Losing the Kingship Twice/1/he
שאול מאבד את הממלכה פעמיים
הקדמה
עוד הפעם?
Not long after after Shaul begins to reign, he sins, and within a span of just three chapters, he is told twice that his kingdom will be torn away from him. בשמואל א' י"ג, he fails to wait for Shemuel in Gilgal, opting instead to bring a sacrifice on his own. Shemuel rebukes him:
(יג) וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל שָׁאוּל נִסְכָּלְתָּ לֹא שָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת מִצְוַת י"י אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּךְ כִּי עַתָּה הֵכִין י"י אֶת מַמְלַכְתְּךָ אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד עוֹלָם. (יד) וְעַתָּה מַמְלַכְתְּךָ לֹא תָקוּם בִּקֵּשׁ י"י לוֹ אִישׁ כִּלְבָבוֹ וַיְצַוֵּהוּ י"י לְנָגִיד עַל עַמּוֹ כִּי לֹא שָׁמַרְתָּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ י"י.
Just two chapters later, Shaul once again blunders, not fulfilling Hashem's command to destroy Amalek. Here, too, he is told:
(כו)...כִּי מָאַסְתָּה אֶת דְּבַר י"י וַיִּמְאָסְךָ י"י מִהְיוֹת מֶלֶךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל. (כז) וַיִּסֹּב שְׁמוּאֵל לָלֶכֶת וַיַּחֲזֵק בִּכְנַף מְעִילוֹ וַיִּקָּרַע. (כח) וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו שְׁמוּאֵל קָרַע י"י אֶת מַמְלְכוּת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעָלֶיךָ הַיּוֹם וּנְתָנָהּ לְרֵעֲךָ הַטּוֹב מִמֶּךָּ.
Shemuel's words are perplexing. If Shaul had lost the kingship already בפרק י"ג, how can he lose it again? What is the relationship between the two punishments?
Other References to the Punishment
In two other places in Tanakh, reference is made to Shaul's sin and punishment. When Shemuel is revived by the Ba'alat Ha'Ov (שמואל א' כ"ח),1 he tells Shaul of his imminent death and that David will soon inherit the monarchy:
(יז) וַיַּעַשׂ י"י לוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיָדִי וַיִּקְרַע י"י אֶת הַמַּמְלָכָה מִיָּדֶךָ וַיִּתְּנָהּ לְרֵעֲךָ לְדָוִד. (יח) כַּאֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל י"י וְלֹא עָשִׂיתָ חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ בַּעֲמָלֵק עַל כֵּן הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה עָשָׂה לְךָ י"י הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.
Here, Shemuel attributes the punishment only to Shaul's actions in the battle against Amalek, not mentioning his deeds at Gilgal at all. Why not? Were not they too a cause of the loss of the monarchy?
בדברי הימים א' י', too, the narrator speaks of the reason for Shaul's death and loss of kingship:
(יג) וַיָּמׇת שָׁאוּל בְּמַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר מָעַל בַּי"י עַל דְּבַר י"י אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמָר וְגַם לִשְׁאוֹל בָּאוֹב לִדְרוֹשׁ. (יד) וְלֹא דָרַשׁ בַּי"י וַיְמִיתֵהוּ וַיַּסֵּב אֶת הַמְּלוּכָה לְדָוִיד בֶּן יִשָׁי.
These verses are ambiguous. What is "מַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר מָעַל בַּי"י? Which directive of Hashem did Shaul defy – waiting for Shemuel in Gilgal, destroying Amalek, both, or a different command altogether? When the verse states that one of the reasons that Shaul was killed היה מפני "וְלֹא דָרַשׁ בַּי"י" is this referring to his visiting the necromancer or to a more general transgression?2 Which of Shaul's deeds does the narrator believe was the real cause of the loss of kingship?
