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A leader who says he will return at a certain time, but is delayed. A worried nation that is anxious in the moment. A second leader that gives into the crowd going against the wishes of the delayed leader. A punishment. This could describe the events of the Golden Calf in Exodus. Moses tarried. The people panicked. Aaron builds a golden calf. The people misinterpret it and when Moses comes down, the people are punished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this actually describes the events of chapter 13. The Philistines are circling, and the people are getting anxious. Samuel instructed Saul to wait for him. But Saul listened to the people. He went ahead with the sacrificial ceremony. Samuel returns and is furious. Saul did not wait for him. His punishment is that the monarchy will not endure in his family. This is not as dramatic as the punishment he will receive later, but it's the first nail in the coffin of his leadership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The stories, however, do not line up entirely. In the Golden Calf story, Aaron builds a golden calf statue as a replacement or symbol for God. Here, Saul simply goes through with the ceremony that Samuel set up. In Exodus, the people ended up worshiping an idol, but here they simply sacrifice to God. There, Aaron was not punished at the scene, the people were punished. Here, Saul is punished - but not the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why is this parallel set up, only for it to fall short? What exactly was Saul\u2019s sin that it warranted such a harsh response?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There could be a few forces at play here. The first is the desire of Samuel to paint the monarchy as something bad. By referencing the Golden Calf, Samuel sets up a stark image in the mind of the reader, even if the facts do not entirely correspond. The second motivation is linking Saul\u2019s quick desire to appease the people to Aaron. Aaron thought he was helping out, but instead, his actions were responsible for one of the greatest sins in Israelite history. This was all because he listened to the people and not God or Moses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Saul\u2019s big weakness is exactly the same thing. Saul is too quick to appease the people. As a leader he needs to be strong-willed, and put the word of God over popular approval. Saul cares deeply about the people, but this clouds his duty to the people as their leader. Later on, Saul will make the same mistake again. This could be what Samuel is trying to avoid. By \u201coverreacting\u201d here, Samuel may be hoping to stave off Saul\u2019s next big error. Unfortunately, Saul will not heed the prophet\u2019s warning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Avner Moriah, by consent of the artist<\/p>\r\n

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Mixed-media work by Michal Nachmany, courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n

Michal dedicates her work in memory to her father Shamai Zweigreich z\u201dl \u00a0and her grandfather \u00a0Yisrael Zweigreich z\u201dl, who loved studying Bible and 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56444,"alt":"","title":"Moshe-Halbertal","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","width":500,"height":500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-300x300.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","medium_large-width":500,"medium_large-height":500,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","large-width":500,"large-height":500,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","1536x1536-width":500,"1536x1536-height":500,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","2048x2048-width":500,"2048x2048-height":500,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal.png","post_full_size-width":500,"post_full_size-height":500,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Moshe-Halbertal-420x420.png","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"245","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Samuel used his religious prestige to demoralize and deflate the person he viewed, with very little justification, as his undoer","post_main_content_content":"

Besides providing a telling and astute commentary on the complex role of religion in stabilizing and destabilizing political authority, the trap that Samuel arguably laid for Saul in order to undermine his confidence in the future also lets us glimpse the particularly problematic form of instrumentalization that will play such a prominent role in the narrative to come. Following Saul\u2019s first and clandestine coronation, we are told that Samuel commanded Saul to wait at Gilgal for seven days until he arrived to officiate over a burnt offering to God\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the meantime, the Philistines were mustering for war, and Saul, who had enlisted the people of Israel, was waiting with increasing impatience for Samuel, whose delayed arrival was encouraging rampant desertion among the soldiers\u2026 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

A sacrifice had to be offered to restore the soldiers\u2019 sagging morale by eliciting God\u2019s assurances about the outcome of the battle, and Saul, who by now despaired of Samuel\u2019s arrival and who was laboring under the pressure of his disintegrating army and the threatening Philistines, initiated the offering without the presence of the prophet. As recounted in the story, the timing of Samuel\u2019s arrival seems far from accidental. He arrived at Gilgal almost immediately after the frantic Saul had offered the sacrifice on his own. (13:10-12). To Saul\u2019s reasonable, distressed, and apologetic account, Samuel offered a rebuke fashioned deliberately to inflict maximum psychological distress (13:13-14). Thus did a venial cultic transgression that could have been excused given Saul\u2019s parlous military posture provide Samuel the opening he was apparently seeking to bring Saul down.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Turning worthy ends into dispensable means, including the instrumentalization of religion and the sacred by rivals for power, is a central theme in Samuel, and it surfaces already in this short and harsh encounter\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After Saul\u2019s first stumble as king, orchestrated by Samuel and wrapped in a religious aura, Samuel, who had anointed Saul, now ominously prophesied the end of his reign... Samuel claimed that a substitute for Saul had already been picked by God, anticipating a divine decision that the reader knows has not yet been made, in order, as it were, to nail Saul\u2019s coffin shut in advance. God\u2019s own voice is notably absent from the drama because, at this moment, God and cult have become mere instruments in a struggle between contestants for power.\u2026Relinquishing power, including the dynastic power to pass on one\u2019s authority to one\u2019s male heirs, is difficult even for a religious virtuoso like Samuel. That competitive emotions swirl violently around the winning and losing of hereditary power seems to be the principal lesson of this episode. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Samuel used his religious prestige to demoralize and deflate the person he viewed, with very little justification, as his undoer. What the author of Samuel conveys by this striking episode is how religion, even when sincerely believed, can be instrumentalized in power struggles and how political rivals can shed moral qualms about treating the sacred as just another weapon to be opportunistically deployed in a competitive struggle for prestige and power. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpts from \u201cThe Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel\u201d \u2013 Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes, Princeton University Press, 2017, pp.24-7. 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\u201cAnd he waited seven days for the fixed time Samuel had set, and Samuel did not come, and the troops began to slip away from him.\u201d (13:8)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentary:<\/span> and the troops began to slip away from him<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

Battle could not be engaged without first entreating the favorable disposition of the deity through sacrifice (compare Saul\u2019s words of explanation in verse 12). Saul\u2019s men are beginning to give up hope and to desert; so he feels, with good reason, that he can afford to wait no longer. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, <\/span>The Hebrew Bible<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"The Wait Was Excruciating","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Saul could delay no longer","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"245","date":"20260806","wall_id":"245"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"111449","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-ISam13 ","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-ISam13","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isam13","old_id":"111449","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. 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But Saul can't wait. What does this say about Saul's leadership? ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/6AuePyfgJLtpxSopZRr9vo","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"245","date":"20260806","wall_id":"245"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":8,"id":"57720","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"How Old Was Saul, And How Long His Reign? ","post_title":"How Old Was Saul, And How Long His Reign?","slug":"how-old-was-saul-and-how-long-his-reign","old_id":"57720","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56490,"post_title":"Gary Rendsburg","slug":"gary-rendsburg","old_id":"56490","first_name":"Gary ","last_name":"Rendsburg ","description":"Gary Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. His teaching and research focus on \u2018all things ancient Israel\u2019 \u2013 primarily language and literature, though also history and archaeology. His secondary interests include post-biblical Judaism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the medieval Hebrew manuscript tradition. Rendsburg\u2019s most recent book is How the Bible Is Written (Hendrickson, 2019), with particular attention to the use of language to create literature.\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Gary Rendsburg serves as the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56491,"alt":"","title":"Gary_A_Rendsburg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","width":220,"height":314,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg-210x300.jpg","medium-width":210,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","medium_large-width":220,"medium_large-height":314,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","large-width":220,"large-height":314,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","1536x1536-width":220,"1536x1536-height":314,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","2048x2048-width":220,"2048x2048-height":314,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","post_full_size-width":220,"post_full_size-height":314,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Gary_A_Rendsburg.jpg","home_baner-width":220,"home_baner-height":314}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"245","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Some textual puzzles, and possible answers","post_main_content_content":"

And now for some technical material about the biblical text. The Masoretic text is the one that has been read by Jews for almost 2000 years now. But in antiquity, different versions circulated. \u00a0We have explicit evidence for this amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, where different Hebrew versions of the biblical books (especially Samuel, in fact) are preserved. In addition, we have implicit evidence for such when we look at ancient translations, such as the Septuagint, the Greek version translated by the Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, 3rd century B.C.E.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

1 Sam 13:1 reads <\/span>ben shanah sha\u02beul be-<\/span>molko<\/span><\/em>, literally, \u201cSaul was (one) year old when he ruled\u201d (in Hebrew the numeral \u2018one\u2019 is not expressed in such constructions); and then the verse continues, \u201cand he reigned over Israel for two years.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Most scholars assume that a word fell out during the scribal transmission. Compare other biblical verses, such as: Gen 25:20 <\/span>ben \u02bearba\u02bfim shanah<\/span><\/em> \u2018forty years old\u2019 (Isaac); Gen 37:2 <\/span>ben sheva\u02bf \u02bfe\u015breh shanah<\/em> <\/span>\u2018seventeen years old\u2019 (Joseph); Exod 7:7 <\/span>ben shemonim shanah<\/em> <\/span>\u2018eighty years old\u2019 (Moses);<\/span> etc.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The verse is wholly missing from the Septuagint. Two later sources, the church father Origen and a Christian revision of the Septuagint provide the numeral \u2018thirty\u2019 for Saul\u2019s age at the time of his accession to kingship. Curiously, Josephus does not provide a number, though see below for the second part of this verse.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The second half of the verse yields similar difficulties, for it is hard to imagine that the entirety of Saul\u2019s reign as described in the book of Samuel transpired over the course of two years. According to Acts 13:21, Saul reigned for forty years; while Josephus supplies two different figures, in one place forty years (<\/span>Antiquities<\/span><\/em>, 6.378), and in another place twenty years (<\/span>Antiquities<\/span><\/em>, 10.143). Note that the proposed forty years accords with the reigns of David (2 Sam 5:4) and Solomon (1 Kgs 11:42), thereby creating a symmetry for the first three kings of united Israel. In sum, one should assume that the reading of \u2018two years\u2019 in the Masoretic Text needs to be emended, perhaps to \u2018twenty\u2019, perhaps to \u2018forty\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or perhaps not: for recently Rachelle Gilmour and Ian Young (University of Sydney) have observed that the two-year reign, while not historically accurate, bears <\/span>literary<\/em> <\/span>meaning: \u00a0\u201ca reign of \u2018two years\u2019 had the symbolic meaning of a failed kingship, and a doomed dynasty.\u201d \u00a0In addition to Saul\u2019s two-year reign, note the following monarchs, who also ruled for two years: \u00a0Ish-bosheth, Nadab, Elah, Ahaziah, Pekahiah, and Amon. The Bible describes the reigns of each of these six monarchs in very negative terms (they worshipped Baal, etc.), and in all such cases the dynasty came to an end (though with Amon such did not occur immediately).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For the first part of v. 1, questions remain. But for the second part of v. 1, thanks to Gilmour and Young, we may be closer to a solution. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: I Sam 13:1, from Mikara\u2019ot Gedolot \u2018Haketer<\/em>\u2019, based on Aleppo Codex and early medieval mss, Bar Ilan University, 2005. With <\/span>masorah magna<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>masorah parva<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i> Photo by 929.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":57722,"alt":"","title":"isam13-mt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","width":2277,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"How Old Was Saul, And How Long His Reign?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Some textual puzzles, and possible answers","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":57722,"alt":"","title":"isam13-mt","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","width":2277,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-1200x801.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":801,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-mt-1-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"245","date":"20260806","wall_id":"245"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"}]},{"order":9,"id":"57724","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Real Saul ","post_title":"The Real Saul","slug":"the-real-saul","old_id":"57724","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"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","post_main_content_content":"

Several questions present themselves apropos of this chapter, but all are addressed by one or another of the classic exegetes.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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>\r\n

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>\r\n

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>\r\n

Not surprisingly, Samuel acknowledged this moment as the beginning of Saul\u2019s end (14) and we await the denouement in chapter 15.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Saul Meets With Samuel<\/em>, James Tissot, 1900.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":57725,"alt":"","title":"isam13-samuel and saul","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","width":405,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-203x300.jpg","medium-width":203,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","medium_large-width":405,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","large-width":405,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","1536x1536-width":405,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","2048x2048-width":405,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","post_full_size-width":405,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-284x420.jpg","home_baner-width":284,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Real Saul","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The beginning of the end for a young king","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":57725,"alt":"","title":"isam13-samuel and saul","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","width":405,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-203x300.jpg","medium-width":203,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","medium_large-width":405,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","large-width":405,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","1536x1536-width":405,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","2048x2048-width":405,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul.jpg","post_full_size-width":405,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam13-samuel-and-saul-284x420.jpg","home_baner-width":284,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"245","date":"20260806","wall_id":"245"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"839","name":"Samuel","old_id":"1239"},{"term_id":"885","name":"Saul","old_id":"1285"}]},{"order":10,"id":"57697","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"Bible On Site: Preparations For Battle - 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    \r\n\t
  1. Listen up! <\/span><\/i>What were the means of mass communication in those days? The critical news of verse 3 have to get to both the Israelite and the Philistines: \u201cJonathan struck down the Philistine prefect in Geba; and the Philistines heard about it. Saul had the ram\u2019s horn sounded throughout the land, saying, \u2018Let the Hebrews hear.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Grounds for dismissal<\/span><\/i>. The pretext for \u201cfiring\u201d Saul puts a sharp point on Samuel\u2019s expectation of the king. The king first and foremost must listen to God\u2019s word, transmitted by His prophet. You didn\u2019t listen? You acted foolishly? You\u2019re outta here. [editor\u2019s note: See Halbertal\u2019s opposite take expressed, placing the onus on Samuel\u2019s lingering resentment, in his piece on this page].<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. The economy and security<\/span><\/i>.The economic dependency of the Israelites on the Philistines, and on their technological prowess, is an economic burden in peace time, and a critical problem in war. \u201cSo all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, their mattocks, axes, and colters sharpened\u2026.Thus on the day of the battle, no sword or spear was to be found in the possession of any of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and Jonathan had them\u201d (verses 20, 22). That\u2019s right - two swords in the whole army!<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. The Iron Age<\/span><\/i>. Yes, this is indeed the Iron Age - this is an accurate portrayal of iron production in Canaan during this period.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"I Samuel 13","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"245","date":"20260806","wall_id":"245"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/57503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}