{"id":59491,"date":"2019-07-15T22:58:33","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T19:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59491"},"modified":"2023-02-06T08:28:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T06:28:57","slug":"when-the-spirit-departs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-the-spirit-departs\/","title":{"rendered":"When The Spirit Departs"},"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":[383,864,885],"acf":{"old_id":"59491","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56118,"related_cahpter":"263","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The nation suffered from a crippling lack of morale: their staggering loss was all-but- inevitable","content":"

The final chapter of I Samuel details the tragic demise of Saul, paving the way for David\u2019s rise to power. Yet perhaps most striking is not just the death of Saul – that has already been foretold – but the terror the Philistines strike in the heart of Saul, his servants, and the nation. The end of I Samuel almost reads like the conclusion of a Greek tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The chapter\u2019s opening verse already sets the tone, emphasizing that the Israelites fled from the Philistines and suffered casualties on Mount Gilboa. As R. Meir Leibush (Malbim) notes, \u201cIsrael forgot its bravery, for they did not fight at all, but fled immediately. And due to this they suffered casualties, for the beginning of defeat is fleeing.\u201d In other words, the nation suffered from a crippling lack of morale, on account of which their staggering loss was all-but- inevitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Verse 3 then describes Saul\u2019s state of mind before his death: \u201cThe war weighed heavily on Saul,\u201d and \u201che greatly feared the archers.\u201d He asks his arms-bearer to kill him. When the assistant refuses, Saul falls on his own sword. Upon witnessing this tragic turn, the arms-bearer kills himself as well. When the people of the Emek Valley see that Saul had died, they too flee for their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saul then dies in ignominy, his body was displayed on the walls of the ancient city of Beit Shean, a major international thoroughfare.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, Saul\u2019s life comes full circle. Initially surprised by his selection as king, and highly reticent to take a position of power, he only rises to power after being endowed with the spirit of God. As soon as the spirit of God was removed from him, he lost his self-confidence and was never able to again inspire the nation as a leader. His desperate violation of his own rules in seeking out the <\/span>ba\u2019alat ov<\/span><\/em>, necromancer, and his pathetic demise in our chapter, are ultimately a statement not just about Saul, but about the far-reaching difference between one who is endowed by the spirit of God, and one who is not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: The Death of Saul, 1866 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":59492,"id":59492,"title":"isam31-The_Death_of_Saul","filename":"isam31-The_Death_of_Saul.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/isam31-The_Death_of_Saul.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-the-spirit-departs\/isam31-the_death_of_saul\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam31-the_death_of_saul","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":59491,"date":"2019-07-15 19:58:20","modified":"2023-01-14 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