Losing the Kingship Twice/2

Losing the Kingship Twice?

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Given a Second Chance

After Shaul's original failure in Gilgal, he repented and was given a second chance.  Only after repeating his mistake did he lose the kingship for good.

Sources:Radak # 1Shemuel I 15:28About R. David Kimchi¹

When did Hashem retract His decree?

• Radak might suggest that even though there is no explicit evidence in the text of Shaul's repentance and Hashem's subsequent annulling of the punishment, it can be assumed to have occurred at some point in between the events of Chapters 14 and 15.
• Alternatively, it is possible that the text hints to a renewal of the kingship in Chapter 11, when Shemuel says, "לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה הַגִּלְגָּל וּנְחַדֵּשׁ שָׁם הַמְּלוּכָה".  If so, Shaul's actions there, in the battle against Amon, constituted a correction of his original mistake in Gilgal, leading to an overturning of the decree.  This approach, however, must posit that the stories are written out of order.²  See below for elaboration.

Signs of achronology – Several factors might suggest that the events of Chapters 13-14 preceded those of Chapter 11 and immediately followed the original coronation described in Chapter 10:  [For a full discussion of the issue, see Chronology of 8-15.]

• In Chapter 10 Shemuel tells Shaul to wait for him for seven days in Gilgal, which he first does in Chapter 13. It is difficult to see how the events of Chapter 11 (the war against Amon) could have fit in the interim, suggesting that they are out of place.  If so, the war against the Philistines really did occur immediately after the coronation, and the battle with Amon first took place afterwards.
• In Chapters 13-14, Shaul fights the Philistines with just a small, local force in the manner of the judges, while in Chapter 11 he mobilizes the entire country to fight Amon, amassing an army of 300,000.  The latter would seem to be a later stage in the building up of his military, and, moreover, would appear to be possible only after the Philistine threat was removed.  This, too, suggests that Chapter 11 is achronological.

Shaul's sin in Chapters 13-14 – Shaul's sin at Gilgal related to his lack of recognition that victory in war is in Hashem's hands.  He did not wait for Shemuel, assuming that if he did, he would lose the momentum of battle.  In this he forgot that his own personal might was less crucial to victory that Hashem's aid.  See Shaul's Sin in Gilgal for elaboration.

The corrective of Chapter 11 – In his battle against Amon, Shaul reveals that he has changed and learned to attribute success to God, as he says to the nation, "הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה י"י תְּשׁוּעָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל".‎³  It is immediately after these words that Shemuel calls for a second coronation, thereby annulling the original punishment.

Repeat of sin in Chapter 15 – In Chapter 15, Shaul reverts to his old attitude that victory is in the hands of man.  By not consecrating the spoils of battle to Hashem, Shaul suggested that the nation did not need Hashem, and that he was the true victor. [See Shaul Loses the Kingship for details.]  Once this problematic flaw in his thinking resurfaced, Shaul once again lost the kingship.

Reason for achronology – According to this approach, once the monarchy was torn away from Shaul, the prophet decided to tell Shaul's story thematically rather than chronologically. Rather than alternating between his high and low points as king, all his failures are lumped together. As such, the opening chapters portray a Shaul who is full of potential, making his later fall seem all the more devastating.⁴

"וְלֹא עָשִׂיתָ חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ בַּעֲמָלֵק " – These sources could say that in Chapter 28 Shemuel blames the tearing away of Shaul's kingship on the sin by Amalek specifically, because it was only after this action that it was taken from Shaul forever.

Divrei HaYamim – "עַל דְּבַר י"י אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמָר" – This approach could suggest that this refers to not heeding Hashem's directive to destroy Amalek specifically, as that was the ultimate cause of the loss of kingship.

Divrei HaYamim – "וְלֹא דָרַשׁ בַּיהֹוָה" – This position might read the words "וְלֹא דָרַשׁ בַּיהֹוָה" to refer to Shaul's general tendency not to seek God, but rather to rely on himself.

Two Stages

In Chapter 13, Shaul lost the possibility of forming a dynasty, whereas in Chapter 15 his own kingship was cut short.

Sources:Radak #2Shemuel I 15:28About R. David Kimchi, RalbagShemuel I 15:23About R. Levi b. Gershom

"עַתָּה הֵכִין י"י אֶת מַמְלַכְתְּךָ אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד עוֹלָם." – In Chapter 13 Shemuel speaks about losing the possibility of eternal kingship ("עַד עוֹלָם"), suggesting that he was not speaking of Shaul's personal reign but of many generations worth of rulers.

"וַיִּמְאָסְךָ י"י מִהְיוֹת מֶלֶךְ " – In Chapter 15, in contrast, Shemuel says to Shaul that Hashem has rejected him ("וַיִּמְאָסְךָ") from being king, focusing on the individual Shaul, rather than his dynasty

"וַיִּקְרַע י"י אֶת הַמַּמְלָכָה מִיָּדֶךָ" – Radak brings further support for this position from Shemuel's rebuke in Chapter 28,⁵ where he points to Shaul's actions in Amalek specifically as having caused Hashem to tear the kingship away from Shaul and transfer it to David.  The wording, "וַיִּקְרַע י"י אֶת הַמַּמְלָכָה מִיָּדֶךָ", and the context of Shaul's imminent death, emphasize that Shaul's punishment for his sin with Amalek was a personal one, unrelated to his descendants.

Relationship between the two sins – This approach must explain why one sin should have merited the loss of the dynasty and the other the shortening of Shaul's personal kingship.  One might answer that the sin at Gilgal related to viewing the monarch as supreme and self-reliant, an attitude which is especially dangerous in a dynastic form of government,⁶ and therefore led to the loss of dynasty. During the battle of Amalek, however, it is possible that Shaul's failure related not to his disobedience but to his lack of leadership qualities and inability to stop the nation from sinning.  Such a character flaw meant that his personal reign needed to be cut short. See Shaul's Sin in Gilgal and Shaul Loses the Kingship.

Divrei HaYamim – "וְגַם לִשְׁאוֹל בָּאוֹב לִדְרוֹשׁ" – This position could suggest that Divrei HaYamim actually refers to a third stage of punishment.  In addition to losing his dynasty and own kingship, Shaul died an early death due to his seeking of Ba'alat Ha'Ov.

Human versus Divine Declaration

In Chapter 13 Shemuel expresses his own personal opinion that Shaul's actions display an unworthiness to rule, but it is only in Chapter 15 that Hashem so decrees.

"הֶרֶף וְאַגִּידָה לְּךָ אֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר י"י אֵלַי הַלָּיְלָה" – In Chapter 15, Shemuel prefaces his words by stating that he is about to share Hashem's speech with him.  No such attribution to God is found in his declaration of Chapter 13.

"נִחַמְתִּי כִּי הִמְלַכְתִּי אֶת שָׁאוּל לְמֶלֶךְ" – Similarly, while in Chapter 15 Hashem Himself explicitly mentions His decision to tear away the kingship, Hashem is totally absent from Chapter 13.

"בִּקֵּשׁ י"י לוֹ אִישׁ כִּלְבָבוֹ וַיְצַוֵּהוּ י"י לְנָגִיד עַל עַמּוֹ" – According to this approach, these words of Shemuel in Chapter 13 are not a prophecy regarding David (which would mean that Hashem, and not just the prophet, had already decided to replace Shaul) but a parenthetical statement referring to Shaul.  Shemuel is sharing how Hashem had originally chosen Shaul as a king, hoping that he would be "after His heart" but now that he has disobeyed Hashem, his kingship will not last.⁷

Sin in Gilgal – According to this approach, Shaul's sin in Gilgal revolved around his defiance of the prophet, but not necessarily of a decree of Hashem.⁸ It is possible that when Shemuel had told him to wait for seven says, this was the Shemuel's own directive.⁹  Though Shemuel might have been insulted at Shaul's ensuing lack of obedience,¹⁰ considering the extenuating circumstances of imminent war, it is possible that Hashem did not find the sin as severe as Shemuel had.

Sin with Amalek – In the battle against Amalek, however, Shaul defied not only the prophet's directive but Hashem's own command. Shemuel opens by stating, "שְׁמַע לְקוֹל דִּבְרֵי י"י," clearly attributing the command to kill Amalek to Hashem, and later he blames Shemuel, "וְלָמָּה לֹא שָׁמַעְתָּ בְּקוֹל י"י".  This is a worse offense and leads Hashem to implement Shemuel's previous declaration.

"וְלֹא עָשִׂיתָ חֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ בַּעֲמָלֵק" – Before Shaul's death, Shemuel refers back to Shaul's sin with Amalek as the cause of his imminent death and loss of kingship, because this (and not Shaul's actions in Gilgal) was the misdeed which led to Hashem's decree.

"וַיָּמׇת שָׁאוּל בְּמַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר מָעַל בַּיהֹוָה עַל דְּבַר י"י אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמָר" – Divrei HaYamim emphasizes not listening to Hashem specifically as it was the lack of obedience to Hashem (and not to the prophet) that caused Shaul's loss of kingship.

¹ Radak brings two explanations. See below that he also proposes that Shemuel's words mark two distinct stages in Shaul's punishment.

² The  true order of events would be: (1) the initial coronation of Chapter 10 (2) Shaul's sin at Gilgal and the war against the Philistines in Chapters 13-14 (3) the war against Amon and renewal of the kingship in Chapter 11, and (4) Shaul's second sin and loss of kingship during the Battle against Amalek in Chapter 15.

³ Even when he first embarks on battle, Shaul tells the people to go to war "אַחֲרֵי שָׁאוּל וְאַחַר שְׁמוּאֵל", including the prophet in addition to himself.  This, too, exhibits a realization of the need for prophetic aid.

⁴ A similar phenomenon can be found later in Sefer Shemuel in the context of David's reign.  There too, the opening chapters focus on David's successes, while the second half of the book highlights the troubles in his kingdom after David sinned with Batsheva.

⁵ By this point Shemuel has already died, but Radak refers to his speech after being revived by BA'alat Ha'Ov.

⁶ See ShadalDevarim 17:14About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto who points to this danger as the reason for the special laws given to the king in Devarim 17.

⁷ Alternatively, Shemuel is speaking about the future, but not prophetically.  He suggests on his own that Hashem is likely to replace Shaul with a king who will go after His own heart. Shemuel, however, does not have anyone specific in mind as his speech reflected his own thoughts and not Hashem's decree.

⁸ See Shaul's Sin in Gilgal for elaboration.

⁹ No where in Chapter 10 does it mention that Hashem told Shemuel to relay this to the prophet.

¹⁰ Cf. Radak, in contrast, who views the lack of obedience to a prophet as defiance of Hashem, for the word of a prophet is like the word of Hashem ("כי מה שאני אומר פיו ודברו הוא").. As such, Shemuel can say "לֹא שָׁמַרְתָּ אֶת מִצְוַת י"י" even if Hashem had not said anything.