Battle Approaches, And The Death Of Saul

Meanwhile the two parties in the north -the Philistines, and Yisrael -were preparing for battle. The Philistines had concentrated their forces at Aphek, and then moved forward to Shunem, on the far east of the plain of Jezreel. There they were joined by the Zekals, compatriots who had settled in the neighbourhood, by other settlers from the Aegean, and by neighboring Canaanite princelings whose policy had always been the formation of a common front against the Hebrew newcomers. The latter, therefore, had to meet a coalition of some strength.

Saul left his capital Gibeah in great haste. By forced marches he advanced to the district between Jezreel and the Yarden, in order to obstruct the enemy's plan of campaign, which appeared to be aiming at TransYardenia, with Damascus as its probable objective. He stopped first at Shunem, north of the city of Jezreel, but he was doubtful about an engagement, and took up a position close to Mount Gilboa. He realized that on the plain it would be impossible to withstand the onslaught of the Philistine armor. Yisrael's troops had only light equipment that made them chiefly effective in the hills, whereas the Philistines with their huge numbers, including chariots, a solid mass of infantry, and a mobile body of archers, would be a far more formidable army.

Saul's morale was already profoundly shaken. Morbid ideas obsessed him, and when he saw the Philistine camp his courage forsook him; all the more so, because of gloomy forebodings about the future. In the south, David his successor (if Schmuel's obscure predictions were to be credited) was only waiting for his armies to be defeated in order to seize the throne. Saul was well aware that YAHWEH, Yisrael's Sovereign Ruler, had forsaken him.

He ordered a consultation of YAHWEH. HE remained silent. Anguish engulfed him. No one around him offered advice to encourage him. Then he said to his servants: 'Find a woman who is a necromancer for me to go and consult her.' They replied that there was such a person near Endor, a small township near to Mount Tabor.

Unfortunately, he had earlier issued a series of ruthless edicts against all the witches who, in one place or another, summoned up the dead, or claimed to read the future. This witch, therefore, must on no account recognize him. So, dressed as a soldier, he went to her, accompanied by two comrades, and said: 'Disclose the future to me by means of a ghost. Conjure up the one I shall name to you.' She distrusted this unknown person and excused herself on the grounds of the king's prohibition, and asked: 'Why are you setting a trap for my life, to have me killed? Saul did not reveal himself, but he replied on oath that she had nothing to fear. At once she began her magic. 'Whom shall I conjure up for you?' she inquired, and he replied: 'Schmuel.' Thereupon, she cried out: 'You are Saul,' He calmed her as best he could, and demanded: 'What do you see?' She was a medium, accustomed to calling up spirits of the dead; Scripture calls her 'mistress of a spirit', in the Septuagint ventriloquist'. The scene was, in fact, one of traditional spiritualism: mediums, in their induced sleep, often altered their voices to become the expression of the being supposedly speaking through their mouths. The word 'ventriloquist' is to some extent an apt way of expressing the vocal changes which accompany in their messages.

It is worth noting that no form was visible to Saul during this séance. Only the witch was able to see and hear the dead person whose outward appearance she described, and whose words she uttered.

'I see a ghost rising up from the earth', she said. Saul asked her what he was like. 'It is an old man coming up', she answered, 'he is wrapped in his cloak’. Saul then knew it was Schmuel, and he bowed to the ground. The ghost was still as unpleasant as when he was alive, and he began with severe reproaches against the man whom he had always rebuked. 'Why', he complained, 'have you disturbed my rest, conjuring me up?' Saul did his best to excuse himself; he explained that he was in great distress; the Philistines were on the verge of battle; seeking YAHWEH had yielded no results; what was he to do? The prophet's answer was appalling: 'Why do you consult me when YAHWEH has abandoned you and is with your neighbor? ...He has snatched the sovereignty from your hand and given it to your neighbor, David, because you disobeyed the voice of YAHWEH...That is why YAHWEH treats you like this now...YAHWEH will deliver Yisrael and you, too, into the power of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me;15 and Yisrael's army too, for YAHWEH will deliver it into the power of the Philistines.'

Saul was overcome and fell full length on the ground - he had eaten nothing on the previous day. When he recovered, both the witch and his own servants urged him to take a little food to get some strength for his journey. At first he refused, but in the end he gave way to their insistent requests. The witch owned a fattened calf which she quickly slaughtered. Then she took some flour, kneaded it, made cakes of unleavened bread, and baked them.

15 In Sheol, the common meeting place for the dead. At this period, there was no question about reward or punishment after death, for YAHWEH had already bestowed happiness on the righteous and misery on the wicked during their lifetimes. This at least was the still hesitant theology of the Pentateuch, a very ancient and sometimes extremely primitive source. Only in the writings of the third and especially of the second century before MessiYah, do we find belief in the heavenly rewards of the believer and the punishments of the impious.

The Battle Of Gilboa And The Death Of Saul

Saul was beaten before he began. Scripture provides no details about the way the battle swayed. It simply says that the Hebrew defeat was total.

Saul's sons -Jonathan and two of his brothers were among the first to fall. Saul had been obliged to fight a rearguard action, but the Philistine archery took him by surprise and wounded him seriously. He wanted at all costs to avoid capture and be gloated over, and he told his armor-bearer to take his sword and run him through with it. The man, a Hebrew, was afraid to do this terrible thing to YAHWEH's anointed. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. His horrified armor-bearer followed his example. Yisrael's army, panic-stricken, was utterly defeated.

Next day, the victors came to strip the dead. On the slopes of Mount Gilboa they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons. They cut off the king's head, and sent his armour to Philistia, where they took it from city to city as a sign of good news to the idols and the people. It was then deposited in the temple of Astarte at Ashkelon, Astarte's chief sanctuary. Saul's head was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan. His sons were similarly treated. Travelers and caravans could thus see the mutilated bodies of Yisrael's leaders. The news of the Philistine victory would spread quickly.

The Yisraelite tribes on the other side of the Yarden learnt of this fearful disaster, although the Philistines do not seem to have pressed their advantage; it does not appear that they approached the river. Nevertheless fear reigned among the Yisraelites of TransYardenia. The inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, rescued by Saul in his first exploit as a young king, were deeply distressed at the mutilation of their benefactor's body. They marched secretly throughout the night and brought the bodies of Saul and his sons to Jabesh and burnt them there. This action is a little surprising in view of the Semitic horror of cremation. But it was really only a quick disposal of the flesh. The bones were preserved. This is confirmed by Scripture which says that after burning the bodies, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree.

An Estimate Of Saul's Work

The failure of Yisrael's first king seems obvious. The unity of the Twelve Tribes under the aegis of YAHWEH- indispensable if the Hebrew people and their spiritual message were to survive -had not yet been achieved. The Philistines and Canaanites still occupied large sections of the country. Desert bandits remained aggressive and daring. Palestine, the Promised Land, was still far from being under the control of Abraham's descendants. The fundamental hopes that had filled the heart of Yisrael from Yahshua Ben Nun to the Shophtim were now only sad and nostalgic memories. When Saul fell on his sword at Gilboa to escape from the Philistines, he left behind him a situation that seemed desperate. In reality it was not so. With Saul's death a dead star had vanished in the north. But in the south, among the mountains of Yahudah, a new star, David, was shining.

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