{"id":57724,"date":"2019-06-19T13:03:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T10:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57724"},"modified":"2023-01-12T14:05:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T12:05:33","slug":"the-real-saul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-real-saul\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real Saul"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/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":[366,839,885],"acf":{"old_id":"57724","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"245","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The beginning of the end for a young king","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several questions present themselves apropos of this chapter, but all are addressed by one or another of the classic exegetes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First of all, the very first verse challenges us by stipulating that \u201cSaul was one year old when he reigned and he reigned over Israel for two years.\u201d As precocious as he may have been, a literal reading of the verse is, of course, out of the question. Rashi, typically, offered two interpretations. The midrashic one takes \u201cone year old\u201d as a metaphor for innocence (\u201che had not tasted sin\u201d) and the more prosaic one reads the verse as \u201cSaul reigned for two years. In the first year\u2026 [continue with verse 2].\u201d Ralbag (Gersonides), extending Rashi\u2019s interpretation, related this verse to Saul\u2019s earlier trouble in consolidating his monarchy (see our comments on chapters 11-12), reading it as: one year had already elapsed between his inauguration by Samuel until the acclamation of his sovereignty at Gilgal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second question is: Since it was Saul\u2019s ongoing intention to combat the Philistines, why did he demobilize the large army that had fought successfully (in chapter 12), winnowing it to a mere three thousand? Ralbag assumed that the three thousand were elite soldiers who, arguably, could have been sent into action at a moment\u2019s notice while the rest were mobilized as reserves (much as the current IDF practice). Malbim, on the other hand, took the reduction in forces to indicate either that Saul had not yet resolved to go to war, or that it was SOP for kings to take a \u201cyear off\u201d at the start of their reigns in order to see to domestic affairs before embarking on more adventurous undertakings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More poignant, however, is the insight we obtain into Saul\u2019s true self from his behavior in Gilgal on the eve of battle. Samuel had\u2014implicitly\u2014instructed Saul to await his arrival before offering sacrifices for their victory (8), but Saul hastened to offer the sacrifices in his absence (9), justifying his actions by arguing \u201cthe people were dispersing\u201d (11). Saul was, by objective description, statuesque (9:2, \u201chead and shoulders above the rest\u201d), but he suffered from extreme self-consciousness and was reluctant to use his physical advantage to enforce his authority. On a previous occasion, he had \u201chidden amongst the vessels\u201d (10:22) rather than exercise leadership and here, too, he declined to assert himself despite Samuel\u2019s instructions, allowing the \u201cpeople\u201d to determine his actions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not surprisingly, Samuel acknowledged this moment as the beginning of Saul\u2019s end (14) and we await the denouement in chapter 15.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <em>Saul Meets With Samuel<\/em>, James Tissot, 1900.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57725,"id":57725,"title":"isam13-samuel and saul","filename":"isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-real-saul\/isam13-samuel-and-saul\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam13-samuel-and-saul","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57724,"date":"2019-06-19 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