Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - One of the most important and interesting people mentioned in the Bible is King Saul, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel.
Knowledge of King Saul can be found in the Old Testament, the Book of Samuel, and the accounts paint a vivid portrait of the monarch’s dramatical story full of adventures and dangers.
King Saul by Ernst Josephson (1878) - Credit: Public Domain
It is uncertain how long King Saul reigned. According to the Bible, he was on the throne for a very short period, but scholars argue he reigned from about 1021–1000 B.C.
King Saul “is often described as a tragic figure. In the classical meaning of the word, the essence of tragedy is a blind and futile struggle against one’s destiny.”
As described in the Bible, the “young and goodly,” farmer boy Saul was the son of Kish and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. The 12 tribes of Israel appointed him as a King to strengthen the Kingdom and resistance to the growing Philistine threat.
From the Old Testament, we learn that Saul was initially selected by the seer Samuel in a private meeting between the two men.
Saul, who at the time had been out with his servant looking for his father’s donkeys, received an invitation. “According to the biblical story, Samuel was instructed by the voice of God to expect Saul, and he met the two men within the city gates. Without any preliminaries, Saul was invited to be Samuel’s guest at the sacrificial meal that was about to take place on the hilltop. He was assured that his father’s donkeys were found.
Samuel then said, “ On whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not thee and on all thy father’s house? Saul must have been bewildered at what was taking place. He replied, Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me in this manner?” 1
There is little doubt Saul must have been surprised he had been chosen to a leader of Israel, but scholars suggest Samuel had his reasons to pick the tall, handsome young man from Kish.
“Samuel must have been impressed at once by Saul’s striking physique and handsome face, and decided that here was a man who might fill the need for a king, a need insisted upon by the people and reluctantly agreed to by the priestly leader of Israel. Samuel clearly wanted a man who would be a warrior-king for Israel at this time was oppressed by foes, chiefly by the Philistines, and its very existence was in danger. At the same time, the priest would prefer someone of a submissive and dependent nature, who would offer as little competition as possible to Samuel’s own power.
Perhaps he recognized this quality at once in a person of Saul’s position who is occupied in hunting for his father’s lost donkeys. However, there can be little question that positive feelings must also have entered into Samuel’s choice of Saul. He may have felt strongly drawn to his handsome man, seeing in him, perhaps, an ego-ideal on a physical level which Samuel had not attained himself.” 1
King Saul could not have been as young as the Bible implies because he already had several children and a son who served as a soldier.
The burden laid upon King Saul’s shoulder was undoubtedly heavy as the military forces of the Philistines were superior to the chariots and weapons of the Hebrews.
King Saul’s reign and military accomplishments were influenced by Samuel and David, with whom the first monarch of Israel had a troublesome relation later.
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
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Expand for references- Zeligs, D. F. (1957). Saul, The Tragic King: Part One. American Imago, 14(1), 61–85.
