SAUL sôl (שָׁאוּל׃֙; LXX Σαουλ, meaning asked, one who keeps on asking, beggar). In the OT the name belonged to two men.

1. Saul, a descendant of Esau; he reigned in Edom (Gen 36:37, 38; 1 Chron 1:48, 49 SHAUL [RSV]).

2. Saul the first king of Israel (see below). In the NT the name appears as the Heb. name of the Apostle Paul (see [http://biblegateway/wiki/Paul, The Apostle PAUL]).

1. Family. King Saul was a Benjaminite, a son of Kish. (See 1 Sam 9:1 for his geneaology in which Abiel is his ancestor prior to Kish, whereas in 1 Chron 8:33 Ner precedes Kish.) As is common in Heb. genealogies, there are prob. gaps between generations in these two lists. The Ner in 1 Samuel 14:50 was Saul’s paternal uncle. The place mostly associated with Saul was Gibeah, but Zela seemed to be the location of the family burial plot (2 Sam 21:14). There is no record that Saul had brothers or sisters. His first wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. By her he had four sons: Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal (1 Chron 8:33; 9:39). Saul also had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, by whom he fathered two sons: Armoni and Mephibosheth (2 Sam 21:8, 11). Saul’s own son, Eshbaal, is also called Ishvi (1 Sam 14:49), and Ish-bosheth (2 Sam 2:8). Two daughters are mentioned, Merab and Michal (1 Sam 18:19, 20).

2. Youth. The opening of 1 Samuel 9 gives the limited data available about young Saul. He came from a family of influence and some wealth and he himself was handsome and tall. His father had donkeys and servants. Seeking some lost donkeys, a servant suggested to Saul that they obtain information from Samuel who was at Ramah. Samuel recognized him as the man God had revealed would be the king of Israel, so after a festive meal and a night’s rest, the prophet called Saul aside and anointed him. A series of predictions followed, all of which came true as Saul returned home. The most important was an encounter with a band of prophets and an outpouring of the Spirit on Saul.

3. Proclaimed king. There are parallel accounts of Saul’s rise to kingship (1 Sam 10:1-24; 11:1-15). Behind both is the first discussion about the need of a king (8:1-22). Rather than assign early and late dates to these stories it is better to see them as parallel stories. The first story (ch. 10), gives the religious aspect, and the other (ch. 11), gives the military aspect of the authentication of Saul’s qualifications to serve as ruler in Israel. The religious aspect included God’s word to Samuel (9:15, 16), Samuel’s private anointing of Saul (10:1), the Spirit’s infilling (10:9-13), the public selection by lot (vv. 20-24) at Mizpah. The military aspect centered in the appeal of the men of Jabesh-gilead for help against the Ammonites, who were quickly defeated by Saul’s army (11:1-11). This feat brought instant popularity. Samuel led the people to Gilgal and confirmed again the new status of Saul as king of Israel.

4. The general situation. Saul lived in troubled times. For some time Israel had been simply a loose confederation of twelve tribes with no single leader. Judges had arisen under the call of God to serve in various regions of the land in times of crisis. There had been a common sanctuary at Shiloh, but it was now destroyed (4:12-22; Jer 7:14; 26:6, 9). New invaders from the islands of the sea, the Philistines, had settled along the Mediterranean coast and had pushed up into the highlands. Israel had no military organization which was capable of stopping the invaders. Nor did they have weapons, for the Philistines had established a monopoly in the making and the maintenance of iron tools (1 Sam 13:19-22). The Philistines had made Saul’s home town, Gibeah, into an outpost (10:5; 13:3). For some time Samuel, the prophet, had been the figure around whom the Israelites could center their hopes. Israel had no governing institutions, no economic institutions, no effective religious institutions.

5. Initial acts to establish a nation. Saul’s first major move was against the local Philistine garrison. He formed a small army of 3,000 men, divided between himself and his son Jonathan, who soon destroyed the garrison at Geba. The enemy immediately reacted by bringing in a large force of chariots, cavalry and troops stationing them at Michmash. They were dramatically defeated, almost singlehandedly by Jonathan (14:1-15), though the rest of Israel’s force soon joined the fray and routed the enemy. From this victory Saul moved effectively against Israel’s enemies to the E and to the S. Seemingly, Saul’s army had a simple organization. There was a core group made up of three units which could operate separately (13:2) and a militia called “the people” (13:6, 7). Saul set up his headquarters at his family home at Gibeah (14:2; 15:34). At Gibeah a small but strong walled fortress has been found, which some have assumed to belong to Saul.

6. Saul’s relationship with Samuel. Saul owed everything to Samuel, the prophet, but they soon came into conflict. There was no clear distinction between civil activities and religious activities. In the early part of Saul’s reign, there seemed to be a cooperative attitude, for in calling the people to war against the Ammonites, Saul linked his name with the name of Samuel (11:7). The incident in 13:8-15 implies that the two men had agreed on the necessity of resisting the Philistines. Samuel was to be in charge of the religious ceremonies of the called meeting and Saul in charge of the military aspects. On the pretext that Samuel’s delay in coming to do his duty was unbearable, Saul performed the religious ceremony and brought upon himself a sharp rebuke from Samuel. On the surface Saul’s excuses seem valid enough, but he had overstepped the bounds of his authority and thus revealed that he lacked the wisdom of a good leader. The possibility of an enduring dynasty was removed by his rash act (13:8-14).

A similar situation took place during the war against the Amalekites (15:6-33). At the beginning Samuel and Saul were united in their understanding of the reasons for and the goals of the war, as well as the procedures in dealing with an implacable foe after the victory had been won. However, at the moment when orders must be given to carry out the objectives, he yielded to other pressures and reneged on the agreement. He did his best to rationalize his actions to Samuel, but to no avail. The judgment was that a man who could not carry through on agreed objectives was not worthy and therefore rejected of God. In order not to humiliate Saul too drastically before the people, Samuel did agree to worship with him publicly. But Samuel refused to have anything to do with Saul throughout the remainder of the prophet’s life.

Saul’s last encounter with Samuel was an unpleasant event (28:7-20). Saul had gone to the witch of Endor to gain occult information from Samuel who long had been dead. To the amazement of all, Samuel appeared without occult incitement and severely condemned the king. A relationship which had originally been so fruitful was totally shattered beyond repair.

7. Saul’s relationship with David. Samuel’s act of anointing David as a future ruler in Israel was, seemingly, a secret of which Saul knew nothing for many years. David was not known to the king until the encounter with the Philistines in which Goliath challenged an Israelite to a duel (17:20-58).

David’s entrance on the national scene was dramatic and greatly impressed Saul, but won the admiration and affection of Jonathan, Saul’s son.

The next time we see Saul and David together Saul is portrayed as emotionally sick due to “an evil spirit from the Lord,” and in need of help. It was decided that music would meet the need, so a search was made and David brought in to serve as both a harp player and as the personal armor-bearer for Saul. David soon became a skilled soldier. His popularity soared to such heights that Saul was eclipsed. The effects of this turn of events were devastating, resulting in Saul’s effort to kill David (18:5-11). Then thwarted hate became fear as the new rival became more famous and acclaimed as a hero. Fear begat cunning and so, under the disguise of flattery, Saul sent David against the Philistines, with the lure of his daughter Merab as a prize (wife) but also the hope that the enemy would kill the young man. When David returned successful, Saul partially reneged on his promise by substituting his second daughter, Michal, for Merab. To Saul’s dismay the union blossomed into mutual love.

Saul’s relationship with David became complicated by Jonathan’s refusal to go along with his father’s efforts to destroy David; in fact he actively aided his friend to escape after temporarily persuading Saul to spare David’s life (19:1-7; 20:1-42). Even Michal took a stand against her father by aiding David (19:11-17).

The intensity of Saul’s hatred toward David increased to the extent that he soon recklessly slaughtered any group which gave him aid and comfort (21:1-9; 22:9-19), and wasted time and strength chasing David through the wilderness of Judah (23:24-26).

David was an elusive prey. He fled from Saul in the wilderness of Ziph, because the local people were loyal to Saul and betrayed David’s presence there. Saul gave chase and followed David to the wilderness of Maon, but had to cease because word came that the Philistines had invaded Israel (23:19-29).

Spies kept Saul informed and soon he pursued David to the wilderness of Engedi, among the barren hills just W of the Dead Sea. It so happened that Saul made camp in the cave in which David and his men were hiding. While Saul slept, David cut off part of the king’s robe, but refused to harm the king. Later, after all had left the cave, David called to Saul from a safe distance and informed him how near the king had been to death. This act of mercy so shamed Saul that he begged for mercy on his posterity. Saul confessed that he knew that David would be the next king. With this statement completed, Saul called off his chase and returned home (24:1-22).

8. Saul’s last years. The threat from the Philistines became more severe, for they seemed determined to take advantage of Saul, whose government had suffered much from his quarrels with David. Saul could scarcely build a strong organization while pursuing David in the desert. Samuel was dead, so the religious life of the people was practically nil. Saul had outlawed Canaanite fetish practices (28:3), but he had never provided positive religious values or practices in their stead. Commercial activity had never been encouraged, so the economic condition of the tribes was at a low ebb. Effective social, cultural and educational institutions had never been built in order to bind the tribes together as a unit. There was a small core army but, evidently, the training of the popular militia had been neglected.

Saul’s kingdom seemed ripe for the picking; the Philistines were eager to be the pickers. The center of attack focused on the northern approaches to the highlands from the valley of Jezreel, much like the Israeli-Jordan tactics of 1967.

Saul was not prepared for the battle, neither militarily nor spiritually. His unfortunate encounter with the witch of Endor and with the spirit of Samuel had unnerved him.

The battle was a disaster from the beginning. Saul’s army was quickly routed, then slaughtered by the Philistines as they sought to escape. Among the fallen were three of Saul’s sons: Jonathan, Abinadab and Melchishua. The king himself was wounded by an arrow. In agony, Saul begged his armor-bearer to thrust him through with a sword; he refused. Desperately, Saul fell on his own sword and thus ended his life in ignominy.

When Saul’s body was found by the Philistines, they dishonored it by cutting off the head, stripping off the armor and hanging the naked body on the outside wall of Beth-shan (31:1-10; 1 Chron 10:1-10). The armor was put on public display in a temple.

The disgrace which had befallen Saul stirred a people whom he had helped early in his reign, the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead. At great risk to themselves, men from this city removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan and gave them proper burial.

9. The spiritual odyssey of Saul. Saul is one of the most tragic figures of the OT. He entered his life’s work with great promise, but ended it with shame and dishonor.

When one first meets Saul in the Scripture he does not gain the impression that Saul was an unusual person, except that he was much taller than others. The fact that he assumes that a fee would have to be paid Samuel for a prediction of where the donkeys were located, reveals his lack of understanding of how true Heb. prophecy differed from that practiced among his pagan neighbors. His lack of knowledge of who Samuel really was, reveals his ignorance of the name of the great men of his people and his lack of interest in them. Saul’s servant knew, but he did not.

Yet, Saul was a modest fellow, ready to admit his unimportance, because his tribe, Benjamin, was insignificant. He did not protest the favors which Samuel showered on him, but he did not revel in them either.

Saul was attentive to Samuel’s predictions and readily responded to the influence of the Spirit of God on his heart and the workings of the Spirit among the joyful band of prophets. Here is the first instance in Scripture in which the Spirit of God and a heart change are linked together.

Saul’s spiritual experience, with resultant success in aiding the people of Jabesh-gilead against the Ammonites and defending his own people from the Philistines, did not engender pride in his heart. He did not seek the leadership of Israel; he tried to evade it. But both Samuel and the Israelites saw Saul as God’s choice.

The success which God gave Saul in political and military affairs did give him trouble. For a time he shared leadership and decision making with Samuel, but soon chafed under the restraints of sharing power and popularity. And this became the watershed of his life. Tradition and custom in the ancient near E held that kings should be sole rulers, though Israel had never accepted this dictum. Saul was lured by it, and using Samuel’s seemingly unnecessary delay as an excuse, Saul violated an established shared leadership by taking on the functions of a priest as well as a king, on the basis of pious motive. It was a serious mistake, and he suffered the humiliation of a severe rebuke.

Saul possessed a serious personality flaw. He was given to rash decisions while under pressure. In a battle with the Philistines, Saul’s son, Jonathan, ate honey, not knowing that his father had put a curse on anyone eating food during the battle. Saul faced a painful dilemma. If he ignored his son’s act he would be guilty of negating his own command on the basis of favoritism. If he rigidly carried out his curse, he would have to kill his own son. It was a crisis of authority and on the face of it Saul seemed heroic in his willingness to put Jonathan to death. But the army objected and openly forced the king to back down from his position. The crisis of authority became a crisis of confidence and Saul lost.

Saul became less sure of himself and in the victory over Agag, the Amalekite, quickly yielded to the people’s greed for loot. He backed off from his judicial role as executor of the criminal renegade, Agag. He had been willing to kill Jonathan but shrank from killing the bloody Amalekite. Saul’s fumbling excuses before Samuel brought down the clap of doom upon his kingly future. Samuel and God parted company with Saul. The king never recovered from the shock of rejection, though he sought reinstatement carefully with tears.

Instead of the good Spirit of God, an evil spirit took over in Saul’s life. His heart changed for the worse and a fearful depression repeatedly seized him. He fluctuated between positive and negative feelings toward those near him. He both loved and hated David (1 Sam 16:21; 18:8, 11). Saul could brook no rival. The inner circle of government became charged with suspicion, fear, jealousy, and hate. Not only was David in danger of his life, but the king’s children, Jonathan and Michal became involved. In the holocaust of terror, kindly priests, who had helped David grudgingly with food, were slaughtered at Saul’s orders by the evil informer, Doeg (21:7; 22:9, 18, 22).

In the series of events leading up to this tragic moment, one incident is most revealing. David had been located as under the protection of Samuel’s prophetic band. Saul’s police, repeatedly, were overawed by the presence of God’s Spirit among the prophets and could not arrest David. Saul went personally, but the jealousy, hate, and fear which indwelt his soul reacted negatively in the presence of God’s servants. Saul prophesied, but not as before; he lost his self-control and stripped himself of clothing. He lost self-consciousness, falling helplessly to the ground. For a king, it was a most humiliating experience, and Saul came out of it more venomous than before. Death and terror marked his associations with others from that time on.

David was Saul’s special target and Saul almost trapped him. The king’s dismay was devastating when he discovered that, unwittingly, he had slept in the same cave as David, who daringly had cut off a portion of Saul’s robe. When, from a safe distance, David confronted Saul, the king reacted characteristically. His anger dissolved into groveling confession that David was in the right and ended with an entreaty for mercy.

Saul tried to capture David again but was outsmarted and publicly ridiculed for leaving his person so poorly guarded. Saul confessed he was a sinner and a fool. The chase was over, but Saul’s spirit was broken.

Faced with an impending attack by the Philistines, Saul violated his own prohibitions on witchcraft and sought help from the witch of Endor. Through no skill of the old woman, Saul was met by the spirit of dead Samuel and heard the fatal words of doom.

Saul had no heart for the battle that ensued, nor for the captivity which seemed inevitable. His suicide was an act of utter hopelessness and fear, an act rare in the annals of Israel. The young man of great promise had become an old man of utter disgrace.

Bibliography R. Kittel, Great Men and Movements in Israel (1929), 86-112; T. H. Robinson, A History of Israel (1932), 178-196; J. Fleming, Personalities of the Old Testament (1948), 96-116; A. Whyte, Bible Characters (1954, reprint), 228-234; M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the Old Testament (1954), 197-203; J. Bright, A History of Israel (1959), 163-174; S. T. Frost, Patriarchs and Prophets (1963), 99-108.