1 Samuel 13:1 begins in the surviving Hebrew text as:
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א בֶּן-שָׁנָה,
שָׁאוּל בְּמָלְכוֹ; וּשְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים, מָלַךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל. |
1 Saul was ---- years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over
Israel. |
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Verse 1 is clearly deficient
as to his age, and it is highly unlikely all the wars and prolonged
pursuit of David took place in just 2 years!
Saul’s reign covers 19 chapters: 1 Samuel 13 through 1 Samuel 31.
The Septuagint Greek translation (3rd
century BCE) omits verse 1 entirely and begins with its translation with
verse 2[i]:
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ΚΑΙ ἐκλέγεται ἑαυτῷ
Σαοὺλ τρεῖς χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν ἐκ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἦσαν μετὰ Σαοὺλ δισχίλιοι
οἱ ἐν Μαχμάς, καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει Βαιθήλ, καὶ χίλιοι ἦσαν μετὰ ᾿Ιωνάθαν ἐν Γαβαὰ
τοῦ Βενιαμίν, καὶ τὸ κατάλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ ἐξαπέστειλεν ἕκαστον εἰς τὸ σκήνωμα
αὐτοῦ. |
1 And Saul
chooses for himself three thousand men of the men of Israel: 2 and there were
with Saul two thousand who were in Machmas, and in mount Baethel, and a
thousand were with Jonathan in Gabaa of Benjamin: and he sent the rest of the
people every man to his tent. |
Either the Hebrew scroll used as its source also had
no verse 1 or if it too had a ‘defective’ version, the Greek translator decided
to skip it and start with verse #2.
Jerome, in preparing
his landmark Latin Vulgate
translation (405 CE) had access to the Septuagint
and a Hebrew scroll version of I
Samuel -- and he followed the latter.
His transition is:
1. filius unius anni Saul cum regnare
coepisset duobus autem annis regnavit super Israhel[ii]
The Catholic Douay-Rheims
Bible[iii] correctly translates the Latin as:
1. Saul was a child of one year when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel.
How Jerome came up
with the idea that Saul was a baby
when Samuel anointed him king is truly
bizarre. Jerome certainly knew that Saul was an adult when anointed by Samuel as stated in 1 Samuel 9, as Saul had been sent by his
father to search for stray asses. And Jerome certainly knew 1 Samuel 13:3 discusses Saul’s adult son Jonathan who accompanied
Saul in a military mission in ‘year 2’ of his reign.
As well, when Saul
died in defeat by the Philistines, so too did his three (3) warrior sons:
Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua.
1 Samuel 31:2
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ב וַיַּדְבְּקוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים, אֶת-שָׁאוּל וְאֶת-בָּנָיו; וַיַּכּוּ
פְלִשְׁתִּים, אֶת-יְהוֹנָתָן וְאֶת-אֲבִינָדָב וְאֶת-מַלְכִּישׁוּעַ--בְּנֵי
שָׁאוּל. |
2 And
the Philistines followed hard upon Saul
and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and
Malchishua, the sons of Saul. |
Christian Bibles have, consequently, offered diverse
renditions[iv]
of I Samuel 13:1.
The most logical translation of Jerome is the Chaldee (Syrian) which renders, "Saul was as innocent as a
one-year-old child when he began to reign.”[v]
The range of English translations is broad and many simply
use the one year and two year numbers[vi].
However, eight (8) English bibles rely on an ancient
Christian translation[vii]
which inserts into the verse’s gap the number 30. They also incorporate Acts
13:21 which states Saul reigned for 40 years. The combined outcome is:
Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two
years[viii].
The American Standard
Version and World English Bible
insert into the gap the number 40
while leaving his duration as 2 years.
Saul was forty years old when he began to reign; and
when he had
reigned two years over Israel[ix],
Conclusion
The Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 13:1 is ‘defective’
as Saul could not have been just age 1 when crowned nor was his 19 chapter
reign all squeezed into 2 years.
These impossibilities led directly (or
indirectly) to verse 1’s deletion in the Septuagint Greek translation (3rd
century BCE).
Jerome preferred the Hebrew text and its
inclusion of verse 1, but also had a defective scroll and improvised what he thought it meant.
Current Christian English
translations are all over the place as some follow the one year – two year
‘original’ while others fill in the gaps using 30 or 40 as Saul’s age at
anointment, and either leaving his reign as 2 years or incorporating Acts number of 40: the same reign
duration as King David and King Solomon.
So, it is probably
best to use the JPS translation (1917). (See opening quotation.) It
adds dashes to show some number is omitted in the text but keeps the original’s two year reign. As it states in a
footnote: “The number is
lacking in the Hebrew text; also, the
precise context of the “two years” is uncertain.”[x]
Jewish sources
1 Chronicles is dated to the 5th
century BCE and is attributed to Ezra[xi].
It opens with a
lengthy genealogy starting with Adam.
The text jumps from
Esau’s genealogy re: Edom (ch 1) to that of Judah (ch 2) and then directly to King David and his offspring
(ch 3). When the author returns to the genealogies of the 12 tribes (ch 4-
8), he again picks up with Judah (ch 5) and systematically all the other
tribes ending with Benjamin.
As Benjamin was King
Saul’s tribe, he, his ancestors and his descendants end the section (ch 8:
33-40).
Surprisingly, Saul’s
lineage is copied again in Ch 9:38-44. Chapter
9 focuses on those inhabiting Jerusalem:
especially the Levites and Priests and their duties in the Temple. But in a
final section on those living in Gibeon, just north of Jerusalem, it repeats all of Saul’s ancestry and descendants a second
time.
The next chapter, Ch.
10, is the actual start of the chronicle’s narrative.
And, surprisingly, it begins with King Saul’s great defeat and death.
Ch.10 also ends with a
length castigation of the man and his reign:
1 Chronicle Ch 10:
13-14:[xii]
13 So Saul died for his transgression which he
committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD, which he kept not;
and also for that he asked counsel
of a ghost, to inquire thereby,
14 and inquired not of the LORD;
therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
So, while King Saul’s ancestry
and list of descendants appear twice, the many years of his reign are ignored in
silence. All there is is his brutal
death and a lengthy condemnation.
The criticism in verse
13-14 re: ghosts and ‘not inquiring of
the LORD’ is also a distortion of the original I Samuel text.
Before the final
battle with the Philistines, King Saul sought guidance from the God of Israel but received no response: no
prophet, no priestly Urim sign, no dream and no vision even while he fasted all
day. All this is detailed in I Samuel 28:6 and 20.
Only in desperation
did he approach a secret spiritualist – as he had already expelled all
spiritualists and diviners from the kingdom in compliance with Torah law. (I Samuel 28:3, Leviticus 20:6)
The author of 1 Chronicles had a copy of the entire 1 Samuel text in hand as his ch
10 is copied directly from 1 Samuel 31, but
he decided to expunge King Saul’s reign and unfairly criticize his last
effort for guidance.
Then, 1 Chronicles -- immediately after
Saul’s death -- describes the coronation of David as king of all 12 tribes (ch
11: 1- 4).
This is major
‘revisionism’.
It totally omits the
reign of King Saul’s remaining heir, Ish-bosheth, who succeeded Saul while simultaneously
David was king over the break-way tribe of Judah -- for 7 ½ years. (2 Samuel 2:8 -11)
Moreover, the war and
battles and devious ambushes between the two sides are also glossed over in silence. (2 Samuel
2:12-32; 3: 1, 26-39)
Put simply, the author
of 1 Chronicles does his best to expunge
the historical record of King Saul’s lengthy 19 chapter reign and even the
existence of a King Ish-bosheth n as his successor. And, finally, the author
omits the important historical fact that the 12 tribe ‘kingdom’ was split in
two for 7 ½ years when David reigned over the breakaway tribe of Judah and
Ish-bosheth ruled over all the other tribes of Israel.
So 1 Chronicles is not helpful at all re: King Saul as to when his reign started and how long Saul reigned. All intentionally.
The Talmud Bavli, Yoma 22b: 17 cites Rav
Huna who says the 1 Samuel 13:1 verse means that when chosen as king, Saul
was as innocent as a one year old child. (Similar to the Christian Caldee.)
Rashi repeats the Yoma answer and offers as a second
interpretation; namely, that the opening verse means that in his first
year as king he began to amass an army which was not completed until year two.
That army is detailed
in Verse 2:
https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt08a13.htm The English is JPS (1917)
translation.
To build a standing
army from nothing takes time and training.
And many who volunteered were found unsuitable and sent home.
So Rashi’s own
suggestion makes good sense in this context.
I leave for last
Josephus, the Jewish officer in the Great revolt, captured by the Romans (in 67
CE), who spent his life thereafter writing about Jewish history. In his Jewish Antiquities, Book 6:14. 9 he states[xiii]:
.[378]
Τοῦτο Σαοῦλος τὸ τέλος ἔσχε προφητεύσαντος Σαμουήλου διὰ τὸ παρακοῦσαι τοῦ θεοῦ
τῶν ἐπ' Ἀμαληκίταις ἐντολῶν, καὶ ὅτι τὴν Ἀβιμελέχου τοῦ ἀρχιερέως γενεὰν καὶ
Ἀβιμέλεχον αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀρχιερέων πόλιν ἀνεῖλεν. ἐβασίλευσε δὲ Σαμουήλου
ζῶντος ἔτη ὀκτὼ πρὸς τοῖς δέκα, τελευτήσαντος δὲ δύο καὶ εἴκοσι. καὶ Σαοῦλος
μὲν οὕτω κατέστρεψε τὸν βίον.
* * *
378
That is how Saul met his end, according to the prophecy of Samuel, because he disobeyed the commands of God about the Amalekites and for destroying the
family of Abimelech the high priest, including Abimelech himself and the city
of the high priests. That is how Saul died, after reigning for eighteen years in Samuel's lifetime, and
for two after his death.
This would make Saul’s reign 20 years.
However, the
translation by William Whiston[xiv], commonly copied,
believes the Greek text omits in its last section the number 20 = είκοσι
Now Saul, when he had reigned eighteen years while
Samuel was alive, and after his death two [and twenty], ended his life in this manner.
This would mean Saul ruled for 40 years:
just like David and Solomon thereafter – and as stated in Acts 13:21.
So the Josephus text
states King Saul’s reign was at least 20 years and possibly 40 years long. Definitely NOT a “2 year” reign.
Other factors
to consider
1. Ish-bothsheth
The one ‘anchor’ one
might be used to reconstruct King Saul’s reign is the entry and dates supplied for Ish-bosheth.
Ish-bosheth, King
Saul’s last, surviving son and heir, became king of 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel upon his father’s death (2 Samuel
2:10).
2 Samuel 2:
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י בֶּן-אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אִישׁ-בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן-שָׁאוּל, בְּמָלְכוֹ
עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנִים, מָלָךְ; אַךְ בֵּית יְהוּדָה, הָיוּ
אַחֲרֵי דָוִד. |
10 Ish-bosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house
of Judah followed David. |
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יא וַיְהִי מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים, אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דָוִד מֶלֶךְ בְּחֶבְרוֹן עַל-בֵּית יְהוּדָה--שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, וְשִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים. |
11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. |
According to the text,
he was 40 years old when anointed king and he reigned just two (2) years. The text immediately then adds that David was
king of the breakaway tribe of Judah for 7 ½ years.
This ‘dual reign
dating’ is extra-ordinary and not used again until 1 Kings 14:21 – some 100 years later.
And the Ish-bosheth
parts are clearly in error. He succeeded Saul immediately and in turn, on his assassination, was
succeeded by David, so both reigned for 7 ½ years. (See 2 Samuel ch 4 and ch 5: 1-4)
It is noteworthy that
the verse’s “two year reign” for Ish-boshet is very similar to the ‘two year
reign” ascribed to King Saul in 1 Samuel
13:1. They both grossly underestimate the length of the reign, and at least in Ish-boshet’s case, it is obviously a scribal
error or glaring alteration as it is put side by side
with David’s 7 ½ year simultaneous reign.
As to how old
Ish-bosheth was when crowned, an age of 40 is also impossible.
He was Sauls’ fourth
son by his queen Ahinoam and too young to fight alongside his father and
his three (3) older brothers in their final death stand against the
Philistines.
Having Ish-boshet suddenly – within days of his father’s death – turn 40, is impossible.
That he was a minor and under the regency of
his Uncle Abner has been suggested by
historians[xv].
Consequently, again,
Ish-bosheth’s age on becoming king does not help for any reconstruction regarding
King Saul.
2. Style and formula for reigns
The idea that 13:1 is
a summary of Saul’s reign is also contrary to the style of all the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel 1 and
2 and even 1 Kings up to ch 14:21.
The normal style was
to delay mentioning the duration of a leader (Joshua) or judge or king to the moment their death:
i.e., only at the end.
See Joshua 24:29, Judges
10:2, 10:3, 12:7, 12:9-10, 12:11, 12: 14-15, 15:20 and 6:31 (Samson’s duration is
first given at end of one adventure and again on his death and burial.), 1
Kings 2:11 (David), 11:42 (Solomon) and lastly 14:20 (breakaway Jeroboam).
Prior to Saul’s ch
13:1 verse, there were only two exceptions.
Abimelech who died in
battle has his three (3) year reign mentioned near the outset of his violence
filled rule.
Judges 9:
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כב וַיָּשַׂר אֲבִימֶלֶךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל, שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים. |
22 And
Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. |
The other is Jair (Judges
10:3-5) whose uneventful judgeship should have received a normal,
duration-at-death formula of two verses at most, but the writer became distracted and inserted a long verse on Jair’s 30 sons who road 30 asses and controlled 30
cities (Judges 10:4).
After King Saul, the
only other exception to the ‘normal style’ relates to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s heir.
He was assassinated,
decapitated and his head buried separately (2 Samuel 4:7, 12).
And the verse re:
Ish-bosheth’s reign is ‘merged’ and back to back with King David’s information
as the kingdom was now split in two: (as noted previously.)
Thereafter, any recording
of a reign’s duration at the start had to wait some 100 years!
This monumental style
and formula change begins with 1 Kings
14:21 and is used thereafter throughout the rest of 1 Kings and all of 2 Kings.
It indicates a new chronicler. One who took over in the middle of chapter 14, for the very previous verse is in the ‘old style’
1 Kings 14:
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כ וְהַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ יָרָבְעָם, עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה;
וַיִּשְׁכַּב, עִם-אֲבֹתָיו, וַיִּמְלֹךְ נָדָב בְּנוֹ, תַּחְתָּיו. {פ} |
20 And
the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years; and he slept with
his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. {P}
OLD STYLE |
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כא וּרְחַבְעָם, בֶּן-שְׁלֹמֹה, מָלַךְ, בִּיהוּדָה;
בֶּן-אַרְבָּעִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה רְחַבְעָם בְּמָלְכוֹ וּשְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה
מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִַם, הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר-בָּחַר יְהוָה לָשׂוּם אֶת-שְׁמוֹ שָׁם
מִכֹּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ, נַעֲמָה הָעַמֹּנִית. |
21 And
Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when
he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which
the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there;
and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. NEW STYLE |
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NEW
STYLE FORMULA
This new style or formula
was used hereafter for the two dozen rulers of Judah and the northern Kingdom of
Israel, and included the following:
·
The duration of the reign appears at the very start
·
it is ‘dated’ by a cross reference to the current
year of his opposite: the ruler of Israel or Judah.
·
The age of the king when crowned is nearly
always given for kings of Judah (only)[xvi].
·
His mother is usually named: as
kings often had more than one official wife
·
Normally, a verse alongside his death and burial
notes:
“… as for his other acts are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah (or Israel)?”[xvii]
For example:
1 King 15: King Asa of Judah
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ט וּבִשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים, לְיָרָבְעָם מֶלֶךְ
יִשְׂרָאֵל, מָלַךְ אָסָא, מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה. |
9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king
of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah. |
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י וְאַרְבָּעִים וְאַחַת שָׁנָה, מָלַךְ
בִּירוּשָׁלִָם; וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ, מַעֲכָה בַּת-אֲבִישָׁלוֹם. |
10 And forty and one years reigned he in
Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. |
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כג וְיֶתֶר כָּל-דִּבְרֵי-אָסָא וְכָל-גְּבוּרָתוֹ וְכָל-אֲשֶׁר
עָשָׂה, וְהֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה--הֲלֹא-הֵמָּה כְתוּבִים עַל-סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי
הַיָּמִים, לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה; |
23 Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and
all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? |
1 Kings 15: King Nadab of Israel
1 Kings 22 (another
example with age at coronation)
|
מא וִיהוֹשָׁפָט, בֶּן-אָסָא, מָלַךְ, עַל-יְהוּדָה--בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע,
לְאַחְאָב מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. |
41 And
Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of
Ahab king of Israel. |
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מב יְהוֹשָׁפָט, בֶּן-שְׁלֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה בְּמָלְכוֹ, וְעֶשְׂרִים
וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה, מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם; וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ, עֲזוּבָה
בַּת-שִׁלְחִי. |
42 Jehoshaphat
was thirty and five
years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years
in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. |
2 Kings 15 (another
example with age at coronation)
|
א בִּשְׁנַת עֶשְׂרִים וָשֶׁבַע שָׁנָה, לְיָרָבְעָם מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל,
מָלַךְ עֲזַרְיָה בֶן-אֲמַצְיָה, מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה. |
1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam
king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. |
|
ב בֶּן-שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, הָיָה בְמָלְכוֹ, וַחֲמִשִּׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם
שָׁנָה, מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם; וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ, יְכָלְיָהוּ מִירוּשָׁלִָם. |
2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign; and he
reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecoliah
of Jerusalem. |
Formulae implications
If 1 Samuel
13:1 was a summary of Saul’s kingship and its duration -- presented at the start of his reign -- it
is only one of three such extra-ordinary placements in all of the early texts from Joshua through Judges through both Samuels
to 1 Kings ch -14:21.
Consequently, I see
three options:
Option #1
In these three
instances: Abimelech, Saul and Ish-boseth, their violent deaths led the chronicler to list their reign at the start: out of respect.
After all, Abimelech
and Saul died as suicides. And
Ish-bosheth was assassinated and his
head buried far from his body.
Option #2
As it was not the
practice to include the age of the king on coronation until
the entry for Rehoboam (1 Samuel 14:21) some 100 years later, it is possible these
verses for Saul and Ish-botheth were altered many years later when the passing
of time allowed the truth to be forgotten. I.e., later ‘emendations’ and interpolations.
That Saul did not
become king at “age one” nor reign just “two years” suggests the verse’s numbers are ‘corrupt’ and the
interpolation ‘sloppy’ or done on purpose to m minimize his reign.
The same applies to
Saul’s son and heir, Ish-boseth as he reigned parallel to David for 7 1/2years – not just “2 years”. Nor
could he have been age 40 when made king just days or weeks after Saul’s death, as
he was Saul’s youngest son and under age for
military service.
Put simply, both
numbers re: Ish-boshet are impossible and a ‘corruption’.
Lastly, the fact both
King Saul’s entry and Ish-bosheth’s incorrectly – with grossly obvious errors -
list their reigns as “two years” suggests that these interpolations were done by
one and the same hand, and designed to minimize the reigns of the House of Saul in the semi-official record of 1
Samuel.
It is the same mindset
as found in I Chronicles, attributed
to Ezra.
Option #3
1 Samuel 13:1 may not
at all be a listing of Saul’s age and duration of his reign.
Rashi’s suggestion that
1 Samuel 13:1 should be understood in
its chapter context makes sense.
Later on, I will make another suggestion which I believe works better.
Consequently, the most likely explanation is a combination of Option #1, Option #2 and Option #3.
- Listing the reign of suicides and a beheaded king at the start and not -- as normally done – at their death, makes sense out of respect.
- That Isah-bosheth’s age and duration are clearly wrong suggest later interpolation and ‘errors’: accidental or premeditated.
- As for King Saul, his age at coronation and the duration of his reign are still ‘unknown’.
- Someone made sure this information was ‘omitted’ in the semi-official surviving text of 1 Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 13:1 deals with the context of its setting: chapters 10-13 only.
Reconstructing
King Saul’s reign
Reliable dates are
extremely rare re: King Saul’s life and reign, and the pieces of the puzzle for any reconstruction are not
easy to work with.
What is beyond doubt
is:
1.
When Samuel came to anoint him king, he was off
searching for some asses that belonged
to his father that had strayed. (1
Samuel 9: 4-11)
2.
Saul is called a בָּחוּר,
a ‘young
man’ when Samuel meets him (1 Samuel 9:2)
3.
Later, Saul fathered with his wife Ahinoam four(4) sons
and two daughters.
4.
Three of the sons were old enough to be in Saul’s army
and died in battle in Saul’s final defeat. (1 Samuel 31:2)
The oldest, Jonathan, was a senior officer
and commander of 1/3 King Saul’s army. (1 Samuel 13:2).
Under Torah law (Num. 1:3) the minimum
age for military service was age 20. (Even today it is no younger than age 18
in nearly all countries.[xviii])
5.
The two daughters were both were married and the
oldest had five (5)
sons. (2 Samuel 21: 8)
6.
Jonathan had one son who was age 5 when Jonathan died.
(2 Samuel 4:4)
7.
Saul also fathered two (2) sons by his concubine
Rizpah. They were killed years later. (2
Samuel 21:8)
From the above, it
seems, therefore, that Saul at his death was a grandfather many times over.
Jonathan, with a son
age 5 at his death, would have had to be in his late 20s or 30s when he died.
As a skilled warrior and commander in charge of 1/3 of the army, he was
possibly even older. ( 1 Samuel 13:2, 3;
14:1-14).
As for Saul, he
fathered two (2) more sons of military age after Jonatan and 3 younger ones as
well. So it seems Saul would have had to be in his 50s or early 60s when he
died.
As Saul was still
living under his father’s roof when anointed king by Samuel – i.e. quite young,
a בָּחוּר, his reign as King of
Israel must have lasted for 30 or even 40 years.
So, Josephus’s source:
which details Saul’s reign as 18 years before Samuel’s death and two (2) or 22 years thereafter,
seems to be viable and far more likely
than the misleading ‘error‘ or ‘misreading’ of the “two years” reign of 1 Samuel 13:1.
My Suggestion
for 1 Samuel 13:1
As indicated earlier, there is merit in Rashi’s suggestion as it fits the context of Ch 13.
But I believe an alternative that takes the
previous three (3) chapters into account is
better.
Saul is anointed
secretly by Samuel at the start of chapter 10 verse 1. Later, Samuel calls all twelve tribes to a
meeting at Mizpah where a king will be chosen by a lottery: which tribe, which
family, which individual.
The lottery is rigged
and only when a hiding Saul is brought forth, does he ‘win’ the lottery and the
a assembled crowd yells: , יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ. 'Long live the king.' (10:24)
Then everyone goes
back home, including Saul – now with a few new companions -- to his (father’s) house. (10:26)
Significantly, the
chapter ends on a sour note for some refused to accept Saul as king:
1 Samuel 10:27
|
כז וּבְנֵי בְלִיַּעַל אָמְרוּ, מַה-יֹּשִׁעֵנוּ זֶה, וַיִּבְזֻהוּ, וְלֹא-הֵבִיאוּ לוֹ מִנְחָה;
וַיְהִי, כְּמַחֲרִישׁ. {פ} |
27 But
certain base fellows said: 'How shall this man save us?' And they despised him, and brought
him no present. But he was as one that held his peace. {P} |
Then, chapter 11 picks
up the story some time later.
The Ammonites had
invaded and threatened the city of Jabesh. When Saul heard of this, he gets all of the tribes to
gather a force and under his leadership and strategy, they overcame the
Ammonites surrounding Jabesh.
As a result, the
following took place:
1 Samuel 11:
|
יב וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם, אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל, מִי הָאֹמֵר, שָׁאוּל יִמְלֹךְ
עָלֵינוּ: תְּנוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים, וּנְמִיתֵם. |
12 And
the people said unto Samuel: 'Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us?
bring the men, that we may put them to death.' |
|
יג וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, לֹא-יוּמַת אִישׁ בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה: כִּי הַיּוֹם
עָשָׂה-יְהוָה תְּשׁוּעָה, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. |
13 And
Saul said: 'There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day the
LORD hath wrought deliverance in Israel.' |
|
יד וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-הָעָם, לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה הַגִּלְגָּל; וּנְחַדֵּשׁ
שָׁם, הַמְּלוּכָה. |
14 Then
said Samuel to the people: 'Come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the
kingdom there.' |
|
טו וַיֵּלְכוּ כָל-הָעָם הַגִּלְגָּל, וַיַּמְלִכוּ שָׁם אֶת-שָׁאוּל לִפְנֵי
יְהוָה בַּגִּלְגָּל, וַיִּזְבְּחוּ-שָׁם זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה;
וַיִּשְׂמַח שָׁם שָׁאוּל וְכָל-אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד-מְאֹד. {פ} |
15 And
all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD
in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the
LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. {P} |
So, finally, ‘all the
people’ accepted Saul as king and a second ceremony and formal celebration takes place under
Samuels’ supervision at Gilgal.
All of chapter 12 is a
speech Samuel made at this second consecration.
Surprising it is very bizarre
as it criticizes the people for wanting a king at all, repeatedly calling it an
’evil’. And Samuel goes on to warn them not
to forget God and his commandments -- or else great suffering would result.
The speech and chapter
ends:
1 Samuel 12:
|
כד אַךְ יְראוּ אֶת-יְהוָה, וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֹתוֹ
בֶּאֱמֶת--בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם: כִּי רְאוּ, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-הִגְדִּל עִמָּכֶם. |
24 Only
fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how
great things He hath done for you. |
|
כה וְאִם-הָרֵעַ,
תָּרֵעוּ--גַּם-אַתֶּם גַּם-מַלְכְּכֶם, תִּסָּפוּ. |
25 But if ye shall still do
wickedly, ye shall be swept away, both ye and your king.' |
The story of King Saul
then restarts with chapter 13.
As can be seen from
the above summary of chapters 10 and 11, King Saul was not universally accepted as king for
some time. Only after the defeat of the Ammonites and a second consecration
ceremony and celebration does he become acknowledged as ‘king of all
Israel’.
I therefore suggest Ch
13:1 reflects that division in his initial support.
I believe it means he
was appointed king in one year but not accepted by all Israel until year
two and his victory over the Ammonites and his second consecration.
I therefore translate
13:1 as follows:
|
א בֶּן-שָׁנָה, שָׁאוּל בְּמָלְכוֹ; וּשְׁתֵּי שָׁנִים,
מָלַךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל. |
1 Saul was king for one year and in year
two he was accepted as king by all of Israel. |
[i] https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor /greek-texts/septuagint/chapter.asp?book=9&page=13
[ii] https://vulgate.org/ot/1samuel_13.htm
[iii] See https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[iv] https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[v] See Pulpit Commentary at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[vi] https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[vii] This is in the Hexapla: a cross comparison of
the Hebrew text and 5 Greek translations including the Septuagent by the
Christian scholar Origen some time before 240 CE. See Pulpit Commentary at https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_samuel/13-1.htm
and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexapla
[viii] https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[ix] https://biblehub.com/1_samuel/13-1.htm
[x] https://www.sefaria.org/I_Samuel.13.1?lang=bi&with=JPS&lang2=en
[xi] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_of_Chronicles
[xii] http://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et25a10.htm
[xiii]
http://www.biblical.ie/page.php?fl=josephus/Antiquities/AJGk06
[xiv] See https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link62HCH0014
; https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0037-0103,_Flavius_Josephus,_The_Antiquities_Of_The_Jews,_EN.pdf ; http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/ant6.html
[xv] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ishbosheth
[xvi] Rehoboam 1 Kings 14:21, Jehoash 2
Kings 12:1, Amaziah 2 Kings 14:2, Azariah 2 Kings 15:2, Jocham
2 Kings 15: 33, Azah 2 16:2, Hezekiah 2 Kings 18:2, Manasseh2 Kings
21:1, Amon 2 Kings 21:19, Josiah 2
Kings 22:1, Jehoahaz 2 Kings 23: 31, Jehoiakim 2 Kings 23:36, Jehoiakim 2 kings 24:8
[xvii] This first appear with the death of Solmon, 1 Kings 11:41
[xviii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_enlistment_age_by_country
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