1 Samuel 13

SECTION 2. The Rise and Fall of Saul. Saul Having Been Anointed As King, The Reasons For His Downfall Are Now Described, Along With His First Major Defeat Of The Philistines And His Defeat Of The Amalekites. This Is Accompanied By A Brief Reference To His Wider Successes (13:1-15:35).

This section opens and close with examples of how as Saul becomes established he becomes lax in respect of his obedience towards YHWH, resulting first in the loss of his dynasty (1 Samuel 13:1-18), and then in the loss of his kingship (1 Samuel 15:1-35). In between these two incidents are a record of his victories (1 Samuel 13:19 to 1 Samuel 14:23 a; 1 Samuel 14:47-52) and indications of Saul’s increasing spiritual failure. We can analyse this section as follows:

a Saul disobeys YHWH and does not wait for His advice through Samuel. His dynasty are rejected from the kingship (1 Samuel 13:1-18).

b Jonathan and YHWH deliver Israel (1 Samuel 13:19 to 1 Samuel 14:23 a).

c Saul makes a rash oath and Jonathan unknowingly breaks it and becomes liable to sentence (1 Samuel 14:23-31 a).

d As a result of Saul’s rash oath his men eat animals with their blood resulting in Saul building his ‘first altar’ (1 Samuel 14:31-35).

c Saul consult the oracle over his rash oath and Jonathan is sentenced to death, but the people will not allow it (1 Samuel 14:36-46).

b Saul and Abner deliver Israel (1 Samuel 14:47-52).

a Saul disobeys YHWH and preserves for himself and the people what is ‘devoted’ to YHWH. He is rejected from the kingship (1 Samuel 15:1-35).

Chapter 13.

This chapter begins with the regular statement concerning the age of the king on his accession, and the length of time that he reigned, which will become a pattern on through Samuel and Kings (compare for example 2Sa 5:4 ; 1 Kings 14:21; etc) although in Kings in a more formal way, including the name of the queen mother. It thus indicates the commencement of a new section of Samuel. This section will the go on to deal with a number of aspects of Saul’s reign, and will especially emphasise the basic reason for the failure of his kingship. It would, however, be a mistake to see what follows as being ‘a history of Saul’. The writer is in fact not really interested in Saul’s achievements accomplished during the first part of his reign (which he briefly summarises in 1 Samuel 14:47-52), but rather in his subsequent downward fall following on from those achievements. This occurs in two stages:

1). As a result of his initial disobedience in relation to Samuel when he fails to wait for him to bring YHWH’s word as to how he is to act to save Israel. The result is that he loses the right for his sons to be his heirs, and is initially partially parted from Samuel’s prophetic influence (1 Samuel 13-14).

2). As a result of his being finally rejected by YHWH himself for his even greater disobedience which is directed directly against YHWH (1 Samuel 15:0) when he fails to fully ‘devote’ to YHWH what is His. The result is that the Spirit departs from him and that Samuel ‘sees his face no more’. The chapters that follow will then demonstrate that the mantle of ‘Saviour of the people through the power of YHWH’ passes to one who is more worthy (1 Samuel 16-18).

1 Samuel 13-14 in fact bring out that he has separated himself from Samuel’s prophetic influence in a number of ways:

1). Saul fails to wait for Samuel to arrive to complete the necessary preparation which will ensure YHWH’s assistance in defeating the enemy (1 Samuel 13:8-14).

2). Samuel departs from him leaving him to fight his battles alone without Samuel’s assistance, although his moving to Gibeah demonstrates that he has not put himself beyond reach (1 Samuel 13:15).

3). Saul puts new reliance on the failed Priesthood of the house of Eli (1 Samuel 14:2).

4). Saul makes a vain attempt to call on the Ark of God for assistance 1sa (1 Samuel 14:18).

5). Saul makes a foolish oath in pursuit of his own desire for vengeance (1 Samuel 14:24) which hinders his army and nearly results in the death of the very man of faith (Jonathan) through whom God has chosen to work (1 Samuel 14:1-15; 1 Samuel 14:44-46).

6). Saul fails to follow through the victory over the Philistines as a result of placing his dependence on the advice of the priesthood of the house of Eli (1 Samuel 14:36-38). Samuel could have told him immediately what to do.

He is thus depicted as having failed to fulfil the exhortations made by Samuel in 12:20-25, compare 1 Samuel 13:13, and as a result, as being unworthy of kingship. We must, however, question very strongly whether we are intended to see these incidents as occurring immediately following Saul’s accession, even though at first sight it might appear so simply because of the cursory way in which Saul’s early achievements are dealt with. Those achievements are dealt with in 1 Samuel 14:47 and suggest that his reign commenced well, with Saul being victorious over many of Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 14:47). It is however, clear from 1 Samuel 13:19-23 that the one enemy that he was finding it difficult to cope with was the Philistines, for it appears that during the early part of his reign they had occupied the Israelite lowlands and had even placed garrisons in the hill country (1 Samuel 13:3), with the result that they were able to keep a good part of Israel in subservience. That being so 1 Samuel 13:0 would appear to be describing events which occurred some years into his reign when he considered that the time had come to make a bid for freedom. Prior to that it would seem that he had simply been conducting a rearguard action in order to prevent their further advancement.

The Timing Of Chapters 13-14.

The fact that Jonathan, Saul’s son, is of an age to take control of a military unit in 1 Samuel 13:2 is one indication that what is being described in detail in these chapters did not take place at the commencement of Saul’s reign. Had it been so it would mean that Saul was around forty when he met Samuel and was anointed (to allow for him having a son aged over twenty, the age of military call-up), and thus nearly eighty when he died (Acts 13:21 confirms that he reigned about forty years). Neither age fits in with the picture that we have in 1 Samuel 10:0 and 1 Samuel 31:0. That being so the main purpose of 1 Samuel 13:0 is seemingly in order to indicate when Saul took his first major step downwards as a result of failing strictly to fulfil YHWH’s requirements, simply because he had by then become too filled with a sense of his own importance. This is confirmed, as we have seen, by the fact that there must have been quite a period preceding these events during which he had tried and failed to succeed against the Philistine threat, for it is clear that some parts of Israel were at this time so subject to Philistine oppression that it resulted in their not being allowed to have their own smiths in order to fashion and sharpen their own tools (1 Samuel 13:19-23). It is unlikely that this latter period refers to the time of Samuel’s judgeship because we have already been informed that the Philistines came no more within the borders of Israel during that period (1 Samuel 7:13), and we have no real reason to doubt the truth of that statement. The writer would hardly have included that statement and then have contradicted it. Thus it points to the fact that what is described in 1 Samuel 13:19-23 refers to the situation applying during the early part of Saul’s reign, with the consequence that the main part of 1 Samuel 13:0 comes some years into Saul’s reign. This is also confirmed by what we know of the length of Saul’s reign.

So for example:

1). If Saul’s reign lasted roughly forty years (Acts 13:21) it would mean that, if he was around nineteen when he commenced reigning, he was still fighting Philistines in his late fifties (1 Samuel 31:1-7). That is feasible. Anything much older than that would not fit in with the picture that we have in 1 Samuel 31:0.

2). He had a number of sons, the first of whom was Jonathan (compare1 Samuel 14:49; 1 Samuel 14:49). Jonathan must have died at around forty years of age, for at that time his younger comrade-in-arms, David, was around thirty (2 Samuel 5:4). This would fit in with the fact that Saul’s fourth son Ishbaal (Ishbosheth) died at roughly 42 years of age (2 Samuel 2:10) seven years after Saul’s death, which would mean that he was approximately 35 years of age when Saul and Jonathan died. If this is so then we have to allow for a period in which Jonathan grew to manhood prior to the main events in 1 Samuel 13:0. (Note re Ishbaal. In the early days the use of ‘baal’ which means ‘lord’ was used in names in order to indicate YHWH (compare also Hosea 2:16). Later writers changed it to ‘bosheth’ which means ‘shame’ because it was by then connected with the Canaanite god Baal).

3). Jonathan had a son who was five years old when he died (2 Samuel 4:4). His name was Meribaal (Mephibosheth). 1 Chronicles 8:34; 1 Chronicles 9:40 seem to suggest that Meribaal was his only son. This might actually be seen as suggesting that Jonathan was even younger than forty when he died.

4). The writer tells us that Saul was ‘one year old’ when he became king. In ancient terminology that would translate as ‘not yet quite having reached maturity’. This would indicate that Saul was fairly young when he became king, possibly less than twenty years old which was the age at which an Israelite became liable for conscription and the age at which he seen as having become a man from the point of view of making a vow. See Exodus 38:26; Leviticus 27:3; Leviticus 27:5; Numbers 1:3 ff; Numbers 14:29; Numbers 26:2. (Alternately we might see the age of maturity as twenty five, the age at which a Levite commenced his activities - Numbers 8:23).

Reigning for ‘two years’ would on the same basis suggest that he did not reach the ‘third age’, which would probably be 60 (Leviticus 27:3). This practise of thinking of three ‘ages’ for man continued throughout the ages so that even in the last century anthropologists cite the case (among others) of an old man in Malacca who when asked his age proudly stated that he was ‘three years old’. What he meant was that he was in the third stage of life.

The reason why the writer used this ancient method of representing age was no doubt because in Saul’s rustic court there was no recorder. Thus no records were available from which to obtain accurate figures and he did not want to invent them. But he did know sufficient to be able to indicate the general situation.

5). The dealings with the Philistines in 1 Samuel 13-14 occur after a considerable period of subservience to the Philistines (1 Samuel 13:19-23). As Samuel’s period of Judgeship kept the Philistines out of Israel (1 Samuel 7:13) we must almost certainly see this as having occurred in the first few years of Saul’s reign.

6). The general impression that we have is that Saul’s reign started off well. And this ties in with the further impression given of his success in 1 Samuel 14:47-48. There we have the picture of someone who is successful. It seems very unlikely therefore that his reign should have come to grief as early as 1 Samuel 13-14 would suggest if we date them at the commencement of his reign. The placing of 1 Samuel 13-14 seems rather to put what he did in deliberate contrast to the original promise that he showed earlier, in order to emphasise that in the end he did not continue to follow out what Samuel had said in 1 Samuel 12:20-25. The writer is not interested in Saul’s life per se. What he concentrates on is why he proved to be such a failure, and his later attempts to destroy the one who would become Israel’s ‘ideal king’.

There is in the text no indication as to when the events in 1 Samuel 13:0 took place, although there is certainly a gap between 1 Samuel 13:2 and 1 Samuel 13:3, for in 1 Samuel 13:2 the ‘host of Israel’ is sent home, leaving Saul with his standing ‘army’. And in 13:3 the ‘host of Israel’ are called together again. This requires a good gap in between.

But as we have already seen it is clear that this latter followed a period of severe Philistine oppression (1 Samuel 13:19-23). This would confirm that the calling out of the host of Israel in 1 Samuel 13:3 occurred some time into Saul’s reign. It is indeed quite possible that the writer had no specific information available to him about the first few years of Saul’s reign, for Saul’s court was primitive with the result that there was no court recorder, and he would constantly have been involved in fighting, possibly in the case of the Philistines even in guerilla warfare. Nor was Samuel closely involved in it all, for the people were now in process of learning what was involved in trusting in a king rather than in YHWH, although he would presumably become involved when the host of Israel were called together and YHWH’s instructions had to be obtained (1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Samuel 10:17; 1 Samuel 11:14; 1 Samuel 13:8).

The Philistine oppression (coming from the west) would probably not have affected the tribes in Transjordan or the northernmost tribes, although in the latter case it possible that it did so to some degree, because there is no doubt that the Philistine tentacles did reach far and wide. But the main tribes affected would be those in the centre and south who were directly vulnerable to the Philistines because of where the major Philistine cities were situated.

We must continually remember as we read it that the book of Samuel was not strictly intended to be a history of Israel. It was intended to be a description of God’s special dealings with Israel, which was to lead from the special birth of Samuel to David’s glorious reign, a period which is depicted as being spoiled, and almost wrecked, by the introduction of Saul. Thus the writer, while briefly mentioning it, was not interested in going into the details of his reign (indeed he may not have had any history of Saul’s early reign to go on), and, while he therefore did put in a brief note of commendation (1 Samuel 14:47-48), his real interest was not in Saul as such. His view may well have been that Saul was actually a blot on the page before the arrival of David, someone only worthy of notice because he failed as king and proved Samuel to be right, and because of his insane opposition to David. That he had to some extent forfeited his right to expect the assistance of the Spirit of YHWH even before his flagrant disobedience comes out in the Philistines had been able to previously occupy the land, something that they had been unable to do under Samuel. This would explain why, at the time at which the description in 1 Samuel 13:0 opened, he was conducting a rearguard action against the Philistines using a small guerilla force.

Furthermore it seems unlikely that the Saul depicted in 1 Samuel 10-11 would, within such a comparatively short time, have taken to himself the prerogative of acting as a king-priest, or even have acted against Samuel. These incidents would rather suggest a time when he had begun to be more aware of his own status, and to feel that he had a right to act independently in his own right because of who he was. Such an act from someone of his timidity (1 Samuel 10:22) fits far better into the middle of his reign when he had grown to maturity, than into its commencement.

Analysis (1 Samuel 13:1-18 ).

a Saul was one year old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years over Israel, and Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the remainder of the people he sent every man to his tent (1 Samuel 13:1-2).

b And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba: and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were gathered together after Saul to Gilgal (1 Samuel 13:3-4).

c And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty units of chariots, and six units of horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in number: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in pits. Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling (1 Samuel 13:5-7).

d And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel expected, but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring here the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering (1 Samuel 13:8-9).

e And it came about that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, in order that he might salute him. And Samuel said, “What have you done?” (1 Samuel 13:10-11 a)

f And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash, therefore said I, ‘Now will the Philistines come down on me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favour of YHWH.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering” (1 Samuel 13:11-12).

e And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of YHWH your God, which he commanded you. For now would YHWH have established your kingship over Israel for ever. But now your kingship will not continue. YHWH has sought him a man after his own heart, and YHWH has appointed him to be war-leader over his people, because you have not kept what YHWH commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

d And Samuel arose, and took the road up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin (1 Samuel 13:15 a).

c And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men (1 Samuel 13:15 b).

b And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin (1 Samuel 13:16 a).

a But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies, one company turned into the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual; and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned the way of the border which looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness (1 Samuel 13:16-18).

Note that in ‘a’ Saul’s ‘army’ is spread in three places in the heights, and in the parallel the Philistine spoilers go out to three places to obtain spoil. In ‘b’ Jonathan captures Geba, and the call goes out to the tribes, and in the parallel Saul and Jonathans abide in Geba. In ‘c’ the Philistines are numbered and are a powerful force, and in the parallel Saul’s small army is numbered. In ‘d’ Saul comes to Gilgal and because Samuel does not arrive ‘to time’ disobediently offers the burnt offering, and in the parallel Samuel leaves Gilgal and Saul. In ‘e’ Samuel asks Saul what he has done, and in the parallel announces YHWH’s verdict on his action. Centrally in ‘f’ Saul with many excuses admits his disobedience.

YHWH Delivers Israel From The Philistines (1 Samuel 13:19 to 1 Samuel 14:23 a).

The passage that now follows commences with a description of the hopeless situation of Israel in the first part of Saul’s reign, and concludes with the declaration ‘so YHWH saved Israel that day’. All was thus seen as due to YHWH. The Philistines had rendered Israel as a whole powerless by preventing them from making weapons, and especially iron weapons, for the Philistines had a monopoly on the way to smelt iron. No doubt some of the tribes not affected by the Philistine occupation and control were able to make bronze weapons, but even these were seemingly not available to Saul’s own small army. Only Saul and Jonathan as the recognised leaders were properly armed.

But the whole point of the narrative is in fact to bring out that with YHWH as their Saviour they did not need proper weapons, because YHWH fought for them. It commenced by Him inspiring Jonathan and his associated armourbearer to slaughter a small Philistine garrison, and then by His using the news of that fact, possibly combined with an earthquake, to put the Philistines themselves in a quake so that they felt that they had no alternative but to flee back to their own country. Meanwhile Saul was playing around with his new found ‘toys’ and was left as a mere spectator until the final chase. Thus there is a great contrast between Jonathan the man of faith, and the favoured of YHWH, and Saul the malingerer, who was totally lacking in faith.

Analysis.

a Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears,” but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock, yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to set the goads (1 Samuel 13:19-21).

b So it came about in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan, but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found (1 Samuel 13:22).

c And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash. And it fell on a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on that side over there.” But he did not tell his father. And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron, and the people who were with him were about six hundred men, and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of YHWH in Shiloh, wearing an ephod (1 Samuel 13:23 to 1 Samuel 14:3 a).

d And the people did not know that Jonathan was gone. And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba (14:3b-5).

e And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that YHWH will work for us, for there is no restraint to YHWH to save by many or by few.” And his armourbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, see, I am with you according to your heart” (1 Samuel 14:6-7).

f Then Jonathan said, “Look, we will pass over to the men, and we will disclose ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, “Wait there until we come to you,” then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up to them” (1 Samuel 14:8-9).

g But if they say thus, “Come up to us,” then we will go up, for YHWH has delivered them into our hand. And this will be the sign to us” (1 Samuel 14:10).

h And both of them disclosed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hidden themselves (1 Samuel 14:11).

g And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armourbearer, “Come up after me, for YHWH has delivered them into the hand of Israel” (1 Samuel 14:12).

f And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armourbearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan, and his armourbearer slew them after him. And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land (1 Samuel 14:13-14).

e And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked. So there was an very great trembling. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and, behold, the amassed men melted away, and they went hither and thither (1 Samuel 14:15-16).

d Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Number now, and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there (1 Samuel 14:17).

c And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring here the ark of God.” For the ark of God was there at that time with the children of Israel. And it came about that, while Saul talked to the priest, the tumult which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased, and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand” (1 Samuel 14:18-19).

b And Saul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle, and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture (1 Samuel 14:20).

a Now the Hebrews who were previously with the Philistines, and who went up with them into the camp from round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Similarly all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So YHWH saved Israel that day (1 Samuel 14:21-23 a).

Note that in ‘a’ ‘the Hebrews’ were bereft of swords and spears by the Philistines, and thus rendered unable to save themselves, while in the parallel they were able to spoil the Philistines because YHWH saved them. In ‘b’ Israel had no swords and spears, and in the parallel YHWH made the Philistines destroy each other with their own swords. In ‘c’ Ahitub was with Saul and with all who were gathered with him, but they were doing nothing under the pomegranate tree, (while at the same time Jonathan went out to make a stir among the Philistines garrison), and in the parallel while Saul was talking to Ahitub he noted the increase of the tumult among the Philistines. In ‘d’ the people did not know that Jonathan had gone, and in the parallel they number the army in order to discover who has gone. In ‘e’ Jonathan asserts his faith that YHWH can work for them, working by many or by few, and in the parallel YHWH does work for them and the amassed army of the Philistines melted away. In ‘f’ Jonathan and his armourbearer prepare for the possibility of going up among the Philistine garrison, and in the parallel they go among the Philistine garrison and slaughter them. In ‘g’ the test of whether they should go up will be that they are invited up, and in the parallel they are invited up. Centrally in ‘h’ when they disclosed themselves to the Philistines, the foolish Philistines jeered at the two brave men as cowards, something that they were soon to regret.