The Philistines again threaten to attack Israel, this
time taunting Israel with their new hero, Goliath—a giant more than
nine feet tall. Saul and the Israelites tremble in fear, but David,
arriving to deliver food to his brothers, offers to fight the giant.
Refusing the king’s armor, David publicly invokes God’s help and
kills Goliath with a single stone shot from his sling. The Israelites
attack the retreating Philistines, and Israel returns home to the
sound of women singing praises of David’s victory.
Saul is insanely jealous of David, who becomes an intimate
friend of Saul’s son, Jonathan, and leads the Israelite troops to
many more victories. After attempting to kill David with a spear,
Saul sends David on a suicide mission to kill a hundred Philistine
men and bring back their circumcised foreskins. David succeeds,
and Saul grudgingly rewards David with his daughter Michal’s hand
in marriage. Saul orders his household to kill David, but, with
the help of Michal and Jonathan, David flees from Saul. David builds
an army of unhappy and impoverished Israelites, and he is joined
by a priest who is also fleeing from Saul’s destructive path.
Saul pursues David into the desert where David spares
the king’s life twice. While Saul is urinating in a cave, David
sneaks up behind him and cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe, scorning
the opportunity to kill God’s “annointed” ruler (24:6).
At night, David and his men sneak into the king’s tent and steal
Saul’s spear while he is sleeping. On both occasions, David announces
his deed to Saul, and Saul expresses remorse both times, begging
for David’s mercy.
Still, Saul continues his pursuit, and David
takes refuge with the Philistines, who show mercy to the great warrior
and adversary of Israel’s king. Preparing to fight the Philistines,
Saul is wracked with fear and consults a witch, bidding the spirit
medium to conjure up the dead spirit of Samuel. Samuel’s ghost angrily
warns Saul that he and his sons will die fighting the Philistines,
ensuring the demise of Saul’s kingdom. David and his men head out
to fight the Amalekites, and David succeeds in destroying the warring
nation. In the meantime, Saul leads Israel into a losing battle
with the Philistines, and Saul’s sons, including Jonathan, are killed.
Saul commands his armor-bearer to kill him, but the boy refuses,
and Saul falls on his own sword and dies.
Analysis
The first book of Samuel tells the story of Israel’s
transition from a theocracy, or state ruled by a religious leader,
to a monarchy, or state ruled by a political leader. Israel starts
out as a nation of loosely affiliated tribes led by priests and
religious heroes, but it becomes a nation-state led by a centralized
king. Each stage of this transition is depicted through the narrative’s
three main figures: Samuel represents the old rule of the judges,
Saul represents Israel’s failed attempt at monarchy, and David represents
God’s ideal king. Although it seems logical that the rule of a single
king would bring a sense of unity and cohesiveness to Israel, the
opposite is the case. The move away from religious leaders divides
religious and political life in Israel. Confusion about how religion
and politics ought to relate to one another is the chief source
of conflict in Samuel. Indeed, Saul’s gravest mistake as king is
his attempt to carry out the sacrificial duties of the priesthood—a
role that Samuel explicitly denies the political ruler.
God’s ambivalence regarding the monarchy escalates
this conflict. On the one hand, God and Samuel are displeased at
Israel’s demand for a king, because, as God claims, this demand
represents Israel’s refusal to believe that God and his religious
laws are adequate to rule the people. On the other hand, God willingly
chooses Saul to be king, identifying Saul as the deliverer of his
people. God reconciles this contradiction by distinguishing Israel’s
status as a human institution from its status as a divine one. As
Samuel’s warnings to Israel about the dangers of having a king suggest,
God may bless the king, but he will not keep the king from committing
the sorts of human errors and injustices that human rulers are prone
to commit.
