeycomb which was abundant there (1Sa 14:27). This was afterwards discovered by Saul (ver. 42), and he threatened to put his son to death. The people, however, interposed, saying, "There shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground." He whom God had so signally owned, who had "wrought this great salvation in Israel," must not die. "Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place" (1Sa 14:24-46); and thus the campaign against the Philistines came to an end. This was Saul's second great military success.
Saul's reign, however, continued to be one of almost constant war against his enemies round about (1Sa 14:47-48), in all of which he proved victorious. The war against the Amalekites is the only one which is recorded at length (1Sa 15). These oldest and hereditary (Ex 17:8; Nu 14:43-45) enemies of Israel occupied the territory to the south and south-west of Palestine. Samuel summoned Saul to execute the "ban" which God had pronounced (De 25:17-19) on this cruel and relentless foe of Israel. The cup of their iniquity was now full. This command was "the test of his moral qualification for being king." Saul proceeded to execute the divine command; and gathering the people together, marched from Telaim (1Sa 15:4) against the Amalekites, whom he smote "from Havilah until thou comest to Shur," utterly destroying "all the people with the edge of the sword", i.e., all that fell into his hands. He was, however, guilty of rebellion and disobedience in sparing Agag their king, and in conniving at his soldiers' sparing the best of the sheep and cattle; and Samuel, following Saul to Gilgal, in the Jordan valley, said unto him, "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he also hath rejected thee from being king" (1Sa 15:23). The kingdom was rent from Saul and was given to another, even to David, whom the Lord chose to be Saul's successor, and whom Samuel anointed (1Sa 16:1-13). From that day "the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him."
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And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth [on] the Euphrates reigned in his place. And Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan, the son of Acbor, reigned in his place.
And Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
because the Amalekites and the Canaanites [are] there {before you}, and you will fall by the sword; because you have turned [back] from Yahweh, and Yahweh will not be with you." But they dared to go to the top of the mountain, and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh and Moses did not depart from the midst of the camp. read more. So the Amalekites and the Canaanites who were living on the mountain descended, and they beat them down, up to Hormah.
"Remember what Amalek did to you on the journey when you went out from Egypt, that he met you on the journey and attacked you, all those lagging behind you and [when] you were weary and worn out, and he did not fear God. read more. {And when} Yahweh your God gives rest to you from all your enemies from around [about you] in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as an] inheritance to take possession of it, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens; you shall not forget!"
When they entered the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who [was] with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father cease [caring about] the female donkeys and worry about us!" But he said to him, "Look, a man of God [is] in this town, and the man [is] honored. All that he says certainly comes true. So then let us go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey on which we have gone." read more. So Saul said to his servant, "Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread [is] gone from our bags, and there [is] no present to bring to the man of God. What [do we have] with us?" The servant again answered Saul and said, "Look, {I have} in my hand a quarter shekel of silver! I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us our way." (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: "Come, let us go up to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.) So Saul said to his servant, "{Your suggestion is a good one}. Come, let us go." And they went to the town where the man of God [was].
Now Yahweh {had revealed this to} Samuel the day before Saul arrived, saying, "This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of [the] Philistines. For I have seen [the suffering of] my people, because their cry [of distress] has come to me." read more. When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, "Here [is] the man about whom I told you! This [is the] one [who] will govern my people."
After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying.
Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings {and to make} fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do."
Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah, and he said to the {Israelites}, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that [were] oppressing you.' read more. But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans." So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found. So they inquired again of Yahweh, "{Did the man come here}?" And Yahweh said, "Look, he [is] hiding himself among the baggage." So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!" Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote [the rules] down on a scroll and laid [it] before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house. And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts God had touched went with him. However, some {worthless men} said, "How can this [man] deliver us?" So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.
Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "{Make a treaty with us} and we will serve you." But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this [condition] {I will make a treaty} with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel." read more. So the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers in all the territory of Israel, and if there [is] no deliverer for us, then we will come out to you." When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, {they reported these things to} the people. Then all the people lifted up their voices and wept. {Just then}, Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, "What [is the matter] with the people, that they [are] weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and {he became very angry}. So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent [them] throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, "Whoever [is] not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen." Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man. He mustered them at Bezek; the {Israelites} [were] three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah [were] thirty thousand. They said to the messengers who had come, "Thus you will say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: 'Tomorrow deliverance for you will come {when the sun is hot}.'" When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced. The men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do to us {whatever seems good to you}." {And the} next day Saul placed the people [in] three divisions. Then they came into the middle of the camp {at the early morning watch} and struck down {the Ammonites} until the heat of the day. It happened that the remainder were scattered {so that no two among them remained together}.
So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly [along with] all the men of Israel.
Saul [was thirty] {years old} at the beginning of his reign, and he reigned [forty-]two years over Israel. He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.
Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you." read more. Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.
{One day} Jonathan the son of Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Come and let us go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines which [is] over there." But he did not tell his father. Now Saul [was] staying at the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that [was] in Migron, and the troops that [were] with him [were] about six hundred men. read more. Now Ahijah, the son of Ahitub (the brother of Ichabod), the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, was carrying an ephod. The troops did not know that Jonathan had gone. Now between the passes where Jonathan sought to go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines [there was] a crag of rock {on one side} and a crag of rock {on the other}. The name of the one [was] Bozez and the name of the other [was] Seneh. The one crag on the north [was] opposite Micmash and the other on the south [was] opposite Geba. So Jonathan said to {his armor bearer}, "Come, let us go over to the garrisons of these uncircumcised; perhaps Yahweh will act for us, for there is no hindrance for Yahweh to save by many or by few." And {his armor bearer} said, "Do all that [is] in your heart {that you are inclined to do}. {I am with you all of the way}! Then Jonathan said, "Look, we [are about to] go over to the men; and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us: 'Wait until we reach you,' {then we will stand as we are} and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up, for Yahweh has given them into our hand, and this [will be] the sign for us." So the two of them showed themselves to the garrison of [the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines said, "The Hebrews [are] coming out from the holes in which they have hidden themselves." Then the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and {his armor bearer}, "Come up to us and we will show you something!" Then Jonathan said to {his armor bearer}, "Come up after me, for Yahweh has given them into the hand of Israel!" So Jonathan went up on his hands and his feet, with {his armor bearer} after him. They fell before Jonathan and then {his armor bearer} would kill them after him. So was the first attack [in] which Jonathan and {his armor bearer} killed about twenty men within about half of a furrow in an acre of [an] open field. Then there was terror in the camp, in the open field, and among all the army of the garrison. Even the {raiders} trembled. The earth shook, and it became {a very great panic}.
Now the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, because Saul had made the army take an oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats [any] food until evening, when I will have avenged myself on my enemies!" So none of the army tasted [any] food. (Now all [the people of] the land used to go into the forest, for there was honey on the surface of the ground.) read more. When the army came to the forest, look! [There was] honey flowing, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the army was afraid of the solemn oath. However, Jonathan had not heard about the oath of his father with the army, so he extended the end of the staff which was in his hand, and he dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth and his eyes gleamed.
However, Jonathan had not heard about the oath of his father with the army, so he extended the end of the staff which was in his hand, and he dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth and his eyes gleamed. Then a man from the army informed [him] and said, "Your father made the army swear a solemn [oath], saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,'" so the army [is] exhausted. read more. Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey. {How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great." They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary. Then the troops took the plunder: they took sheep and cattle and {calves} and slaughtered [them] on the ground and the troops ate [them all] with the blood. So they reported [it] to Saul, saying, "Look! The troops [are] sinning against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood!" And he said, "You have dealt treacherously! Roll to me a large stone {today}!" Then Saul said, "Disperse [yourselves] among the troops and say to them, 'Bring to me each [one] his ox and each his sheep and slaughter them in this [place] and eat, but do not sin against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood.'" So all the troops brought [them], each [leading] his ox in his hand that night, and slaughtered [it] there. Then Saul built an altar to Yahweh; {it was the first altar he built} to Yahweh. Saul said, "Let us go down after [the] Philistines [by] night, and let us plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave [alive] a man among them." So they said, "Do all that [is] good in your eyes." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." So Saul inquired of God, "Should I go down after [the] Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him on that day. Then Saul said, "Come here, all [you] leaders of the people, {so that we find out} what the sin was this day. For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, [I swear] that even if it [is] in Jonathan my son, {he will certainly die}!" But nobody from all the army answered him. Then he said to all Israel, "You will be {on one side}, and I and my son Jonathan will be {on the other}." And the army said to Saul, "Do [what is] good in your eyes." Then Saul said to Yahweh the God of Israel, "{Render a decision perfectly}." Jonathan and Saul were chosen [by lot] and the people went out. Then Saul said, "Let them cast [the lot] between me and my son Jonathan," and Jonathan was chosen. So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die." Then Saul said, "So may God do [to me] and {more}, you will certainly die today, Jonathan!" But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die. Saul went up from [pursuing the] Philistines, and [the] Philistines went to their place. So Saul took the kingship over Israel, and he fought all around against his enemies, against Moab, against the {Ammonites}, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He inflicted punishment against all who rebelled. He acted bravely and defeated [the] Amalekites and rescued Israel from the hand of those who plundered it.
Saul summoned the army and mustered them at Telaim; two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "{How long} will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn [with] oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons." But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd {with you}, and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.' read more. You will invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will make known to you what you must do. You will anoint for me [the one] whom I tell you." So Samuel did what Yahweh said. He came to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him. They said, "{Have you come in peace}?" He said, "[I come in] peace. I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. {When they came}, he saw Eliab and said, "Surely his anointed one [is] before Yahweh!" But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For [God does] not [see] what man sees, for a man {looks on the outward appearance}, but Yahweh {looks on the heart}." Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel, and he said, "This one also Yahweh has not chosen." So Jesse made Shammah pass [before Samuel], but he said, "Yahweh also has not chosen this one." And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen any of these." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "{Are all the young men here}?" And he said, "The youngest still remains, but look, he [is] shepherding the flock." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him, for we cannot {sit down} until he comes here." So he sent and brought him. Now he [was] ruddy with beautiful eyes and of {handsome} appearance. And Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him, for this [is] he." So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day {on}. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.
Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}."
One of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite [who is] skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a {brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome}. And Yahweh [is] with him."
Then {a champion} went out from the camps of [the] Philistines, whose name was Goliath from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span. A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clothed with scale body armor; the weight of the body armor was five thousand bronze shekels. read more. Bronze greaves were on his legs, and a bronze javelin [was slung] between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam and the point of his spear [weighed] six hundred iron shekels. {His shield bearer} was walking in front of him. He stood and called to the battle lines of Israel and said to them, "Why have you come out to form ranks [for] battle? [Am] I not the Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Commission for yourselves a man and let him come down to me. If he [is] able to fight with me and he defeats me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail over him and defeat him, then you will be our servants and you will serve us." Then the Philistine said, "I hereby defy the battle lines of Israel today! Give me a man so that we may fight each other!" When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and very afraid. Now David was the son of an Ephrathite. This [man was] from Bethlehem of Judah, and his name was Jesse. {He had} eight sons; in the days of Saul this man was old, [yet] he [still] walked among the men. The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone and {followed} Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, his second [oldest] was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah. Now David was the youngest. The three oldest {followed} Saul, but David went {back and forth} from Saul to feed the sheep of his father in Bethlehem. Now the Philistine came forward early and late, and he took his stand [for] forty days. Then Jesse said to his son David, "Please take for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and bring [them] quickly to the camp for your brothers. And these ten portions of cheese you will bring to the commander of the thousand; {find out how your brothers are doing}, and take their pledge." Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel [were] in the valley of Elah fighting [the] Philistines. David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and he took [the provisions] and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment while the troops [were] going to the battle line, and they raised the war cry. Israel and [the] Philistines drew up [in] battle lines, {one battle line against the other}. David left the baggage [he had] with him in the {care} of the baggage keeper, ran to the battle line, and came and {asked how his brothers were doing}. While he [was] speaking to them, {the champion}, whose name was Goliath the Philistine from Gath, [was] coming up from the caves of [the] Philistines. He spoke {just as he had previously}, and David heard [his words]. When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from his presence and were very afraid. And the men of Israel said, "Did you see this man who has come up? For he [is] going up to defy Israel! It will be [that] the man who defeats him, the king will make him very rich with great wealth and will give him his daughter [in marriage] and will make his father's house free in Israel." Now David had spoken to the men [who were] standing with him, saying, "What will be done for the man who defeats this Philistine and removes [the] disgrace from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he defies the battle lines of the living God?" And the troops had spoken to him according to this word, saying, "So it will be done for the man who defeats him." His oldest brother Eliab heard while he was speaking to the men, {and Eliab became very angry against David} and said, "Why have you come down today, and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumptuousness and the evil of your heart! For you have come down in order to see the battle!" David replied, "What have I done now? {I merely asked a question}! He turned around from him to another opposite [him] and {he spoke to him in the same way}, and the people {answered him as before}. Now the words which David had spoken were heard and they reported [them] {to} Saul, and he summoned him. David said to Saul, "Do not let anyone's heart fail concerning him! Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." But Saul said to David, "You will not be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, because you are [only] a boy, whereas [he has] been a man of war since his childhood!" And David said to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group, I would go out after it and strike it down and rescue [the sheep] from its mouth. If it rose against me, I would grab [it] by its beard and strike it down and kill it. Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he defied the battle lines of the living God." And David said, "Yahweh, who rescued me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go and may Yahweh be with you!" Then Saul clothed David with his [own] fighting attire and put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him [with] body armor. Then David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire, but he tried in vain to walk [around], for he was not trained to use [them]. So David said to Saul, "I am not able to walk with these, because I am not trained to use [them]." So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, picked out for himself five smooth stones from the wadi, and he put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch. And with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. Then the Philistine {came on, getting nearer and nearer} to David, with {his shield bearer} in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him, for he was [only] a boy and ruddy with a handsome appearance. So the Philistine said to David, "[Am] I a dog, that you [are] coming to me with sticks?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, "Come to me so that I can give your flesh to the birds of heaven and to the wild animals of the field!" Then David said to the Philistine, "You [are] coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied! This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down {and cut off your head}! Then I will give [the] corpses of the army of [the] Philistines this day to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God [who is] for Israel. And all of this assembly will know that Yahweh does not rescue with sword or with spear, for the battle [belongs] to Yahweh, and he will give you into our hands!" {When} the Philistine got up and came and drew near to meet David, David {ran quickly} to the battle line to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand into the bag and took a stone from it and slung [it]. He struck the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with the sling and with the stone, and he struck down the Philistine and killed him, but there was no sword in David's hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it from its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The men of Israel and Judah got up, raised the war cry, and pursued [the] Philistines {as far as} the valley and up to the gates of Ekron. So the slain of [the] Philistines fell on the way to Shaaraim up to Gath and as far as Ekron. Then the {Israelites} returned from pursuing [the] Philistines and plundered their camp. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem and placed his weapons in his tent.
Saul took him on that [very] day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his [own] soul. read more. Jonathan stripped off the robe {that he was wearing} and gave it to David, along with his fighting attire, and even his sword, his bow, and his belt. David went out {whenever} Saul sent him, [and] he succeeded. So Saul appointed him over the men of the war, and it {pleased} all the people and even {pleased} the servants of Saul. {When they were coming back} after David had returned from striking down the Philistine, the women went out from all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments. And the women sang as they danced, and they said, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands!" {Saul became very angry}, and {this saying displeased him}, and he thought, "They have attributed to David ten thousands, but to me they have attributed thousands! {What more can he have but the kingdom}?" So Saul was watching David [with suspicion] from that day onward.
So Saul was watching David [with suspicion] from that day onward. {On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand.
{On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand. Then Saul hurled the spear and thought, "{I will pin David to the wall}." But David eluded him twice.
Then Saul hurled the spear and thought, "{I will pin David to the wall}." But David eluded him twice. {Now Saul was threatened by the presence of David} because Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul. read more. So Saul removed him {from his presence}, and made him commander of a thousand, {so he marched in and out at the front of the army}. And David was achieving success in all his ways and Yahweh [was] with him,
However, all of Israel and Judah [were] loving David, for he was going forth and marching ahead of them. Then Saul said to David, "Here [is] my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as [your] wife. Only be {a brave warrior} for me and fight the battles of Yahweh." For Saul thought, "My hand will not be against him, but let the hand of [the] Philistines be against him." read more. But David said to Saul, "Who [am] I, and [who are] my relatives, the clan of my father in Israel, that I should be a son-in-law to the king?" {But} at the time Saul's daughter Merab [was] to be given to David, she was given [instead] to Adriel the Meholathite as wife.
He also stripped [off] his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"
Now [the] Philistines [were] fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before [the] Philistines, and they fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed. And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.
At that time, a gift will be brought to Yahweh of hosts [from] a {tall} and {smooth} people, and from a people feared near and far, a mighty, mighty and trampling nation, whose land [the] rivers divide, to the place of the name of Yahweh of hosts, the mountain of Zion.
And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And Saul was agreeing with his murder. Now there happened on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
Fausets
Hebrew SHAUL
1. An early king of Edom (Ge 36:37-38).
2. Ge 46:10.
3. 1Ch 6:24.
4. First king of Israel. The names Kish and Ner, Nadab and Abi-nadab, Baal and Mephibosheth, recur in the genealogy in two generations. The family extends to Ezra's time. If the Zimri of 1Ch 9:42 be the Zimri of 1 Kings 16 it is the last stroke of the family of Saul for the kingdom. Saul was son of Kish, son of Ner, son of Abiel or Jehiel. 1Sa 9:1 omits Ner, the intermediate link, and makes Kish son of Abiel; 1Ch 8:33 supplies the link, or Ner in 1 Chronicles is not father but ancestor of Kish (1Ch 9:36-39), and Ner son of Abi-Gibeon (father or founder of Gibeon, 1Ch 8:29) is named only because he was progenitor of Saul's line, the intermediate names mentioned in 1 Samuel 9 being omitted. The proud, fierce, and self willed spirit of his tribe, Benjamin, is conspicuous in Saul (see Judges 19; 20; 21). Strong and swift fooled (2Sa 1:23), and outtopping the people by head and shoulders (1Sa 9:2), he was the "beauty" or "ornament of Israel," "a choice young man," "there was none goodlier than he."
Above all, he was the chosen of the Lord (1Sa 9:17; 10:24; 2Sa 21:6). Zelah was Kish's burial place. Gibeah was especially connected with Saul. The family was originally humble (1Sa 11), though Kish was "a mighty man of substance." Searching for Kish's donkeys three days in vain, at last, by the servant's advice, Saul consulted Samuel, who had already God's intimation that He would send at this very time a man of Benjamin who should be king. God's providence, overruling man's free movements to carry out His purpose, appears throughout the narrative. Samuel gave Saul the chiefest place at the feast on the high place to which he invited him, and the choice portion. Setting his mind at ease about his asses, now found, Samuel raised his thoughts to the throne as one "on whom was all the desire of Israel." "Little then in his own sight" (1Sa 15:17), and calling himself "of the smallest of the tribes, and his family least of all the families of Benjamin" (1Sa 9:21), Saul was very different from what he afterward became in prosperity; elevation tests men (Ps 73:18).
Samuel anointed and kissed Saul as king. On his coming to the oak ("plain") of Tabor, three men going with offerings to God to Bethel gave him two of three loaves, in recognition of his kingship. Next prophets met him, and suddenly the Spirit of God coming upon him he prophesied among them, so that the proverb concerning him then first began, "is Saul also among the prophets?" The public outward call followed at Mizpeh, when God caused the lot to fall on Saul. So modest was he that he hid himself, shunning the elevation, amidst the baggage. A band whose hearts God had touched escorted him to Gibeah, while the worthless despised him, saying "how shall this man save us?" (compare Lu 14:14, the Antitype, meekly "He held His peace"; Ps 38:13). NAHASH'S cruel threat against Jabesh Gilead, which was among the causes that made Israel desire a king (1Sa 8:3,19; 12:12), gave Saul the opportunity of displaying his patriotic bravery in rescuing the citizens and securing their lasting attachment.
His magnanimity too appears in his not allowing any to be killed of those whom the people desired to slay for saying "shall Saul reign over us?" Pious humility then breathed in his ascription of the deliverance to Jehovah, not himself (1Sa 11:12-13). Samuel then inaugurated the kingdom again at Gilgal. In 1Sa 13:1 read "Saul reigned 40 years"; so Ac 13:21, and Josephus "18 years during Samuel's life and 22 after his death" (Ant. 16:14, section 9). Saul was young in beginning his reign (1Sa 9:2), but probably verging toward 40 years old, as his son Jonathan was grown up (1Sa 13:2). Ishbosheth his youngest son (1Ch 8:33) was 40 at his death (2Sa 2:10), and as he is not mentioned among Saul's sons in 1Sa 14:49 he perhaps was born after Saul's accession. In the second year of his reign Saul revolted from the Philistines whose garrison had been advanced as far as Geba (Jehu, N.E. of Rama), (1Sa 10:5; 13:3) and gathered to him an army of 3,000.
Jonathan smote the garrison, and so brought on a Philistine invasion in full force, 30,000 chariots. 6,000 horsemen, and a multitude as the sand. The Israelites, as the Romans under the Etruscan Porscna, were deprived by their Philistine oppressors of all smiths, so that no Israelite save Saul and Jonathan had sword or spear (1Sa 13:19-21). Many hid in caves, others fled beyond Jordan, while those (600: 1Sa 13:15) who stayed with Saul followed trembling. Already some time previously Samuel had conferred with Saul as to his foreseen struggle against the Philistines, and his going down to Gilgal (not the first going for his inauguration as king, 1Sa 11:14-15; but second after revolting from the Philistines) which was the most suitable place for gathering an army.
Samuel was not directing Saul to go at once to Gilgal, as seen as he should go from him, and wait there seven days (1Sa 10:8); but that after being chosen king by lot and conquering Ammon and being confirmed as king at Gilgal, he should war with the Philistines (one main end of the Lord's appointing him king, 1Sa 9:16, "that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines, for I have looked upon My people, because their cry is come unto Me"), and then go down to Gilgal, and "wait there seven days, until I come, before offering the holocaust." The Gilgal meant is that in the Jordan valley, to which Saul withdrew in order to gather soldiers for battle, and offer sacrifices, and then advance again to Gibeah and Geba, thence to encounter the Philistines encamped at Michmash. Now first Saul betrays his real character. Self will, impatience, and the spirit of disobedience made him offer without, waiting the time appointed by Jehovah's prophet; he obeyed so far and so long only as obedience did not require crossing of his self will.
Had he waited but an hour or two, he would have saved his kingdom, which was now transferred to one after God's own heart; we may forfeit the heavenly kingdom by hasty and impatient unbelief (Isa 28:16). Saul met Samuel's reproof "what hast thou done?" with self justifying excuses, as if his act had been meritorious not culpable: "I saw the people scattered from me, and thou camest not within the days appointed (Samuel had come before their expiration), and the Philistines gathered themselves. ... Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto Jehovah; I forced myself therefore (he ought to have forced himself to obey not disobey; necessity, is often the plea for sacrificing principle to expediency) and offered." Jonathan's exploit in destroying the Philistine garrison (1 Samuel 14) eventuated in driving the Philistines back to their own land. (See JONATHAN.)
The same reckless and profane impatience appears in Saul; he consults Jehovah by the priest Ahiah (1Sa 14:18 read with Septuagint, "bring here the ephod, for he took the ephod that day in the presence of Israel"; for the ark was not usually taken out, but only the ephod, for consultation, and the ark was now at Kirjath Jearim, not in Saul's little camp); then at the increasing tumult in the Philistine host, impatient to join battle, interrupted the priest, "withdraw thine hand," i.e. leave off. Contrast David's patient and implicit following of Jehovah's will, inquired through the priest, in attacking in front as well as in taking a circuit behind the Philistines (2Sa 5:19-25). Saul's adjuration that none should eat until evening betrayed his rash temper and marred the victory (1Sa 14:29-30). His scrupulosity because the people flew upon the spoil, eating the animals with the blood (1Sa 14:32-35), contrasts with true conscientiousness which was wanting in him at Gilgal (1 Samuel 13).
Now he built his first altar. Jonathan's unconscious violation of Saul's adjuration, by eating honey which revived him (1Sa 13:23, "enlightened his eyes," Ps 13:3), was the occasion of Saul again taking lightly God's name to witness that Jonathan should die (contrast Ex 20:7). But the guilt, which God's silence when consulted whethe
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth [on] the Euphrates reigned in his place. And Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan, the son of Acbor, reigned in his place.
The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
Benjamin [is] a devouring wolf, devouring the prey in the morning, and dividing the plunder in the evening.
"You shall not {misuse the name of Yahweh your God}, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished [anyone] who {misuses his name}.
You will not {follow} a majority for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority to pervert [justice].
" 'You shall not turn to the mediums and to the soothsayers; you shall not seek [them] to become unclean with them; I [am] Yahweh your God.
" 'And a man or a woman, if a spirit of the dead or a spirit of divination is in them, they shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones--their blood [is] on them.'"
"[So] you must be careful to do [just] as Yahweh your God commanded you; you shall not turn [to the] right or [to the] left.
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
Only be strong and very courageous {to observe diligently the whole law} that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn aside from it, [to] the right or left, so that you may succeed {wherever you go}.
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.
He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive trees and will give [them] to his servants.
However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but there must be a king over us,
Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, {a very wealthy man}. He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.
He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.
"This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of [the] Philistines. For I have seen [the suffering of] my people, because their cry [of distress] has come to me." When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, "Here [is] the man about whom I told you! This [is the] one [who] will govern my people."
Saul answered and said, "[Am] I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the humblest of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me {in this way}?"
After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God, where there are sentries of [the] Philistines. {Just as you enter} the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying.
Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings {and to make} fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do."
Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"
Then the people said to Samuel, "Who [is] the one who asked, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Give the men to us that we may kill them." But Saul said, "No one will be put to death on this day, because {today} Yahweh has provided deliverance in Israel." read more. Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there." So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly [along with] all the men of Israel.
"And when you saw that Nahash, the king of [the] {Ammonites}, was coming against you, you said to me, 'No! A king shall reign over us,' although Yahweh your God [is] your king.
Saul [was thirty] {years old} at the beginning of his reign, and he reigned [forty-]two years over Israel. He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. read more. Jonathan defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines that [was] at Geba, and [the] Philistines heard [about it]. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"
Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.
Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for [the] Philistines had said, "So that the Hebrews cannot make swords or spears for themselves." So all Israel [went] down to [the] Philistines, each to have his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his iron plowshare sharpened. read more. The charge was {two-thirds of a shekel} for the plowshare and for the mattock, and {a third of a shekel for the pick} and for the axe, and to set the goading sticks.
Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ark of God" (for the ark of God was {at that time} with the {Israelites}).
Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey. {How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great."
Then the troops took the plunder: they took sheep and cattle and {calves} and slaughtered [them] on the ground and the troops ate [them all] with the blood. So they reported [it] to Saul, saying, "Look! The troops [are] sinning against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood!" And he said, "You have dealt treacherously! Roll to me a large stone {today}!" read more. Then Saul said, "Disperse [yourselves] among the troops and say to them, 'Bring to me each [one] his ox and each his sheep and slaughter them in this [place] and eat, but do not sin against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood.'" So all the troops brought [them], each [leading] his ox in his hand that night, and slaughtered [it] there. Then Saul built an altar to Yahweh; {it was the first altar he built} to Yahweh.
So Saul took the kingship over Israel, and he fought all around against his enemies, against Moab, against the {Ammonites}, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. He inflicted punishment against all who rebelled. He acted bravely and defeated [the] Amalekites and rescued Israel from the hand of those who plundered it. read more. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua; the names of his two daughters [were as follows]: the name of the firstborn [was] Merab and the younger [was] Michal.
Samuel said, "Even though you [are] small in your [own] eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh has anointed you as king over Israel.
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day {on}. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him.
So David came to Saul and {entered his service}. He loved him greatly and {he became Saul's armor bearer}.
Saul took him on that [very] day and did not allow him to return to his father's house.
And the women sang as they danced, and they said, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands!"
{Now Saul was threatened by the presence of David} because Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul.
And David was achieving success in all his ways and Yahweh [was] with him, but when Saul saw that he [was] very successful, {he was severely threatened by him}.
Then Saul said to David, "Here [is] my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as [your] wife. Only be {a brave warrior} for me and fight the battles of Yahweh." For Saul thought, "My hand will not be against him, but let the hand of [the] Philistines be against him." But David said to Saul, "Who [am] I, and [who are] my relatives, the clan of my father in Israel, that I should be a son-in-law to the king?" read more. {But} at the time Saul's daughter Merab [was] to be given to David, she was given [instead] to Adriel the Meholathite as wife. Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, so they told Saul, and the matter {pleased him}. And Saul thought, "I will give her to him, so that she may be a snare for him and the hand of [the] Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "For a second [time] you can become my son-in-law today." Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in secret, saying, 'Look, the king [is] pleased with you, and all his servants love you. So then, become a son-in-law of the king.'" And Saul's servants spoke these words {to David privately}. But David said, "[Is] it insignificant {in your sight} to become the son-in-law of the king, [as] I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?" So the servants of Saul informed him, saying, "{This is what David said}." Then Saul said, "This [is] what you must say to David: '{The king desires no bride price} except for a hundred foreskins of [the] Philistines, to avenge himself on the enemies of the king.'" (Now Saul had planned to allow David to fall by the hand of [the] Philistines.) So his servants told David these words, and the matter {pleased David} to become the son-in-law of the king [as] {the specified time had not expired}. And David got up, and he and his men went and struck down two hundred men [of the] Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and {they presented the full number} to become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as [his] wife.
Saul {was threatened by David still more}, so Saul {became a perpetual enemy of David}.
So Jonathan spoke well about David to his father Saul and said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his service for you [has been] very good. He put his life in his hand and attacked the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all of Israel, and you saw [it] and rejoiced! Now why should you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" read more. And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore, "{As Yahweh lives}, he will not be put to death!"
Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked permission from me [to go] up to Bethlehem. He said, 'Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice [is] in the city, and my brother commanded me [to be present]. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the table of the king." read more. Then {Saul became angry} at Jonathan and said to him, "[You] son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? For {as long as} the son of Jesse [is] alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for {he will surely die}!" But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Then Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew {that his father had decided} to kill David.
Then Saul said to the servants who [were] standing around him, "Please listen, {Benjaminites}! Will the son of Jesse give you all fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?
So David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And Yahweh said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah."
When David learned that Saul [was] plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."
Saul went {on one side of the mountain}, and David and his men {went on the other side of the mountain}. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men [were] closing in on David and his men to capture them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, because [the] Philistines have made a raid on the land!"
(Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his [own] city. And Saul had expelled the mediums and the soothsayers from the land.) Then [the] Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem, so Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. read more. When Saul saw the army of [the] Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets. So Saul said to his servants, "Search for me {a woman who is a medium} so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Look [there is] a woman who [is] a medium in Endor."
Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped {except} four hundred young men who rode [off] on camels and fled.
Then Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!" But {his armor bearer} [was] not willing [to do so] because he [was] very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent [messengers] around in the land of [the] Philistines to proclaim [victory in] the temples of their idols and [to] the people. And they put his armor [in] the temple of the Ashtoreth, and they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.
Then he said to me, 'Who [are] you?' And I said to him, 'I [am] an Amalekite.' He said to me, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, even though my life [is still] in me.' read more. So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that [was] on his head and [the] bracelet which [was] on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord.
Saul and Jonathan [were] beloved and pleasant in their lives and [were] not separated in their death. They [were] swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul [was] forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years; however, the house of Judah {followed} David.
When [the] Philistines heard that they had anointed David as king over Israel, all [the] Philistines went up to seek David, but David heard and went down to the stronghold. Now [the] Philistines had come, and they spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. read more. And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up to the Philistines? Will you give them into my hands?" Yahweh said to David, "Go up, for {I will certainly give} [the] Philistines into your hand."
And David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up to the Philistines? Will you give them into my hands?" Yahweh said to David, "Go up, for {I will certainly give} [the] Philistines into your hand." So David came to Baal Perazim and defeated them there; and David said, "Yahweh has burst through my enemies before me like the bursting of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.
So David came to Baal Perazim and defeated them there; and David said, "Yahweh has burst through my enemies before me like the bursting of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. They had left their idols there, so David and his men carried them away.
They had left their idols there, so David and his men carried them away. {Once again} [the] Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.
{Once again} [the] Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of Yahweh, but he said, "You shall not go up. [Rather,] go around to their rear and come to them from opposite the balsam trees. read more. {And it shall be} that when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then pay attention, for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike down the army of [the] Philistines." So David did thus, just as Yahweh had commanded him, and he struck down [the] Philistines from Geba {all the way} to Gezer.
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh!" Nathan said to David, "Yahweh has also forgiven your sin; you shall not die.
Then they said to the king, "The man who consumed us and who plotted against us [so that] we were destroyed from existing in all of the territory of Israel,
So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where [the] Philistines hung them {when} [the] Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed. read more. And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.
And [Jeiel] the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. And the name of his wife [was] Maacah.
And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. read more. And Mikloth fathered Shimeam. And they also lived nearby their brothers in Jerusalem with their brothers. And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
And Ahaz fathered Jarah, and Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. And Zimri fathered Moza,
So Saul died on account of his sin which he had sinned against Yahweh concerning the command of Yahweh that he did not keep. He also consulted a medium to seek [guidance].
O Yahweh, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight before me your way.
[The] nations have fallen in [the] pit [that] they made; their foot is caught in [the] net that they hid. Yahweh has made himself known; he has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his hands. Higgaion Selah
Consider [and] answer me, O Yahweh my God. Give light to my eyes lest I sleep [the sleep of] death,
Those [who] hurry [after] another [god] increase their sorrows. I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor take up their names on my lips. Yahweh [is] the portion [which is] my share and my cup. You hold my lot. read more. [The] measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Yes, [my] inheritance is delightful for me.
As for [the] works of humankind, by the word of your lips, I have kept [from] the ways of [the] violent.
Contend, O Yahweh, with my contenders; fight [those who] fight me. Grasp buckler and shield and rise to my aid. read more. And draw [the] spear and javelin to meet [those who] pursue me. Say to my soul, "I [am] your salvation."
But as for me, like [the] deaf I cannot hear, and [I am] like [the] mute [who] cannot open his mouth.
{Oh, that from Zion} would come salvation [for] Israel! When God returns the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Surely you set them on slippery places. You cause them to fall onto ruin.
O Yahweh, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth. Repay upon the proud what is [their] rightful due.
And he will repay on them their iniquity, and by their evil he will destroy them. Yahweh our God will destroy them.
I will give attention to [the] way of integrity. When will you come to me? I will walk in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.
Streams of water [are] the heart of a king in the hand of Yahweh; {wherever} he will desire, he will turn.
Cruel [is] wrath and overwhelming [is] anger, but who will stand before jealousy?
The fear of a person will lay a snare, but he who trusts in Yahweh will be secure.
I also realized that all [of the] toil and all [of] the skillful work that is done--it [is] envy between one man and {another}. This also [is] vanity and chasing wind!
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: "Look! I [am] laying a stone in Zion, a {tested} stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation: 'The one who trusts will not {panic}.'
Your wickedness will chastise you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Therefore know and see that [it is] evil and bitter, your forsaking of Yahweh, your God, and fear of me [is] not in you," {declares} the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
"Now whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find [it]. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came out.' And [when it] arrives it finds [the house] unoccupied and swept and put in order. read more. Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and [they] go in [and] live there. And the last [state] of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!"
and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous."
How are you able to believe, [if you] accept glory from one another, and do not seek the glory [which is] from the only God?
For they loved the praise of men more than praise from God.
And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, [for] forty years.
And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, [for] forty years.
And [why] not (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, in order that good may come [of it]? Their condemnation is just!
Do not take revenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to [God's] wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance [is] mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Hastings
1. Son of Kish, a Benjamite, the first king of Israel. We first meet him about to abandon the search for his father's asses, when his servant suggested consulting Samuel. As it was customary to bring a present to a seer, and the wallet was empty, Saul hesitated till the servant produced the fourth part of a shekel of silver to give to the man of God. The seer, Divinely prepared for their arrival, met them as he was on his way to the high place to sacrifice. A banquet was made ready, and special honour paid to Saul by Samuel. The seer told the seekers that the asses had been found, and broached the matter of the kingdom to Saul, and anointed him as he was leaving. Saul was given certain signs in attestation of Samuel's message, and after leaving the seer's house, where he and his servant spent the night, he met a band of prophets, and soon was prophesying among them, to the marvel of his acquaintances (1Sa 10:10). This narrative gives no hint that the people asked for a king, or that his selection would be displeasing to either Samuel or Jehovah.
The account is interrupted at 1Sa 10:17 by one of a different temper. The people demand a king, which Samuel interprets to be a rejection of Jehovah, their true king, and Saul, after protest, is elected by lot at Mizpah. He remained quietly at home till Nahash's cruel demand that the men of Jabesh-gilead should surrender to him, and each one lose the right eye, roused him. He was ploughing in the field when the news reached him, and immediately sacrificed the oxen, sending out parts of the sacrifice to his brethren with the command that they should follow him. When the army was mustered he marched to Jabesh-gilead and administered a crushing defeat to Nahash, after which his grateful countrymen made him king at Gilgal (ch. 11). A still greater necessity for a king appears in the encroachments of the Philistines. Saul and Jonathan, his son, were encamped in Michmash and Gibeah (Geba), when Jonathan smote the 'garrison' (?) of the Philistines in Geba, thus precipitating the struggle. The plan of the Philistines was to send out plundering parties, and Jonathan threw the whole camp into confusion by surprising one of its guerilla headquarters (1Sa 13:1-3; 14:1 f.). When Saul heard of the flight of the enemy he inquired of the oracle what to do, but the rout was so apparent that he joined pursuit without the answer. The destruction of the enemy would have been greater had not Saul put a taboo on food. In the evening the famished warriors fell upon the cattle, and ate without sacrificing till the reported impiety reached the ears of Saul, who legitimated the meal by sacrificing at a great stone. As he failed to receive an answer from the oracle, when he Inquired whether he should pursue the Philistines farther, Saul concluded that some one had sinned. An inquiry was taken to the oracle, and the fault was found to lie with Jonathan, who confessed to having tasted honey. He was, however, delivered by the people from the penalty, for Saul had sworn that he should die (1Sa 14:17-45).
This narrative (chs. 13, 14) is interrupted at 1Sa 13:8 to 1Sa 15:35 by an account which represents Samuel as taking issue with Saul for sacrificing at the end of an appointed period of seven days, and announcing his rejection (See art. Samuel, p. 823). We have from another source (ch. 15) a story of the encounter with Amalek, against whom Samuel sent Saul with instructions to destroy men, women, children, and spoil. Saul, however, spares Agag, and part of the booty. This is now assigned as the reason for his rejection. Saul acknowledged his fault, but begged Samuel to honour him before the people by sacrificing with him. In his importunity he lays hold of Samuel's garment, which is rent, and becomes the symbol of the kingdom wrested from Saul. Samuel relents and worships with him.
The second stage of Saul's life concerns his relations with David. Saul is advised to employ music as a relief from a deep-seated mental trouble, called 'an evil spirit from the Lord.' David, a skilled harper and celebrated soldier, is engaged. Saul loves him, and makes him his armour-bearer (1Sa 16:14-23). The Philistines again assemble, this time at Socoh; Goliath issues his challenge, but no one responds. The lad David, who had come to the camp to visit his brethren, learns of the proffered reward, meets the boaster in single combat, and kills him. In this story Saul seems weak, irresolute, and unacquainted with David (ch. 17). David's growing popularity and prowess lead Saul to attempt his life. Michal, Saul's daughter, is offered to him in marriage in return for one hundred Philistines. The hazard involved failed to accomplish his death. Then David's house is surrounded, but Michal manages David's escape through a window (1Sa 18:6-9; 20:29; 19:11-17). Merab, Saul's elder daughter, was also offered to David, but withdrawn when he should have had her. This seems to be an effort to explain why David did not receive Saul's daughter after he had slain the giant. David flees to Ramah, and Saul, seeking him there, is seized with the prophetic frenzy and rendered powerless (1Sa 19:18-24). David again flees, and receives help from the priests at Nob. So enraged was Saul that he ordered the slaughter of the entire priesthood there (chs. 20
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah,
Saul [was thirty] {years old} at the beginning of his reign, and he reigned [forty-]two years over Israel. He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. read more. Jonathan defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines that [was] at Geba, and [the] Philistines heard [about it]. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"
He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}.
{One day} Jonathan the son of Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Come and let us go over to the garrison of [the] Philistines which [is] over there." But he did not tell his father.
Saul said to the troops that [were] with him, "Please call the roll and see who has gone from us." So they called the roll {and found that} Jonathan and {his armor bearer} were not [present]. Then Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ark of God" (for the ark of God was {at that time} with the {Israelites}). read more. While Saul was still speaking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of [the] Philistines {increased more and more}, so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!" Then Saul and all the troops who were with him were assembled on command and came up to the battle, and look! Each [Philistine's] sword [was] against his friend; [and there was] a very great confusion. The Hebrews who had been for [the] Philistines {previously}, who had gone up with them into the camp all around, even they {joined the Israelites} who were with Saul and Jonathan. All the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that [the] Philistines had fled, so even they pursued them closely in the battle. So on that day Yahweh delivered Israel, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven. Now the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, because Saul had made the army take an oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats [any] food until evening, when I will have avenged myself on my enemies!" So none of the army tasted [any] food. (Now all [the people of] the land used to go into the forest, for there was honey on the surface of the ground.) When the army came to the forest, look! [There was] honey flowing, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the army was afraid of the solemn oath. However, Jonathan had not heard about the oath of his father with the army, so he extended the end of the staff which was in his hand, and he dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth and his eyes gleamed. Then a man from the army informed [him] and said, "Your father made the army swear a solemn [oath], saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,'" so the army [is] exhausted. Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey. {How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great." They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary. Then the troops took the plunder: they took sheep and cattle and {calves} and slaughtered [them] on the ground and the troops ate [them all] with the blood. So they reported [it] to Saul, saying, "Look! The troops [are] sinning against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood!" And he said, "You have dealt treacherously! Roll to me a large stone {today}!" Then Saul said, "Disperse [yourselves] among the troops and say to them, 'Bring to me each [one] his ox and each his sheep and slaughter them in this [place] and eat, but do not sin against Yahweh by eating [the animals] with the blood.'" So all the troops brought [them], each [leading] his ox in his hand that night, and slaughtered [it] there. Then Saul built an altar to Yahweh; {it was the first altar he built} to Yahweh. Saul said, "Let us go down after [the] Philistines [by] night, and let us plunder them until the morning light, and let us not leave [alive] a man among them." So they said, "Do all that [is] good in your eyes." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." So Saul inquired of God, "Should I go down after [the] Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him on that day. Then Saul said, "Come here, all [you] leaders of the people, {so that we find out} what the sin was this day. For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, [I swear] that even if it [is] in Jonathan my son, {he will certainly die}!" But nobody from all the army answered him. Then he said to all Israel, "You will be {on one side}, and I and my son Jonathan will be {on the other}." And the army said to Saul, "Do [what is] good in your eyes." Then Saul said to Yahweh the God of Israel, "{Render a decision perfectly}." Jonathan and Saul were chosen [by lot] and the people went out. Then Saul said, "Let them cast [the lot] between me and my son Jonathan," and Jonathan was chosen. So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die." Then Saul said, "So may God do [to me] and {more}, you will certainly die today, Jonathan!" But the army said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As Yahweh lives, not a hair from his head will fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the army ransomed Jonathan and he did not die.
Samuel {did not see Saul again} until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel.
Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him. So the servants of Saul said to him, "Look please, an evil spirit from God [is] tormenting you. read more. Please, let our lord command your servants [who are] before you! Let them seek a man skilled in playing on the lyre. {When} the evil spirit from God [is] upon you, he can play {on it} and {you will feel better}." So Saul said to his servants, "Please select a man {who plays a stringed instrument well} and bring [him] to me." One of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite [who is] skillful in playing a stringed instrument, a {brave man, a warrior, prudent in speech, and handsome}. And Yahweh [is] with him." So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me David your son who [is] with the sheep." And Jesse took a donkey [loaded with] bread and a skin of wine and one {young goat} and sent [them] to Saul by the hand of David his son. So David came to Saul and {entered his service}. He loved him greatly and {he became Saul's armor bearer}. Then Saul sent [word] to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me, because he has found favor {in my sight}." So whenever the [evil] spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the stringed instrument and play it with his hand. Then {it would bring relief} for Saul; {he would feel better} and the evil spirit would depart from him.
{When they were coming back} after David had returned from striking down the Philistine, the women went out from all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments. And the women sang as they danced, and they said, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands!" read more. {Saul became very angry}, and {this saying displeased him}, and he thought, "They have attributed to David ten thousands, but to me they have attributed thousands! {What more can he have but the kingdom}?" So Saul was watching David [with suspicion] from that day onward.
Then Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, "If {you do not save your life} tonight, [then] tomorrow you [will be] killed!" So Michal lowered David through the window, and he went and fled and escaped. read more. Then Michal took the household god and put it on the bed and put a quilt of goat's hair at its head and covered [it] with the clothes. And Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, "He [is] ill." So Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, so that I can kill him." When the messengers came, {to their surprise} the idol [was] on the bed [with] the quilt of goat's hair at the head. Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?" Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go, why should I kill you?'" So David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. And it was told to Saul, "David [is] in Naioth in Ramah." So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing [as] chief over them, then the Spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied. So they told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Again Saul sent messengers a third [time], and they also prophesied. Then he also went to Ramah. When he came to the great cistern which [was] in Secu, he asked and said, "Where [are] Samuel and David?" Someone said, "Look [they are] in Naioth in Ramah." So he went there to Naioth in Ramah and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and {he walked along prophesying} until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped [off] his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, "[Is] Saul also among the prophets?"
He said, 'Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice [is] in the city, and my brother commanded me [to be present]. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the table of the king."
David remained in the wilderness, in the strongholds, and in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him {continually}, but God did not give him into his hand When David realized that Saul had gone out to seek his life, David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. read more. So Jonathan the son of Saul got up and went to David [at] Horesh, and {encouraged him} through God. He said to him, "Do not be afraid, for the hand of my father Saul will not find you. You will be king over Israel, and {I will be second to you}. My father Saul knows [this] also." Then the two of them {made} a covenant before Yahweh. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went to his house. Then [the] Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "[Is] not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] south of Jeshimon So then, O king, {whenever you want} to come down, come down, and [it will be] for us to deliver him into the hand of the king." And Saul said to them, "May you be blessed by Yahweh, for you have shown me compassion Go, please, make certain again! Find out and see {exactly where he is} and who has seen him there! For they have said to me, 'He [is] very cunning.' Look, find out all of the hiding places where he hides. Then return to me {with dependable information}, and I will go with you. And then if he [is] there in the land, then I will seek him among all the thousands of Judah." Then they got up and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men [were] in the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah, to the south of Jeshimon. And Saul and his men went to seek [him], and they told David, so he went down [to] the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard [this], he pursued David [into] the wilderness of Maon. Saul went {on one side of the mountain}, and David and his men {went on the other side of the mountain}. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men [were] closing in on David and his men to capture them. But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, because [the] Philistines have made a raid on the land!" So Saul returned from pursuing David, and he went to confront [the] Philistines. Therefore, they called that place the Rock of Division. David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of En Gedi.
{After} the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days. On the third day, a man came from the camp from [being with] Saul, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. {When he came} to David, he fell to the ground and bowed down. read more. David said to him, "Where did you come from?" He said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel." Then David said to him, "{How did things go}? Please tell me." He answered, "{When} the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died." Then David asked the young man who [was] reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?" The young man who [was] reporting to him said, "I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul [was] leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen [were] getting close to him. When he turned around and saw me, he called to me, and I said, 'Here I [am].' Then he said to me, 'Who [are] you?' And I said to him, 'I [am] an Amalekite.' He said to me, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, even though my life [is still] in me.' So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that [was] on his head and [the] bracelet which [was] on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord. David grabbed [at] his clothes and tore them, [as did] all of the men who [were] with him. Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the young man who [was] reporting to him, "Where [are] you from?" And he said, "I [am] the son of an alien man. I [am] an Amalekite." David said to him, "How [is it that] you [were] not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed one?" Then David called to one of the young men and said to him, "Come near; strike him." So he struck him down and he died. David said to him, "Your blood [is] on your head, for your mouth has testified against you by saying, 'I killed Yahweh's anointed one!'"
Morish
Saul.
One of the ancient kings of Edom. Ge 36:37-38. Called SHAUL in 1Ch 1:48-49.
Saul.
Son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, and the first king of Israel. He was anointed by Samuel by God's direction when the Israelites demanded a king. As the king whom they had chosen and desired, 'a new heart' was given him, and he had a fair start in his reign; but he signally failed in obedience to God, by the word of Samuel. He was rejected, and David was anointed, whom for years he malignantly persecuted. Being forsaken of God, without faith or conscience he resorted to one with a familiar spirit, and there heard his doom. (See DIVINATION.) He was conquered by the Philistines, the very people he was to have overcome. Thus royalty, as everything else committed to man by God, at once failed. For details of Saul's life see SAMUEL, FIRST BOOK OF.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth [on] the Euphrates reigned in his place. And Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan, the son of Acbor, reigned in his place.
When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place. When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.
Smith
(desired), more accurately Shaul.
1. One of the early kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah.
(B.C. after 1450.)
2. The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. (B.C, 1095-1055.) His character is in part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful nature of the tribe and in part accounted for by the struggle between the old and new systems in which he found himself involved. To this we must add a taint of madness. which broke out in violent frenzy at times leaving him with long lucid intervals. He was remarkable for his strength and activity,
and, like the Homeric heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders than the rest of the people, and of that kind of beauty denoted by the Hebrew word "good,"
and which caused him to be compared to the gazelle, "the gazelle of Israel." His birthplace is not expressly mentioned; but, as Zelah in Benjamin was the place of Kish's sepulchre.
it was probable; his native village. His father, Kish, was a powerful and wealthy chief though the family to which he belonged was of little importance.
A portion of his property consisted of a drove of asses. In search of these asses, gone astray on the mountains, he sent his son Saul It was while prosecuting this adventure that Saul met with Samuel for the first time at his home in Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem. A divine intimation had made known to him the approach of Saul, whom he treated with special favor, and the next morning descending with him to the skirts of the town, Samuel poured over Saul's head the consecrated oil, and with a kiss of salutation announced to him that he was to be the ruler of the nation.
1-Samuel/9/25/type/leb'>1Sa 9:25,1; 10:1
Returning homeward his call was confirmed by the incidents which according to Samuel's prediction, awaited him.
What may be named the public call occurred at Mizpeh, when lots were cast to find the tribe and family which was to produce the king, and Saul, by a divine intimation was found hid in the circle of baggage which surrounded the encampment.
Returning to Gibeah, apparently to private life, he heard the threat issued by Nahash king of Ammon against Jabesh-gilead. He speedily collected an army, and Jabesh was rescued. The effect was instantaneous on the people, and the monarchy was inaugurated anew at Gilgal.
It should be, however, observed that according to
the affair of Nahash preceded and occasioned the election of Saul. Although king of Israel, his rule was at first limited; but in the second year of his reign he began to organize an attempt to shake off the Philistine yoke, and an army was formed. In this crisis, Saul, now on the very confines of his kingdom at Gilgal, impatient at Samuel's delay, whom he had directed to be present, offered sacrifice himself. Samuel, arriving later, pronounced the first curse, on his impetuous zeal.
After the Philistines were driven back to their own country occurred the first appearance of Saul's madness in the rash vow which all but cost the life of his soil.
The expulsion of the Philistines, although not entirely completed, ch.
at once placed Saul in a position higher than that of any previous ruler of Israel, and he made war upon the neighboring tribes. In the war with Amalek, ch.
he disobeyed the prophetical command of Samuel, which called down the second curse, and the first distinct intimation of the transference of the kingdom to a rival. The rest of Saul's life is one long tragedy. The frenzy which had given indications of itself before now at times took almost entire possession of him. In this crisis David was recommended to him. From this time forward their lives are blended together. [DAVID] In Saul's better moments he never lost the strong affection which he had contracted for David. Occasionally, too his prophetical gift returned, blended with his madness.
See David
But his acts of fierce, wild zeal increased. At last the monarchy itself broke down under the weakness of his head. The Philistines re-entered the country, and just before giving them battle Saul's courage failed and he consulted one of the necromancers, the "Witch of Endor," who had escaped his persecution. At this distance of time it is impossible to determine the relative amount of fraud or of reality in the scene which follows, though the obvious meaning of the narrative itself tends to the hypothesis of some kind of apparition. ch.
On hearing the denunciation which the apparition conveyed, Saul fell the whole length of his gigantic stature on the ground, and remained motionless till the woman and his servants forced him to eat. The next day the battle came on. The Israelites were driven up the side of Gilboa. The three sons of Saul were slain. Saul was wounded. According to one account, he fell upon his own sword,
and died. The body on being found by the Philistines was stripped slid decapitated, and the headless trunk hung over the city walls, with those of his three sons. ch.
The head was deposited (probably at Ashdod) in the temple of Dagon
The corpse was buried at Jabesh-gilead.
3. The Jewish name of St. Paul.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth [on] the Euphrates reigned in his place. And Shaul died, and Baal-Hanan, the son of Acbor, reigned in his place.
Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, {a very wealthy man}.
Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, {a very wealthy man}. He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.
Saul answered and said, "[Am] I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the humblest of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me {in this way}?"
When they came down from the high place to the town, he spoke with Saul on the roof.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, "{Has not} Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance?
{Just as he turned} his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God {changed his} heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day. When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah, and he said to the {Israelites}, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that [were] oppressing you.' read more. But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans." So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found. So they inquired again of Yahweh, "{Did the man come here}?" And Yahweh said, "Look, he [is] hiding himself among the baggage." So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"
"And when you saw that Nahash, the king of [the] {Ammonites}, was coming against you, you said to me, 'No! A king shall reign over us,' although Yahweh your God [is] your king.
And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and an army as numerous as sand which [is] on the seashore. And they came up and encamped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that [it was] {too difficult} for them, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid themselves in the caves, in the thorn bushes, in the cliffs, in the vaults and in the wells. read more. [Some] of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the army {followed him trembling}. He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and {the army started to slip away from him}. So Saul said, "Bring here to me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." Then he offered up the burnt offering. {Just as} he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Samuel was coming. So Saul went out to meet him [and] to bless him. But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "Because I saw that the army {was scattering} from me and you did not come {at the appointed time} and [that the] Philistines had gathered at Micmash, therefore I said, 'Now [the] Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.' So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you."
Now the men of Israel were hard pressed on that day, because Saul had made the army take an oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats [any] food until evening, when I will have avenged myself on my enemies!" So none of the army tasted [any] food.
Then Saul said, "So may God do [to me] and {more}, you will certainly die today, Jonathan!"
He acted bravely and defeated [the] Amalekites and rescued Israel from the hand of those who plundered it.
Warfare was severe against [the] Philistines all the days of Saul. Whenever Saul saw {anyone who was a mighty warrior} or {any brave man}, he {conscripted him into his service}.
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. So then, {listen to the words} of Yahweh! Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'I have observed what Amalek did to Israel, {how he opposed him} when he went up from Egypt. read more. So then, go and attack Amalek and utterly destroy all that is his! You must not spare him, but kill both man and woman, both child and nursing infant, both ox and sheep, both camel and donkey.'" Saul summoned the army and mustered them at Telaim; two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. Then Saul came up to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the wadi. Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them. You have shown loyal love to all the {Israelites} when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites left from among [the] Amalekites. Then Saul defeated [the] Amalekites from Havilah as one goes to Shur which [is] {east of} Egypt. He captured Agag the king of Amalek alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed with the {edge} of the sword. However, Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and the cattle and the second [best] of the young fatlings and {all that was valuable}; they were not willing to utterly destroy them. But all the possessions that were despised or worthless, they utterly destroyed.
Then Saul said to {his armor bearer}, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised do not come and thrust me through and make a fool of me!" But {his armor bearer} [was] not willing [to do so] because he [was] very afraid. So Saul took the sword and fell on it.
So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent [messengers] around in the land of [the] Philistines to proclaim [victory in] the temples of their idols and [to] the people. And they put his armor [in] the temple of the Ashtoreth, and they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.
Then they took their bones and buried [them] under the tamarisk in Jabesh, and they fasted [for] seven days.
How [the] mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle; Jonathan [lies] slain on your high places.
Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace.
For there [was no one] in all the house of my father {who were not doomed to death} before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. Do I have any righteousness any longer except to cry out to the king?"
And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.
And they put his weapons in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his skull to the temple of Dagon.
Watsons
SAUL, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Israelites, 1Sa 9:1-2, &c. Saul's fruitless journey when seeking his father's asses; (See Ass;) his meeting the Prophet Samuel; the particulars foretold to him, with his being anointed as king, about A.M. 2909; his prophesying along with the young prophets; his appointment by the lot; his modesty in hiding himself; his first victory over the Ammonites; his rash sacrifice in the absence of Samuel; his equally rash curse; his victories over the Philistines and Amalekites; his sparing of King Agag with the judgment denounced against him for it; his jealousy and persecution of David; his barbarous massacre of the priests and people of Nob; his repeated confessions of his injustice to David, &c, are recorded in 1 Samuel 9-31. He reigned forty years, but exhibited to posterity a melancholy example of a monarch, elevated to the summit of worldly grandeur, who, having cast off the fear of God, gradually became the slave of jealousy, duplicity, treachery, and the most malignant and diabolical tempers. His behaviour toward David shows him to have been destitute of every generous and noble sentiment that can dignify human nature; and it is not an easy task to speak with any moderation of the atrocity and baseness which uniformly mark it. His character is that of a wicked man, "waxing worse and worse;" but while we are shocked at its deformity, it should be our study to profit by it, which we can only do by using it as a beacon to warn us, "lest we also be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, {a very wealthy man}. He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.