With the establishment of the Law of Moses, for nearly five centuries, Israel had no royal authority. The Lord Himself was King. Prophets, judges, and elders were only executors of His will. This type of government is called theocracy(literally - the power of God). Being the God and Heavenly King of all peoples, the Lord was in relation to His chosen people at the same time and king earthly. From Him proceeded laws and decrees not only religious, but also family, social, state character.

When Samuel grew old, the elders of Israel gathered together and began to ask: put a king over us to judge us like other nations(1 Samuel 8:5). These words did not please Samuel. The great prophet saw them as a threat to the theocracy.

However, the Lord allowed Samuel to satisfy the people's desire, finding that the fulfillment of this may not contradict the form of government established among the Jews, since the earthly king of the theocratic state of the Jews could and should have been nothing more than a zealous executor and conductor in the people entrusted to him of the laws of the King of Heaven .

The first king anointed to the kingdom by the prophet Samuel was Saul, son of Kis. It happened like this. Kish lost his best donkeys, and he sent his son Saul with a servant to find them. After three days of searching, they came to the land of Zuf, the homeland of the great prophet Samuel. The donkeys were not found, the servant advised Saul to ask the famous seer about them. So the Lord brought the future king to the prophet Samuel. God revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. The prophet Samuel took a vessel of oil and poured it on Saul's head, kissed him and said: behold, the Lord has anointed you to be the ruler of his inheritance(1 Samuel 10:1). Until now, the Old Testament spoke of anointing only the high priest with holy oil (see: Exodus 30:30).

Kingship places a great responsibility on a person. Through myrrh (or holy oil) Divine spiritual gifts were given for the successful completion of this ministry.

When Saul was returning, a host of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God fell on him, and he prophesied among them. To prophesy in biblical language does not always mean to predict. In this case, the word prophesied can be understood in the sense that he glorified God and His miracles in enthusiastic laudatory hymns, which suggests a special rise in the spiritual powers of man. For everyone who knew Saul before that, this was extremely unexpected, so the Jews had a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?(1 Samuel 10, 11).

In the early years, Saul was quite at the height of his rank. He won several victories over the Philistines and Amalekites, who were at enmity against the chosen people. But gradually the power intoxicated him. He began to act independently disregarding the will of God which the prophet Samuel revealed to him.

Saul's self-will displeased Samuel. Samuel's final break with Saul occurred after the victory over the Amalekites. The Lord demanded that everything obtained in the battle be conjured, that is, complete destruction. But Saul and the people spared the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fattened lambs, and all that was valuable to them. When Samuel reproved him on behalf of the Lord, Saul said that he had kept the booty for an offering to the Lord. Samuel replied that obedience to God is better than any sacrifice, and disobedience is as sinful as magic.

Death of the priest Elijah.

The Lord again punished the people of Israel for their lawless deeds. He betrayed the Israelites again into slavery to the Philistines.
"And the Philistines lined up against the Israelites, and a battle took place, and the Israelites were defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand people on the battlefield. And the people came into the camp; and the elders of Israel said: "Why did the Lord strike us today before the Philistines? Let us take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and it will go among us and save us from the hand of our enemies." And he sent the people to Shiloh, and from there they brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ... and with the ark of the covenant of God were the two sons of Elijah, Hophni and Phinehas... And the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were smitten, and each ran into his tent, and there was a very great defeat, and the Israelites fell thirty thousand on foot. And the ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Elijah, Hophni and Phinehas, have died."
A messenger ran from the battlefield to the city of Shiloh, where Eli lived, and announced the terrible defeat of his people. The inhabitants of the city, having heard this news, raised a great lamentation. At this time, the priest Eli was sitting by the road at the gates of the city. He heard a cry coming from the city and asked the herald what had happened. The man answered him: "A great defeat happened in Israel before the Philistines. The ark of God was taken, and both your sons perished."
When the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell on his back and died. For forty years Eli was a judge in Israel, and he died at the age of ninety-eight.
What happened to Eli's house was what the Lord told Samuel the night He called him. Thus Israel knew that Samuel had been chosen to be the prophet of the Lord.
I KINGS 4:1-18

Samuel became a great prophet among the people of God. He constantly urged his people to leave foreign gods-idols and turn to the living God. When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. But they did not follow the path of their father, but deviated into self-interest: they took gifts and unjustly judged the people.
Then the elders of Israel came to Samuel and said to him: "Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, put a king over us to judge us like other nations." Samuel knew that their request was not according to the will of the Lord, and he prayed to Him. The Lord answered him:
"Listen to the voices of the people in all that they say to you; for they did not reject you, but rejected me, so that I would not reign over them. As they did from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day they forsook me and served other gods, so they do to you. Therefore, listen to their voices; only present to them and declare to them the rights of the king who will reign over them.
Samuel told the people the words of God and said that if they choose a king, he will enslave them, and they will cry from him, but the Lord will not listen to them. But the people did not heed the advice of Samuel and continued to demand the king.
Once the Lord sent to Samuel a slender and strong young man named Saul. When Samuel met him, the Lord told him, "Here is the man I told you about; he will rule over my people." Samuel took a vessel of oil and poured the oil on Saul's head. Then he kissed him and said, "Behold, the Lord anoints you as the ruler of His inheritance." After that, Saul became king in Israel.
I KINGS 8:1-22; 9:17; 10:1

The heart of Saul, anointed king by Samuel, turned out to be unfaithful before God. During his reign, he often did not follow the commands of the Lord. Therefore, one day Samuel said to him: “You have done wrong, that you did not fulfill the commandment of the Lord your God, which was given to you; for now the Lord would establish your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom will not stand; the Lord will find Himself a man after His own heart And the Lord will command him to be the leader of his people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded you."
Soon the Lord pointed out to Samuel a handsome and strong young man named David. David was tending his father's sheep. He was a good shepherd, and when it happened that the lion carried away the sheep from the flock, he caught up with him and pulled the sheep out of the lion's mouth.
At the command of the Lord, Samuel anointed David with oil as the king of the people of Israel. Since then, the Spirit of God has been constantly with David. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and the evil spirit began to disturb him. Then Saul ordered his servants to find him a musician who plays the harp well, so that he would calm him down with his playing. The servants brought David to him, who began to serve in the palace. Saul liked David very much, and Saul appointed him as his armor-bearer. When the evil spirit angered Saul, David took the harp and played for him. And then it became more joyful and better for Saul, and the evil spirit left him.
I KINGS 13:13-14; 16:11-23

There was no royal power in the tradition of the Jewish people. They led a nomadic lifestyle and from time immemorial were ruled by patriarchs, elders, judges... Since the time of Moses, a theocratic system of government has been built in Judea: people - elders - judges - high priest (sometimes a prophet next to him) - God. And it justified itself in those conditions. However, the transition to a settled life, the experience of communicating with neighboring peoples (Canaanites, Philistines ...), self-interest and the inability of the ruling elite to protect the people from the external expansion of the same neighbors led to the fact that the people demanded a king for themselves, turning with a demand for the appointment of a king to the highest authority of that time, the prophet Samuel.

Samuel, realizing that the new type of government threatened the future power of his sons, resisted this decision, but in the end he nevertheless made a choice in favor of the young man Saul, the son of Kish from a noble family with a good name from the small tribe of Benjamin. At first, Samuel secretly anointed him for the kingdom, and then after a while the lot fell on the anointed one before the people. This is how Flavius ​​Josephus tells the story of the election of Saul.

Saul ruled for about 20 years, and for the first time of his reign he acted according to the will of God, showing himself to be a worthy ruler. By many victories over his enemies, he won the love of the people. At first, he refused honors and in peacetime he himself plowed his field (1 Sam. 11:4). Over time, Saul stopped doing God's commands, becoming presumptuous, and the Spirit of God forsook him. Realizing this, he fell into a depression, and nothing pleased him. Samuel secretly anointed king David, close to the king, dispersing the king's blues with skillful playing on the harp.

Three sons of Saul fell in the battle of Gilboa. Surrounded by enemy archers and wounded by their arrows, Saul threw himself on his sword (1 Samuel 31:4).

David plays the harp in front of Saul.
Alexander Andreevich Ivanov. 1831 Paper pasted on paper and cardboard, oil. 8.5 x 13.5.
On a biblical story. Sketch of an unrealized painting.
Acquired in 1926 from the Rumyantsev Museum (donated by S. A. Ivanov in 1877). Inv. No. 7990.
State Tretyakov Gallery
http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood18360.html

The Witch of Endor summons the shadow of the prophet Samuel.
Dmitry Nikiforovich Martynov (1826-1889). 1857
Ulyanovsk Art Museum

The story of the sorceress of Endor is found in the First Book of Kings (chapter 28). It tells how, after the death of the prophet Samuel, the armies of the Philistines gathered to fight against Israel. The king of Israel, Saul, tried to ask God about the outcome of the battle, “but the Lord did not answer him either in a dream, or through the Urim, or through the prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6). Then he ordered the servants - "Find me a woman sorceress, and I will go to her and ask her." The servants found a sorceress at Endor, and Saul changed his royal clothes into simple ones, took two people with him and went to her at night.

“And [Saul] said to her, I beg you, turn me around and show me who I will tell you about. But the woman answered him: you know what Saul did, how he drove magicians and fortune-tellers out of the country; Why are you laying a net for my soul to destroy me? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives! you will not be in trouble for this matter. Then the woman asked: whom will you bring out? And he answered: Bring me Samuel. And the woman saw Samuel and cried out loudly; And the woman turned to Saul, saying, Why did you deceive me? you are Saul. And the king said to her: Do not be afraid; what do you see? And the woman answered: I see, as it were, a god coming out of the earth. What kind is he? [Saul] asked her. She said: an elderly man comes out of the earth, dressed in long clothes. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed down. (1 Sam. 28:8-14)“

Saul asked Samuel about what he should do in the war with the Philistines, to which he received the answer - “why do you ask me when the Lord has retreated from you and become your enemy? The Lord will do what He spoke through me; The Lord will take the kingdom from your hands and give it to your neighbor David.” (1 Sam. 28:16-17). Samuel further prophesied that “tomorrow you and your sons [will] be with me.” Saul got scared and fell to the ground. The sorceress approached him, offered him bread, after persuasion the king agreed and the woman slaughtered his calf and baked unleavened bread. After eating, Saul left.

The next day, in the battle, the sons of Saul - Jonathan, Aminadab and Malchisua were killed, and the king himself committed suicide (1 Sam. 31:15). The first book of Chronicles reports that "Saul died because of his iniquity, which he did before the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord and turned to the sorceress with a question" (1 Chronicles 10:13).

The sorceress of Endor summons the shadow of Samuel (Saul in the sorceress of Endor).
Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge. 1856 Oil on canvas. 288×341.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

King David

David is the second king of Israel, the youngest son of Jesse. He reigned for 40 years (c. 1005 - 965 BC, according to traditional Jewish chronology c. 876 - 836 BC: seven years and six months was the king of Judea (with the capital in Hebron), then 33 years - the king united kingdom of Israel and Judea (with its capital in Jerusalem).The image of David is the image of an ideal ruler, from whose clan (on the male line), according to the Jewish biblical prophecies, the Messiah will come out, which has already happened, according to the Christian New Testament, which describes in detail the origin of the Messiah - Jesus Christ from King David The historicity of King David is a subject of debate among historians and archaeologists.

Tree of Jesse.
Marc Chagall. 1975 Oil on canvas. 130×81 cm.
Private collection

David and Goliath.
I. E. Repin. 1915 Paper on cardboard, watercolor, bronze powder. 22x35.
Tver Regional Art Gallery

Called to King Saul, David played the kinnor to drive away the evil spirit that tormented the king for his apostasy from God. After David, who came to the Israeli army to visit his brothers, accepted the challenge of the Philistine giant Goliath and slew him with a sling, thereby ensuring the victory of the Israelites, Saul finally took him to the court (1 Sam. 16:14 - 18:2).

Bathsheba.
Karl Pavlovich Bryullov. 1832 Unfinished painting. Canvas, oil. 173x125.5.
Acquired in 1925 from the Rumyantsev Museum (collection of K. T. Soldatenkov). Inv. No. 5052.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
http://www.tanais.info/art/brulloff6more.html

Bathsheba.
K.P. Bryullov. 1830s (?). Canvas, oil. 87.5 x 61.5.
Variant of the painting of the same name 1832 from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery
2 Samuel 11:2-4
On the left, on the crane, the signature: K. P. Brullo.
Received in 1907 from A. A. Kozlova (St. Petersburg). Inv. No. Zh-5083.

http://www.tez-rus.net/ViewGood36729.html

Around 1832, Karl Bryullov created a canvas that was a kind of result of his many years of creative searches in mythological and genre painting. Having conceived the painting "Bathsheba", he selflessly begins to work on it for four years. The author was overwhelmed with the desire to depict a naked human body in the rays of the setting sun. The subtle play of light and shadow penetrating the picture, the airiness of the environment surrounding the figure, did not prevent the author from giving the silhouette clarity and sculptural volume. In the painting "Bathsheba" Bryullov skillfully depicts sensual erotica, frankly admiring every wrinkle on a slender body and every strand of fluffy thick hair like a man. In order to enhance the impression, the master applied a spectacular color contrast. We see how the whiteness of Bathsheba's matte skin is set off by the swarthy dark skin of an Ethiopian maid who gently clung to her mistress.

The painting is based on a plot from the Old Testament. In the Bible, "Bathsheba" is described as a woman of rare beauty. Walking on the roof of his palace, King David saw a girl below, who was naked and was ready to enter the waters of the marble pool. Struck by the unique beauty of Bathsheba, King David experienced passion. Bathsheba's husband at that time was away from home, serving in the army of King David. Not trying to seduce the king, Bathsheba nevertheless appeared at his order at the palace, and after their relationship, Bathsheba became pregnant. King David gave the commander of the army an order in which he ordered her husband to be sent to the hottest place where he would be killed. As a result, this happened, after which King David married Bathsheba. When they were born, their first child lived only a few days. David grieved for a long time and repented of his deed. Despite her high position and the status of David's most beloved wife, Bathsheba behaved very modestly and with dignity. Meanwhile, the Bible says that she had a great influence on the king, this is proved by the fact that she convinced the ruler to appoint her eldest son Solomon as king. After a fierce struggle between his sons began for the throne of King David, she in every possible way contributed to the exposure of the fourth son of David, Adonijah, who sought to remove his father from the throne. Bathsheba had two sons, Solomon and Nathan. All her life she loved and was devoted to King David, becoming a wonderful wife and a good mother. art-on-web.ru

David and Bathsheba.
Marc Chagall. Paris, 1960. Lithograph, paper. 35.8×26.5

Song of Songs
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Museum, Nice

King David.
Marc Chagall. 1962–63 Oil on canvas. 179.8×98.
Private collection

King David.
V.L. Borovikovsky. 1785 Oil on canvas. 63.5 x 49.5.
At the bottom left is the date and signature: 1785 was written by Vladimir Borovikovsky.
Received: 1951 from the collection of R.S. Belenkaya. Inv. No. Zh-5864
State Russian Museum
http://www.tez-rus.net:8888/ViewGood34367.html

King Solomon

Solomon - the third Jewish king, the legendary ruler of the united kingdom of Israel in 965-928 BC. e., during its heyday. The son of King David and Bathsheba (Bat Sheva), his co-ruler in 967-965 BC. e. During the reign of Solomon in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Temple was built - the main shrine of Judaism, later destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Traditionally considered the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the book Song of Solomon, the Book of Proverbs of Solomon, as well as some psalms. During the life of Solomon, uprisings of the conquered peoples (Edomites, Arameans) began; immediately after his death, an uprising broke out, as a result of which a single state broke up into two kingdoms (Israel and Judah). For the later periods of Jewish history, the reign of Solomon represented a kind of "golden age". The "sunlike" king was credited with all the blessings of the world - wealth, women, remarkable mind.

Judgment of King Solomon.
N.N. Ge. 1854 Oil on canvas. 147x185.
Kyiv State Museum of Russian Art

The student program work "The Judgment of King Solomon" was made according to all academic canons, in a somewhat constrained and restrained manner.

Then two harlot women came to the king and stood before him. And one woman said: Oh, my lord! I and this woman live in the same house; and I gave birth with her in this house; on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth; and we were together, and there was no stranger with us in the house; only we two were in the house; and the woman's son died in the night, for she slept him; and she arose in the night, and took my son from me, while I, your servant, was sleeping, and laid him on her breast, and she laid her dead son on my breast; I got up in the morning to feed my son, and behold, he was dead; and when I looked at him in the morning, it was not my son whom I gave birth to. And the other woman said: No, my son is alive, and your son is dead. And she told her: no, your son is dead, but mine is alive. And they spoke thus before the king.

And the king said, This one says, My son is alive, and your son is dead; and she says: no, your son is dead, and my son is alive. And the king said, Give me a sword. And they brought the sword to the king. And the king said, Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other. And that woman, whose son was alive, answered the king, for her whole inwardness was agitated from pity for her son: O my lord! give her this child alive and do not kill him. And the other said: let it not be either for me or for you, cut it down. And the king answered and said, Give this living child, and do not kill him: she is his mother. 1 Kings 3:16-27

Ecclesiastes or Vanity of Vanities (Vanity of Vanities and all Vanity).
Isaak Lvovich Asknazy. 1899 or 1900
Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg

The largest, most serious and last work of the artist was painted in 1900 - the painting "Ecclesiastes" or "Vanity of Vanities". She was exhibited even at the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
The painting depicts King Solomon of Jerusalem, sitting on the throne, his thoughts are gloomy, his lips whisper: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." The artist depicts the king as lonely, long abandoned by children. Only two faithful servants - a bodyguard and a secretary - remained with him. The servants are watching the movement of his lips with close attention, and the secretary writes down the sayings of the wise king on the board.

A well-balanced composition, a beautiful drawing, knowledge of the style of the depicted era - all indicate that the picture was made by the hand of a master. The oriental luxury of the decoration of the interior of the palace and the clothes of King Solomon sitting on the throne only emphasize the main idea of ​​the work: external splendor is all vanity. The work, to which Asknazy devoted six years of his life, was included in the exposition of the Russian Department at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900. The author dreamed that the painting was purchased by the Academy of Arts for the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. However, the painting, although bought for five thousand rubles, did not end up in the new museum, remaining in the academic collection. Numerous sketches and sketches for it were first shown at the "Posthumous Exhibition of Works by Academician I.L. Asknaziya", which opened in academic halls in 1903, which featured 110 paintings and more than 150 sketches and sketches. It was a personal exhibition of works by Isaac Asknazia. Parashutov

King Solomon.
Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich (1862 - 1942). 1902
Fragment of the painting of the drum of the dome of the church in the name of the Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky
http://www.art-catalog.ru/picture.php?id_picture=15191

Saul - the first king of Israel

The relationship of God and His chosen people, as described in the Bible, is like that of a parent and a child. Immediately after the Exodus from Egypt, God, through Moses, and then through Joshua, gave detailed instructions to the baby people on any occasion. As a matter of fact, only one thing was required of him: boundless trust and complete obedience. But, like a child, the people often turned out to be obstinate and disobedient and were punished for this.

When the people of Israel settled in Canaan, God entrusted them with more freedom, the Israelites began to arrange their own lives. But, like teenagers, they fell from one misfortune to another. Then God intervened, calling from among the Israelites "judges" - leaders who helped them get out. But the time has come when the people decided to choose their own destiny and establish their own state.

Before this happened, the people were under the care of the last judge, Samuel. It is interesting that his power was completely informal: he was not a prince, nor a high priest, although he grew up at the Tabernacle at an early age (it was she who was the center of the Old Testament religion before the completion of the Jerusalem Temple). All his authority was kept by the available qualities, more precisely, by the will of God, which he revealed to the people. But when Samuel grew old, it turned out that he had no successor. His sons, as often happens, did not adopt their father's piety. Who will lead the people after his death?

As a result, the Israelis wanted stability, a firm hand, and continuity of power. “Put a king over us to rule over us!” they demanded.

Samuel did not like this demand, and God did not like it either. Until now, only He could be called the King of Israel, the people whom He saved from Egypt, in the literal sense of the word created from a crowd of slaves, as He created Adam from the dust of the earth. But He allowed His people to do as they saw fit. "Listen to them," He said to Samuel, "for they rejected not you, but Me, so that I would not reign over them."

ISamuel said to the people: “The king who will reign over you will take your sons and set them on his chariots, and they will till his fields, reap his bread, make him weapons of war; and he will take your daughters to cook food and bake bread ... you yourself will be his slaves; then you will groan from your father, but the Lord will not answer you then.

The people were not taken aback by this warning. I must say that in ancient times, monarchies were usually seen as just another possible form of government. The absoluteness of royal power required some kind of justification, and the easiest way was to say that the gods themselves commanded to establish it. Atsar, accordingly, played the role of an intermediary between the world of the gods and the world of people. It is no coincidence that in the overwhelming majority of ancient societies, kings were also high priests. Mesopotamian kings often declared themselves as chosen ones and even children of various deities, the Egyptian pharaoh was considered to be one of the main gods of Egypt.

For all the similarity of details, we see nothing of the kind in the history of Israel. The people themselves choose a monarchical form of government, there is no hint of divinity in it. Moreover, from the very beginning, a line is drawn between the king and the priest: the king does not have to perform any rituals, he is the same person as everyone else. On the other hand, it is he who represents his people before God, so the Lord personally chooses him, helps him, but asks him especially strictly. In essence, the earthly king of the chosen people is the vicar of the Lord as the true King.

The divine choice fell on a handsome young man named Saul (in the translation of the Sevrean - “begged”) from the tribe of Benjamin. In search of his father's missing donkeys, he turned to the prophet Samuel, who recognized him as the chosen one of the Lord. In ancient times, as today, people were often interested in prophets and priests in order to settle their earthly affairs. Know Samuel found Saul not a donkey, a king's dignity. The Prophet arranged for him a solemn dinner, left him to spend the night in his house, in the morning he brought him out of town and poured a vessel of olive oil on his head - the anointing symbolized initiation into royal or priestly dignity. Or only later, at a great solemn assembly of representatives of all the people, Saul was proclaimed king, when the lot indicated him. Such duality tells us: in fact, the Lord chooses this or that person to rule, and all public ceremonies only serve as a manifestation of His will.

As we can see, this system is completely different from modern republican elections, or from medieval monarchies with the transfer of the country by inheritance, as if it were the private property of the sovereign. In the Bible, God retains sovereignty over Israel and simply appoints an earthly king as his vicar, whom he can remove if necessary, as happened later with Saul.

So, Saul ascended the throne and began to wage fairly successful wars with the neighboring nations. It would seem that the Israelites got what they were looking for: a king who led his people from victory to victory. The dangerous aspects of tsarist power were revealed very soon.

Before a campaign or battle, the Israelites prayed to God and offered sacrifices to Him. The prophet Samuel led these sacrifices. Once he was delayed, the army was tired of inaction, people began to disperse, so Saul decided to take the initiative in his own hands and performed the rite on his own. Like the kings of the pagan nations, he behaved not only like a king, but also like a priest. From Samuel he had to listen to a severe rebuke: he appropriated to himself a right that did not belong to him!

The next time Saul attacked the Amalekites, whom the Lord commanded to be completely exterminated, not even leaving military booty. The question of why the Lord gave such severe commands is very complicated, and we will not fully analyze it here, we can only say very briefly: in those days, the wholesale extermination of civilians was a completely normal way of fighting. The preaching of peace and the signing of the Geneva Convention were absolutely impossible in that world. And the Lord gradually led the Israelites to an ethics closer to us, limiting their destructive anger only to those groups of people who really threatened Israel with complete extermination, physical or spiritual (that is, the dissolution of faith in the One in primitive and cruel paganism). Mahatma Gandhi at that time, unfortunately, could not be on earth.

But Saul and his army acted differently: the king of the Amalekites was left alive, and only what was of little value was destroyed from the booty. The warriors preferred to keep good livestock and expensive things for themselves - note that they were driven by no inhumanism, but elementary greed, the desire to arrange their fate according to their own whims. So Samuel said to Saul, “Are burnt offerings and sacrifices as much pleasing to the Lord as obedience? Obedience is better than sacrifice, obedience is better than the fat of rams; for disobedience is as sinful as witchcraft, and resistance as well as idolatry; but because you rejected the word of the Lord, and He rejected you so that you would not be king.”

Saul remained on the throne for a long time. But now his son was destined to ascend the throne after him, daisama Saul's life was deprived of patronage from above. As the Bible describes it, "the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and the evil spirit troubled him." To appease their ruler, the courtiers found him a skilled musician, a young man named David. His story is a completely separate conversation, we will return to him, but for now we are talking about Saul.

David became a squire and a favorite musician of the king, who already knew that he was rejected by God, but had no idea that the handsome young man was his successor. Samuel secretly anointed David from all the kingdom, God's will, even the rite of anointing did not mean that David would immediately begin to rule. Often a promised gift from above comes to a person only after considerable effort. So it was with David.

Apoka, the Israelites went to war with their constant enemies, the Philistines. As often happened in ancient times, they offered to hold a duel between two heroes and put up their own fighter named Goliath. This fighter was about three meters tall, as the Bible describes (perhaps, not without exaggeration), and his weapons and armor were unparalleled.

King Saul would have to answer the challenge. After all, the Israelites asked for a king for this, so that he would lead the people in war. The notsar, who turned out to be unworthy of his calling before God, could not fulfill his obligations to the people in the same way. As a result, young David, the new king of Israel, whom no one knew at that time, volunteered to fight. He came out with the familiar weapon of the shepherds - a sling - and hit the opponent with a well-aimed shot before he approached him. So Goliath forever became the image of a powerful, clumsy giant, who is defeated by a lightly armed, but flexible opponent. Maybe it’s not just about fighting qualities, but about what David said before the battle: “You are going against me with a sword and a spear, I will fight against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” The shepherd boy, who had previously protected his flock of predators, became an instrument of God protecting His flock, the people of Israel.

After the victory, Saul needed to reward the young man, and the king gave his daughter Michal for him. But he realized that from now on David was his rival, because the people, celebrating the victory, sang: "Saul defeated thousands, but David - tens of thousands!" Saul even tried to kill David himself, but his own children did not let him do it. David was warned first by his wife, Michal, and then by his best friend, Jonathan, Saul's son.

Twice more Saul spoke with David, whom he, together with his army, unsuccessfully caught in the mountains and deserts. Once Saul went to relieve himself in the cave where David's band was hiding. He with difficulty kept his soldiers from immediate reprisals, and, sneaking up, cut off a piece of Saul's clothes. Apotom from afar showed Saul this rag: he could have killed the worthless king, but he did not raise the hand of God's anointed one. The logic of palace coups was alien to him - the Lord raises kings to the throne, may the Lord bring them down.

Saul repented and asked for forgiveness from David, but he did not remain in that mood for long. Envy of evil has its own logic, and if a person succumbs to them, it is very difficult for him to get rid of their power later - soon Saul's detachment was again chasing David on the heels.

After some time, Saul went to the next war with the Philistines. He felt how precarious his position was; formerly, the prophet Samuel gave him advice, but he died a long time ago. If only it were possible to summon his grave! Yes, there are always fortunetellers and magicians who do such things ...

The Israelites were strictly forbidden to engage in occult practices. To be faithful to the One God means, first of all, not to resort to the help of all kinds of gods and spirits, how to be faithful to a spouse means not to start fleeting romances on the side. Once Saul expelled all the fortune-tellers from his kingdom, now he turned to such a woman to call the spirit of Samuel. He even had to pretend that it was neon, the formidable King Saul, an ordinary person. The king finally lost his royal dignity. The sorceress agreed to "bring out" Samuel. The answer of the prophet to the desperate questioning of the king sounded like this: “Why do you ask me, when the Lord has retreated from you and become your enemy? The Lord will do what He spoke through me; The Lord will take the kingdom from your hands and give it to your neighbor David.”

Was it actually Samuel? It is unlikely that the spirits of the dead appear to us, as servants, at the first call. It could very well be the same evil spirit that had previously found on Saul. In any case, Nodukh did not deceive him: in the battle that took place the next day, Isa Saul and his sons perished. Turning to a fortune-teller, Saul received what he was looking for, but this did not help him in any way.

David, the founder of the eternal dynasty of Israeli kings, began to reign, but that's another story.

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Biographical information

Saul's kingdom included the portions of Yehuda and Ephraim, Galilee, and the region in Transjordan. Apparently, he did not try to extend his power beyond the borders of the territories inhabited by Israelis. He also failed to introduce reforms aimed at replacing the traditional tribal leadership with a centralized administrative apparatus subordinate to the king.

The history of Saul's relationship with Shmuel reflects the difficulties associated with the formation of monarchical power. According to one of the traditions included in the biblical narrative, the friction between Saul and Shmuel began after the king, who had gathered an army in Gilgal to fight the Philistines, himself offered sacrifices to God, without waiting for the arrival of Shmuel (I Sam. 13:8 -fourteen). Apparently, Shmuel saw in this an attempt on the king's priestly prerogatives; he announced to Saul that, as a punishment for his deed, his reign would not last long. The final break occurred when Saul did not follow Shmuel's instructions to completely exterminate the Amalekites (I Sam. 15:14-35; 28:18). Shmuel announced that God was depriving Saul of his royal title and chose David as the new king.

With the advent of David at the royal court, Saul began to realize that the people favored David (I Sam. 18:16), whose victories over the Philistines aroused the envy of Saul, which turned into blind hatred, which at times darkened his mind - in fits of insane anger, he attempted to kill life of his own son Jonathan (I Sam. 20:33), executed 85 priests along with their families in Nova (I Sam. 22:12-19). Saul's suspicion made him see a conspiracy everywhere and prompted him to kill David (I Sam. 18:20-29; 19:1, 4-7, 9-10), even though he was already his son-in-law. He forced David to flee to the enemy in order to obtain refuge there.

All this time, Saul continued to wage war with the Philistines. When the Philistine forces gathered deep in Israelite territory, in the Jezreel Valley, Saul opposed them and pitched a camp at the foot of Mount Gilboa, apparently near Ein Harod (I Sam. 28:4; 29:1). According to I Sam. 28, he was insecure before the battle and needed the support of Shmuel, by this time already dead. In violation of a religious prohibition, he used the help of a necromantic sorceress to summon the spirit of Shmuel, but received from him only a prediction of defeat and death. Perhaps this episode is part of the general line of the book against royal power and in defense of the power of priests.

Saul's three sons fell in battle - Jonathan, Aminadab and Malki-Shua. Surrounded by Philistine archers and wounded by their arrows, Saul threw himself on his sword (I Sam. 31:4).

When the next day the Philistines found the body of Saul among the fallen Israelites, they cut off his head “and sent him throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim this in the temples of their idols and to the people” (I Sam. 31: 8-9). Saul's weapons were donated to the temple of Astarte, and his body was hung on the wall of Beit She'an. The inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil'ad, who remembered how Saul saved them from the Ammonites, removed the body from the wall and buried it in their city (I Sam. 31:10-13), from where later the bones of Saul were transferred to the tomb of his father in the locality of Tselah, apparently near Gibeah (II Sam. 21:14).

The State of Israelite Society in the Time of Saul

Based on Book I Sam. we can conclude that in the time of Saul there was not yet an orderly administrative system. Saul's energy was predominantly directed towards the consolidation of the monarchy. Apparently, a significant part of the nascent administration were members of Saul's family.

So, his son Jonathan stood at the head of one of the contingents of the standing army, Abner ben Ner, also a relative of Saul, was the head of the royal army; most of the military leaders were members of the Benjamin tribe, who received land plots and vineyards from the king. At the time of Saul, the tribal organization had not yet ceased to exist - Saul was considered the head of the tribes of Israel, and monarchical institutions similar to those that existed in other countries of the ancient Near East had not yet formed.

The symbol of Saul's royal power was, apparently, his spear, and also, perhaps, a crown and a bracelet (II Sam. 1:10). Under Saul, a standing army was first created, numbering 3,000 (I Sam. 13:1-2), but at the same time, tribal militias continued to exist, constituting the bulk of the troops mobilized by royal order.

The accession of Saul marked the beginning of centuries of conflict between the power of priests and kings. From the point of view of the priests, the appearance of the king is a rejection of the direct power of God over the people. Shortly before this, when Gideon was offered to become king, he replied that the people have no other king than God. From that moment on, the so-called "prophetic revolution" began - the constant criticism of the decisions of the kings by the prophets. Another consequence was the centralization of the cult, which had not been required before. Since the time of King Solomon, the only legal place where you can make sacrifices has become the Temple in Jerusalem (although other sanctuaries continued to operate for centuries).

The anti-monarchist tendency of the book of Shmuel I and the comparison of Saul's activities with those of his successor, David, gives the impression of a complete failure. But his military achievements were great. Not having completely solved the problem of the conflict with the Philistines, he brought Israel out of their subordination and stopped their advance into the interior of the country. David understood this best of all, who composed a song about him, beginning with the words “your glory, Israel, is slain on your heights! How the mighty have fallen!

Sources

• KEE, volume 7, col. 694-696

Notification: The preliminary basis for this article was Saul's article in EEE

Rulers of Ancient Israel and Judea
kings of the united kingdom
Kings of Judah