{"id":57986,"date":"2019-06-21T07:49:52","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T04:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57986"},"modified":"2023-01-15T09:39:32","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T07:39:32","slug":"a-hollow-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-hollow-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"A Hollow Victory"},"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":[835,405,885,434],"acf":{"old_id":"57986","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34245,"related_cahpter":"247","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Saul\u2019s monument hovers above the rest of the story, a mocking reminder of Saul\u2019s golden hours, and their end","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saul started his reign by cutting oxen into pieces and uniting the Israelites under his leadership. By the end of 1 Samuel 15, so much more than a yoke of oxen lies in pieces. Samuel\u2019s robe, his trademark garment since infancy, is torn. Agag, the Amalekite king, is cut down. Two men \u2013 the king and the prophet who anointed him \u2013 are separated for life. The united nation stands intact, for now, but it\u2019s about to crumble. In the very next chapter God will send Samuel to anoint another king, and sow the seeds of violent divisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amidst all these fractures and divisions, one new artefact stands whole: Saul\u2019s monument in Carmel, which he erected to mark his victory over the Amalekites. But just like Saul himself, the monument only appears to be unbroken. Saul continues to reign, but he and we already know that God withdrew his favor, the source of Saul\u2019s power. Without it, Saul\u2019s rule is hollow, a brittle shell indeed. The monument is similar: it continues to celebrate a victory, but Saul and we already know that this victory was hollow too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saul erected his monument in those golden hours when he could still view his victory with pride. In those hours, he thought that he had done God\u2019s will; he didn\u2019t know that God had already rejected him. He thought that he had fulfilled Samuel\u2019s instruction; he didn\u2019t know that Samuel was preparing himself to deliver God\u2019s rejection. He thought that he had achieved a victory that was worthy of commemoration; he had no notion that his monument will commemorate his moment of defeat. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did Saul ever view his monument again? Did he avoid it, destroy it, or keep it out of mind? The narrative only mentions the monument in passing, and never answers any of these questions. But its very existence hovers above the rest of the story, a mocking reminder of Saul\u2019s golden hours &#8212; and their end. Like the statue of Ozymandias in Percy Shelley\u2019s poem, which lies broken over the inscription \u201cMy name is Ozymandias, king of kings;\/ Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair,\u201d Saul\u2019s monument reveals a ruler\u2019s self-delusion. Ozymandias, at least, was spared the knowledge of his own presumption; only the benefit of time allows the poem\u2019s traveler to see the ruler\u2019s empty boast for what it was. Saul, tragically, can\u2019t avoid such knowledge. His monument, unlike the statue in the poem, stands intact. But with everything else in pieces all around him, Saul knows that this wholeness tells a lie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ozymandias Colossus, Ramesseum, Luxor \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57987,"id":57987,"title":"isam15-ozymandias","filename":"isam15-ozymandias.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam15-ozymandias.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-hollow-victory\/isam15-ozymandias\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam15-ozymandias","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57986,"date":"2019-06-21 04:49:38","modified":"2023-11-25 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