Siteadmin, Check users, Administrators
12,071
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 2:
Line 2: + + + + + + + + +
→Saul's Selection
'''King Saul''' ('''שאול המלך''') or '''Sha'ul''' (Hebrew '''שָׁאוּל''' or '''Šaʾul''' or '''Šāʾûl''', "asked for" or "borrowed") (r.1095BC-1055BC according to [[James Ussher|Ussher]],<ref name=Ussher>[[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pghh. 392-406</ref> or r. 1050-1010 BC according to [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]]<ref name=Wood>Leon J. Wood. "King Saul." ''A Survey of Israel's History'', rev. ed. David O'Brien. Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1986 (ISBN 031034770X), pp. 197-216.</ref>) was the first king of the [[United Kingdom of Israel|United Kingdom]] of [[Israel]]. His forty-year reign began well, but in the end turned inauspicious,<ref name=GeoCities>Authors unknown. "[http://www.geocities.com/thekingsofisrael/biography_Saul.html King Saul - Biography]." ''The Kings of Israel'', hosted at http://www.geocities.com/ Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref> until at last Saul fell in battle. His successor was [[David]], of whom he remained almost to the end of his life a bitter enemy in civil war.
'''King Saul''' ('''שאול המלך''') or '''Sha'ul''' (Hebrew '''שָׁאוּל''' or '''Šaʾul''' or '''Šāʾûl''', "asked for" or "borrowed") (r.1095BC-1055BC according to [[James Ussher|Ussher]],<ref name=Ussher>[[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pghh. 392-406</ref> or r. 1050-1010 BC according to [[Edwin R. Thiele|Thiele]]<ref name=Wood>Leon J. Wood. "King Saul." ''A Survey of Israel's History'', rev. ed. David O'Brien. Grand Rapids, MI: Academie Books, 1986 (ISBN 031034770X), pp. 197-216.</ref>) was the first king of the [[United Kingdom of Israel|United Kingdom]] of [[Israel]]. His forty-year reign began well, but in the end turned inauspicious,<ref name=GeoCities>Authors unknown. "[http://www.geocities.com/thekingsofisrael/biography_Saul.html King Saul - Biography]." ''The Kings of Israel'', hosted at http://www.geocities.com/ Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref> until at last Saul fell in battle. His successor was [[David]], of whom he remained almost to the end of his life a bitter enemy in civil war.
== Birth year ==
The [[Bible]] may or may not give an age-at-accession for Saul. The key verse is {{bible ref|book=1_Samuel|chap=13|verses=1}}. The [[New American Standard Bible]] renders it thus: {{Bible quote|Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty two years over Israel.|book=1_Samuel|chap=13|verses=1}}
But in fact only the Septuagint furnishes the number ''thirty'' above; the [[Masoretic Text]] has no number. As to the length of reign, the Hebrew text has only the number two, not the number forty. In fact, a better rendition of the Hebrew text would be, "Saul was ... years old when he began to reign, and he had already reigned for two years."
When Saul began to fight his wars with the Philistines in the second official year of his reign, he already had a son, [[Jonathan]], who was old enough not only to serve in the army but also to receive an important field command. [[Floyd Nolen Jones]] shows that Jonathan was twenty-eight years older than [[David]], because he must have been at least twenty years of age when he led the attack against the Philistine garrison.<ref name=Jones>Jones, Floyd N., ''The Chronology of the Old Testament'', Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004, pp. 97-98</ref> ({{Bible ref|book=1_Samuel|chap=14}}) Therefore Jonathan was born in 1113 BC. Saul was probably born at least twenty years earlier, in 1133 BC. This would make Saul thirty-eight years old when he began to reign, not thirty.
The editors of the [[Amplified Bible]] estimated that Saul was forty years old when he began to reign. Though they gave no rationale for that estimate, this would be consistent with Jonathan's age when he was entrusted with a highly sensitive military command.
== Saul's Selection ==
== Saul's Selection ==