{"id":57475,"date":"2019-06-14T17:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T14:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57475"},"modified":"2023-01-08T08:14:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T06:14:51","slug":"sauls-beginnings-the-eyes-have-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sauls-beginnings-the-eyes-have-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Saul\u2019s Beginnings: The Eyes Have It"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[835,885,795],"acf":{"old_id":"57475","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":38322,"related_cahpter":"241","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The people see only Saul\u2019s towering silhouette, but not through to the fecklessness behind it","content":"

The monarchy, Israel\u2019s new political institution, does not look promising. A close reading of Saul\u2019s beginnings indicates that he is not equipped to correct the dismal environment described at the close of the book of Judges when \u201cevery man did what was right in his own eyes.\u201d Saul\u2019s characterization casts a shadow on the viability of the monarchy as an alternative to the political chaos signified by those anarchic eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hebrew root for the word \u201csee\u201d is a key term, or what Martin Buber termed a l<\/em><\/span>eitw\u00f6rt<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>that points to a world where appearance yields only illusion. The sole physical description of Saul is his height, assumedly an advantage for a leader, being \u201ctaller from the shoulders up than everyone\u201d (9:2) He is thus visible to others while able himself to see beyond their range. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet he is hopelessly stymied in his very first task as a young man, one as mundane as recovering his father\u2019s stray asses. The narrative repeatedly emphasizes failure to see and find. Even worse for the prospects of a future political leader is that a frustrated Saul is ready to quit only to be persuaded by his servant to persist. The leader is led by his follower. God <\/span>sees<\/em> <\/span>his nation in trouble (9:16). Samuel <\/span>the seer<\/span><\/em> (9:9) <\/span>sees<\/em> <\/span>Saul, who in turn cannot identify the <\/span>seer<\/span><\/em>, the very one he asks for the seer\u2019s whereabouts. Saul literally cannot make out what is directly in front of him (9:18\u201319).<\/span><\/p>\n

Once lots are cast singling out Saul as God\u2019s chosen monarch, he is nowhere to be found. He disappears at the very moment of his coronation, \u201chiding among the baggage\u201d (10:22). The people literally drag him to his throne, at which point the verse curiously repeats his extraordinary height, \u201ctaller from the shoulders up than everyone.\u201d Physical stature is inconsequential when not supported by strength of character. <\/span><\/p>\n

Samuel then directs the people to \u201csee\u201d their new king, ambiguously proclaiming his uniqueness, \u201cthere is none like him among all the people.\u201d (10:24) The people see only Saul\u2019s towering silhouette, but are blind to Samuel\u2019s negative entendre, directing them to see through to the fecklessness that stands before them.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anti-Saul grumbling and conspiracy immediately begins yet Saul remains oblivious and unresponsive to it. Saul failed to see, the people cannot see him, and he remains mute. It is no surprise then that the very first crisis Saul faces as a king is an invader\u2019s threat to blind the right eyes of the inhabitants of an entire village (11:2). Saul succeeds in thwarting the menace, but perhaps this momentary achievement was a tease prompting a tally of the negative connotations eyes have raised so far. <\/span><\/p>\n

All in all, the eyes have it against Saul. If the people\u2019s \u201ceyes\u201d at the conclusion of Judges were in desperate need of a corrective new form of government, then the narrative of the monarchy\u2019s origins raises serious doubts as to whether it offers the right prescription.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57476,"id":57476,"title":"isam9-silhouette","filename":"isam9-silhouette.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam9-silhouette.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/sauls-beginnings-the-eyes-have-it\/isam9-silhouette\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam9-silhouette","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57475,"date":"2019-06-14 14:08:19","modified":"2019-06-14 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