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120-712: The historicity of Saul and the United Kingdom of Israel is not universally accepted, as what is known of both comes exclusively from the Hebrew Bible . According to the text, he was anointed as king of the Israelites by Samuel , and reigned from Gibeah . Saul is said to have committed suicide when he fell on his sword during a battle with the Philistines at Mount Gilboa , in which three of his sons were also killed. Saul's son Ish-bosheth succeeded him on

240-575: A concubine named Rizpah , daughter of Aiah , who bore him two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth . Saul died at the Battle of Mount Gilboa , and was buried in Zelah , in the region of Benjamin . Three of Saul's sons – Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua – died with him at Mount Gilboa. His surviving son Ish-bosheth became king of Israel , at the age of forty. At David's request Abner had Michal returned to David. Ish-bosheth reigned for two years, but after

360-399: A paradigm shift in biblical scholarship and archaeology, which gradually led scholars to no longer consider the patriarchal narratives as historical. Some conservative scholars attempted to defend the patriarchal narratives in the following years, but this position has not found acceptance among scholars. Today, although there continues to be some debate on the historical background of

480-570: A 2013 essay, which points toward recent archaeological evidence emerging from excavation sites in Jerusalem by Eilat Mazar and in Khirbet Qeiyafa by Yosef Garfinkel . Archeology, however, seems to confirm that until about 1000 BCE, the end of Iron Age I , Israelite society was essentially a society of farmers and stockbreeders, without any truly centralized organization and administration. Accounts of Saul's behavior have made him

600-527: A King after the time of Musa ( Moses ). God appointed Talut as their King. Saul was distinguished by the greatness of his knowledge and of his physique; it was a sign of his role as King that God brought back the Ark of the Covenant for Israel . Talut tested his people at a river; whoever drank from it would not follow him in battle excepting one who takes [from it] in the hollow of his hand. Many drank but only

720-432: A choice young man, and goodly ( 1 Samuel 9:2 ) is in this view interpreted as meaning that Saul was not good in every respect, but goodly only with respect to his personal appearance. According to this view, Saul is only a weak branch , owing his kingship not to his own merits, but rather to his grandfather, who had been accustomed to light the streets for those who went to the beit midrash , and had received as his reward

840-520: A consensus, which holds today, that Genesis 1–11 is a highly schematic literary work representing theology /symbolic mythology rather than actual history or science. In the following decades Hermann Gunkel drew attention to the mythic aspects of the Pentateuch, and Albrecht Alt , Martin Noth and the tradition history school argued that although its core traditions had genuinely ancient roots,

960-476: A few hundred to a few thousand people. Many scholars believe that the Deuteronomistic history preserved elements of ancient texts and oral tradition, including geo-political and socio-economic realities and certain information about historical figures and events. However, large portions of it are legendary and it contains many anachronisms. A major issue in the historicity debate was the narrative of

1080-528: A group of ecstatic prophets playing music, they are overcome by the Spirit of God and join in giving prophetic words. Saul sends more men, but they too join the prophets. Eventually, Saul himself goes and also joins the prophets. After relieving the siege of Jabesh-Gilead, Saul conducts military campaigns against the Moabites , Ammonites , Edomites , Aram Rehob and the kings of Zobah , the Philistines , and

1200-472: A heavenly voice ( bat kol ) was heard, proclaiming: Saul is the chosen one of God . His anger at the Gibeonites ( 2 Samuel 21:2 ) was not personal hatred, but was induced by zeal for the welfare of Israel. The fact that he made his daughter remarry ( 1 Samuel 25:44 ) finds its explanation in his (Saul's) view that her betrothal to David had been gained by false pretenses, and was therefore invalid. During

1320-701: A historical Egyptian prototype for Moses has found wide acceptance, and no period in Egyptian history matches the biblical accounts of the Exodus. Some elements of the story are miraculous and defy rational explanation, such as the Plagues of Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea . The Bible also fails to mention the names of any of the pharaohs involved in the Exodus narrative. While ancient Egyptian texts from

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1440-645: A major industry. Recent excavations in the Timna Valley discovered what may be the earliest bones of domesticated camels found in Israel or even outside the Arabian peninsula, dating to around 930 BCE. This is seen as evidence that the stories of Abraham , Joseph , Jacob and Esau were written after this time. Following Albright's death, his interpretation of the patriarchal age came under increasing criticism: such dissatisfaction marked its culmination with

1560-524: A popular subject for speculation among modern psychiatrists. George Stein views the passages depicting Saul's ecstatic episodes as suggesting that he may have suffered from mania. Martin Huisman sees the story of Saul as illustrative of the role of stress as a factor in depression. Liubov Ben-Noun of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, believes that passages referring to King Saul's disturbed behavior indicate he

1680-410: A private and a public selection process. Having been anointed by Samuel, Saul is told of signs indicating that he has been divinely appointed. The last of these is that Saul will be met by an ecstatic group of prophets leaving a high place and playing the lyre , tambourine , and flutes . Saul encounters the ecstatic prophets and joins them. Later, Saul sends men to pursue David, but when they meet

1800-539: A reference to Kushite paramilitary and servants, clearly giving evidence of a date in which Kushites were common, after the 26th Dynasty of Egypt , the period of the last quarter of the 8th century BCE. Alan Millard argues that those elements of the Biblical narrative are not anachronistic. Much of the focus of modern criticism has been the historicity of the United Monarchy of Israel, which according to

1920-528: A result of the general collapse of civilization across the whole eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age, rather than being caused by the Israelites. Amnon Ben-Tor ( Hebrew University of Jerusalem ) believes that recently unearthed evidence of violent destruction by burning verifies the biblical account. In 2012, a team led by Ben-Tor and Sharon Zuckerman discovered a scorched palace from

2040-467: A single leader, Joshua. However, there are a few cases where the biblical record is not contradicted by the archaeological record. For example, stratum in Tel Hazor , found in a destruction layer from around 1200 BCE, shows signs of catastrophic fire, and cuneiform tablets found at the site refer to monarchs named Ibni Addi , where Ibni may be the etymological origin of Yavin ( Jabin ),

2160-597: A single trace among the remnants of the former world entombed in those deposits. All of which left the "first man" and his putative descendants in the awkward position of being stripped of all historical context, until Charles Darwin naturalized the Garden of Eden with the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859. Public acceptance of this scientific revolution was, at the time, uneven, but has since grown significantly. The mainstream scholarly community soon arrived at

2280-587: A skeptical ambiguity toward creation ex nihilo and considered the stories about Adam more as "philosophical anthropology, rather than as historical stories whose protagonist is the 'first man'." Greek philosophers Aristotle , Critolaus and Proclus held that the world was eternal . Such interpretations are inconsistent with what was after the Protestant Reformation to be "commonly perceived in evangelicalism as traditional views of Genesis". The publication of James Hutton 's Theory of

2400-495: A son of Jesse , from the tribe of Judah , enters the story: from this point on Saul's story is largely the account of his increasingly troubled relationship with David. Saul offered his elder daughter Merab as a wife to the now popular David, after his victory over Goliath, but David demurred. David distinguishes himself in the Philistine wars. Upon David's return from battle, the women praise him in song: implying that David

2520-445: A spear at David as he played the harp for Saul. David becomes increasingly successful and Saul becomes increasingly resentful. Now Saul actively plots against David. Saul offered his other daughter, Michal in marriage to David. David initially rejects this offer also, claiming he is too poor. Saul offers to accept a bride price of 100 Philistine foreskins , intending that David die in the attempt. Instead, David obtains 200 foreskins and

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2640-612: A town. Stories are not enough. In Iron Age IIa (corresponding to the Monarchal period) Judah seems to have been limited to small, mostly rural and unfortified settlements in the Judean hills. This contrasts to the upper Samaria which was becoming urbanized. This archaeological evidence as well as textual criticism has led many modern historians to treat Israel as arising separately from Judah and as distinct albeit related entities centered at Shechem and Jerusalem, respectively, and not as

2760-577: A united kingdom with a capital in Jerusalem. Excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa , an Iron Age site located in Judah, support the biblical account of a United Monarchy. The Israel Antiquities Authority stated: "The excavations at Khirbat Qeiyafa clearly reveal an urban society that existed in Judah already in the late eleventh century BCE. It can no longer be argued that the Kingdom of Judah developed only in

2880-596: Is a French epigrapher , historian and philologist . He is Director of Studies at the École pratique des hautes études , where he teaches Hebraic and Aramean philology and epigraphy. He specializes in West-Semitic old civilization and the origins of monotheism . He is a corresponding member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres . He heads the scientific edition of the international series Supplements to Vetus Testamentum (more than 30 volumes). In

3000-578: Is consequently married to Michal. Jonathan arranges a short-lived reconciliation between Saul and David and for a while David served Saul "as in times past" until "the distressing spirit from the Lord" re-appeared. Saul sends assassins in the night, but Michal helps him escape, tricking them by placing a household idol in his bed. David flees to Jonathan, who arranges a meeting with his father. While dining with Saul, Jonathan explains David's absence, saying he has been called away to his brothers. But Saul sees through

3120-648: Is finishing sacrificing and reprimands Saul for not obeying his instructions. Several years after Saul's victory against the Philistines at Michmash Pass, Samuel instructs Saul to make war on the Amalekites and to "utterly destroy" them including all their livestock in fulfilment of a mandate set out: Having forewarned the Kenites who were living among the Amalekites to leave, Saul goes to war and defeats

3240-406: Is mention of later armor ( 1 Samuel 17:4–7, 38–39; 25:13 ), use of camels ( 1 Samuel 30:17 ), and cavalry (as distinct from chariotry; 1 Samuel 13:5 , 2 Samuel 1:6 ), iron picks and axes (as though they were common; 2 Samuel 12:31 ), and sophisticated siege techniques ( 2 Samuel 20:15 ). There is a gargantuan troop called up ( 2 Samuel 17:1 ), a battle with 20,000 casualties ( 2 Samuel 18:7 ), and

3360-522: Is not universally accepted and there is insufficient extrabiblical evidence to verify if the biblical account reflects historical reality. While several scholars believe that the existence of the United Monarchy is corroborated by archaeological evidence, although with considerable theological exaggerations, others, like Israel Finkelstein , believe it to be a late ideological construct. In the Jewish Study Bible (2014), Oded Lipschits states

3480-416: Is the greater warrior. Saul fears David's growing popularity and henceforth views him as a rival to the throne. Saul's son Jonathan and David become close friends. Jonathan recognizes David as the rightful king, and "made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul." Jonathan even gives David his military clothes, symbolizing David's position as successor to Saul. On two occasions, Saul threw

3600-655: Is traditionally identified with king Saul. Muslims believe that (as in the Bible) he was the commander of Israel. According to the Qur'an, Talut was chosen by the Prophet Samuel (not mentioned by name explicitly, but rather as "a Prophet" of the Israelites) after being asked by the people of Israel for a King to lead them into war. The Israelites criticized Samuel for appointing Talut, lacking respect for Talut because he

3720-468: The coup de grâce . David has the Amalekite put to death, advancing the theme that David will never kill the Lord's anointed king (c.f. 1 Samuel 24, 26). The victorious Philistines recover Saul's body as well as those of his three sons who also died in the battle, decapitate them and display them on the wall of Beth-shan. They display Saul's armour in the temple of Ashtaroth (an Ascalonian temple of

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3840-499: The Amalekites . A biblical summary states that "wherever he turned, he was victorious". In the second year of his reign, King Saul, his son Jonathan, and a small force of a few thousand Israelite soldiers defeated a massive Philistine force of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and more than 30,000 infantry in the pass of Michmash . After the battle, Saul instructs his armies, by a rash oath, to fast. Methodist commentator Joseph Benson suggests that "Saul's intention in putting this oath

3960-668: The Apostle Paul indicates that Saul's reign lasted for forty years. According to the Hebrew Bible , Saul was the son of Kish , of the family of the Matrites , and a member of the tribe of Benjamin , one of the twelve Tribes of Israel . It appears that he came from Gibeah . Saul married Ahinoam , daughter of Ahimaaz , with whom he sired at least five sons ( Jonathan , Abinadab , Malchishua , Ishvi and Ish-bosheth ) and two daughters ( Merab and Michal ). Saul also had

4080-811: The Catholic tradition in 1678, observing "the most part of the Holy Scriptures that are come to us, are but Abridgments and as Summaries of ancient Acts which were kept in the Registries of the Hebrews," in what was probably the first work of biblical textual criticism in the modern sense. In response Jean Astruc , applying to the Pentateuch source criticism methods common in the analysis of classical secular texts, believed he could detect four different manuscript traditions, which he claimed Moses himself had redacted (p. 62–64). His 1753 book initiated

4200-701: The New Kingdom mention "Asiatics" living in Egypt as slaves and workers, these people cannot be securely connected to the Israelites, and no contemporary Egyptian text mentions a large-scale exodus of slaves like that described in the Bible. The earliest surviving historical mention of the Israelites, the Egyptian Merneptah Stele ( c.  1207 BCE ), appears to place them in or around Canaan and gives no indication of any exodus. Despite

4320-601: The Old Testament 's narratives as history. Others, like archaeologist William G. Dever , felt that biblical archaeology has both confirmed and challenged the Old Testament stories. While Dever has criticized the Copenhagen School for its more radical approach, he is far from being a biblical literalist , and thinks that the purpose of biblical archaeology is not to simply support or discredit

4440-489: The Protestant Reformation . The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his major work Leviathan (1651) argued that the biblical texts themselves provide significant evidence for when they were written. Readers, he notes, should be guided by what the text itself says rather than relying on later tradition: "The light therefore that must guide us in this question, must be that which is held out unto us from

4560-477: The Tribe of Joseph , while Richard Elliott Friedman identifies it with the Tribe of Levi . Most scholars who accept a historical core of the exodus date this possible exodus group to the thirteenth century BCE at the time of Ramses II , with some instead dating it to the twelfth century BCE at the time of Ramses III . Evidence in favor of historical traditions forming a background to the Exodus narrative include

4680-531: The flood alive in the emerging discipline, until Adam Sedgwick , the president of the Geological Society, publicly recanted his previous support in his 1831 presidential address: We ought indeed to have paused before we first adopted the diluvian theory, and referred all our old superficial gravel to the action of the Mosaic Flood. For of man, and the works of his hands, we have not yet found

4800-544: The history of ancient Israel and Judah and the second Temple period , and whether the Christian New Testament is an accurate record of the historical Jesus and of the Apostolic Age . This tends to vary depending upon the opinion of the scholar. When studying the books of the Bible , scholars examine the historical context of passages, the importance ascribed to events by the authors , and

4920-433: The 13th century BC in whose storerooms they found 3,400-year-old ewers holding burned crops; however, Sharon Zuckerman did not agree with Ben-Tor's theory, and claimed that the burning was the result of the city's numerous factions opposing each other with excessive force. Biblical scholar Richard Elliot Friedman ( University of Georgia ) argues that the Israelites did destroy Hazor, but that such destruction fits better with

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5040-432: The 1980s, Lemaire authenticated a small, broken, carved piece of " ivory pomegranate " that dates to the 8th century and would have belonged to the cult objects of Solomon's Temple . This is according to his analysis of the inscription examined with the methods of epigraphy. This interpretation was challenged by Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University , who stated that the inscription is subsequent to damage that had fragmented

5160-598: The Amalekites. Saul kills all the men, women, children and poor quality livestock, but leaves alive the king, Agag , and best livestock. When Samuel learns that Saul has disobeyed and plundered the livestock for self-gain, he informs Saul that God has rejected him as king. As Samuel turns to go, Saul seizes hold of his garments and tears off a piece; Samuel prophesies that the kingdom will likewise be torn from Saul. Samuel then kills Agag himself. Samuel and Saul each return home and never meet again after these events. After Samuel tells Saul that God has rejected him as king, David ,

5280-403: The Bible, has meaning only when it is considered in light of the present, and perhaps an idealized future. Even from the earliest times, students of religious texts had an awareness that parts of the scriptures could not be interpreted as a strictly consistent sequence of events. The Talmud cites a dictum ascribed to the third-century teacher Abba Arika that "there is no chronological order in

5400-535: The Canaanite leader referred to in the Hebrew Bible. The city also shows signs of having been a magnificent Canaanite city prior to its destruction, with great temples and opulent palaces, split into an upper acropolis and lower city; the town evidently had been a major Canaanite city. Israel Finkelstein theorized that the destruction of Hazor was the result of civil strife, attacks by the Sea Peoples or

5520-636: The Canaanites). But at night the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead retrieve the bodies for cremation and burial. Later on, David takes the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan and buries them in Zela, in the tomb of his father. The account in 1 Chronicles summarises by stating that: There are several textual or narrative issues in the text, including the aforementioned conflicting accounts of Saul's rise to kingship and his death, as well as plays on words, that biblical scholars have discussed. The birth-narrative of

5640-573: The Earth in 1788 was an important development in the scientific revolution that would dethrone Genesis as the ultimate authority on primeval earth and prehistory . The first casualty was the Creation story itself, and by the early 19th century "no responsible scientist contended for the literal credibility of the Mosaic account of creation." The battle between uniformitarianism and catastrophism kept

5760-645: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Historicity of the Bible The historicity of the Bible is the question of the Bible 's relationship to history —covering not just the Bible's acceptability as history but also the ability to understand the literary forms of biblical narrative . Questions on biblical historicity are typically separated into evaluations of whether the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible accurately record

5880-539: The Hebrew Bible ruled over both Judea and Samaria around the 10th century BCE. The minimalist Thomas L. Thompson has written: There is no evidence of a United Monarchy, no evidence of a capital in Jerusalem or of any coherent, unified political force that dominated western Palestine, let alone an empire of the size the legends describe. We do not have evidence for the existence of kings named Saul, David or Solomon; nor do we have evidence for any temple at Jerusalem in this early period. What we do know of Israel and Judah of

6000-539: The Israelite conquest of Canaan, described in Joshua and Judges. The American Albright school asserted that the biblical narrative of conquest would be affirmed by archaeological record; and indeed for much of the 20th century archaeology appeared to support the biblical narrative, including excavations at Beitin (identified as Bethel), Tel ed-Duweir , (identified as Lachish), Hazor , and Jericho . However, flaws in

6120-471: The Israelites were either uninhabited at the time, or, if destroyed, were destroyed at widely different times, not in one brief period. The consensus for the conquest narrative was eventually abandoned in the late 20th century. Peake's Commentary on the Bible argues that the Book of Joshua conflates several independent battles between disparate groups over the centuries, and artificially attributes them to

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6240-499: The Torah". Examples were often presented and discussed in later Jewish exegesis with, according to Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972), an ongoing discourse between those who would follow the views of Rabbi Ishmael (born 90 CE) that "the Torah speaks in human language", compared to the more mystical approach of Rabbi Akiva ( c. 50–135) that any such deviations should signpost some deeper order or purpose, to be divined. During

6360-462: The United States the biblical archaeology movement, under the influence of Albright, counterattacked, arguing that the broad outline within the framing narratives was also true, so that while scholars could not realistically expect to prove or disprove individual episodes from the life of Abraham and the other patriarchs, these were real individuals who could be placed in a context proven from

6480-418: The absence of any archaeological evidence, a majority of scholars agree that the Exodus probably has some historical basis, with Kenton Sparks referring to it as "mythologized history." Scholars posit that small groups of people of Egyptian origin may have joined the early Israelites, and then contributed their own Egyptian Exodus story to all of Israel. William G. Dever cautiously identifies this group with

6600-600: The account of the Book of Judges , in which the prophetess Deborah defeats the king of Hazor. The Books of Samuel are considered to be based on both historical and legendary sources, primarily serving to fill the gap in Israelite history after the events described in Deuteronomy . According to Donald Redford , the Books of Samuel exhibit too many anachronisms to have been compiled in the 11th century BCE. For example, there

6720-518: The alleged lack of settlement activity in the 10th century BCE, Israel Finkelstein argues that Jerusalem in the century was a small country village in the Judean hills, not a national capital, and Ussishkin argues that the city was entirely uninhabited. Amihai Mazar contends that if the Iron I/Iron IIa dating of administrative structures in the City of David are correct (as he believes), "Jerusalem

6840-742: The archaeological record. But as more discoveries were made, and anticipated finds failed to materialise, it became apparent that archaeology did not in fact support the claims made by Albright and his followers. Although biblical scholars argue that the names of patriarchs can be found in the Middle Bronze Age (2000 BCE – 1550 BCE), which is a period that most biblical scholars believe that the Biblical Patriarchs lived in, text such as Babylonian tablets mentioning Abram and Abraham and 13th Dynasty Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 mentioning Jacob , Issachar , and Asher , these names are

6960-478: The biblical narrative, but to be a field of study in its own right. Some scholars argue that the Bible is national history , with an "imaginative entertainment factor that proceeds from artistic expression" or a " midrash " on history. The Bible exists in multiple manuscripts, none of them an autograph , and multiple biblical canons , which do not completely agree on which books have sufficient authority to be included or their order. The early discussions about

7080-574: The birth-narrative of Samuel , which some scholars believe originally described Saul's birth. The biblical accounts of Saul's life are found in the Books of Samuel : According to the Hebrew text of the Bible , Saul reigned for two years, but Biblical commentators generally agree that the text is faulty and that a reign of 20 or 22 years is more probable. In the New Testament book of Acts 13:21 ,

7200-424: The blame for Saul's death. In the narrative of Saul's private anointing in 1 Samuel 9:1–10:16, Saul is not referred to as a king ( melech ), but rather as a "leader" or "commander" ( nagid ) Saul is only given the title "king" ( melech ) at the public coronation ceremony at Gilgal . Various authors have attempted to harmonize the two narratives regarding Saul's death. Josephus writes that Saul's attempted suicide

7320-477: The books themselves: and this light, though it shew us not the author of every book, yet it is not unuseful to give us knowledge of the time wherein they were written." Using such textual clues, Hobbes found it was impossible for Moses to have authored the Pentateuch. He also believed Joshua, Judges , Samuel , Kings , and Chronicles were written long after the events they describe. The Jewish philosopher and pantheist Baruch Spinoza echoed Hobbes's doubts about

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7440-418: The city to siege. David realizes that the citizens of Keilah will betray him to Saul. He flees to Ziph pursued by Saul. Saul hunts David in the vicinity of Ziph on two occasions: The Philistines make war again, assembling at Shunem , and Saul leads his army to face them at Mount Gilboa . Before the battle he goes to consult a medium or witch at Endor . The medium, unaware of his identity, reminds him that

7560-473: The common Semitic names that were used in the later periods as well and the narratives fits better with the historical reality of the late Judahite monarchy as highlighted by the archaeological discoveries. The narratives refer to camel -based traders carrying gum , balm , and myrrh , which is unlikely prior to the first millennium, such activity only became common in the 8th–7th centuries BCE, when Assyrian hegemony enabled this Arabian trade to flourish into

7680-493: The concept of the United Monarchy should be abandoned, while Aren Maeir highlights the lack of evidence about the United Monarchy. However, in his books Beyond the Texts (2018) and Has Archeology Buried the Bible? (2020) William G. Dever has defended the historicity of the United Monarchy, maintaining that the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon are "reasonably well attested". Similar arguments were advanced by Amihai Mazar in

7800-444: The conquest narrative appeared. The most high-profile example was the "fall of Jericho ", excavated by John Garstang in the 1930s. Garstang originally announced that he had found fallen walls dating to the time of the biblical Battle of Jericho , but later revised the destruction to a much earlier period. Kathleen Kenyon dated the destruction of the walled city to the middle of the 16th century ( c. 1550 BCE), too early to match

7920-524: The contrast between the descriptions of these events and other historical evidence . Being a collaborative work composed and redacted over the course of several centuries, the historicity of the Bible is not consistent throughout the entirety of its contents. According to theologian Thomas L. Thompson , a representative of the Copenhagen School, also known as "biblical minimalism" , the archaeological record lends sparse and indirect evidence for

8040-567: The death of Abner, was killed by two of his own captains. During a famine, God told king David that the famine happened because of how Saul treated the Gibeonites . The Gibeonites told David that only the death of seven sons of Saul would compensate them for losing their livelihood after the priests at Nob were killed under Saul's orders. David then granted the Gibeonites the jurisdiction to individually execute Saul's surviving two sons and five of Saul's grandsons (the sons of Merab and Adriel). The Gibeonites killed all seven, and hung up their bodies at

8160-534: The documented movements of small groups of Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples into and out of Egypt during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties , some elements of Egyptian folklore and culture in the Exodus narrative, and the names Moses , Aaron and Phinehas , which seem to have an Egyptian origin. Donald Redford said that the Exodus narrative is a Canaanite memory of the Hyksos ' descent and occupation of Egypt. Scholarly estimates for how many people could have been involved in such an exodus range from

8280-405: The etymology and multiple references to the root of the name seems to fit Saul instead. The majority explanation for the discrepancy is that the narrative originally described the birth of Saul, and was given to Samuel in order to enhance the position of David and Samuel at the former king's expense. The Bible's tone with regard to Saul changes over the course of the narrative, especially around

8400-399: The exclusion or integration of various apocrypha involve an early idea about the historicity of the core. The Ionian Enlightenment influenced early patrons like Justin Martyr and Tertullian —both saw the biblical texts as being different from (and having more historicity than) the myths of other religions. Augustine was aware of the difference between science and scripture and defended

8520-426: The exodus to the 2666th year after creation (Exodus 12:40–41), the construction of the tabernacle to year 2667 (Exodus 40:1–2, 17), stating that the Israelites dwelled in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40–41), and including place names such as Goshen (Gen. 46:28), Pithom and Ramesses (Exod. 1:11), as well as stating that 600,000 Israelite men were involved (Exodus 12:37). The Book of Numbers further states that

8640-416: The faithful ventured on. In the battle, however, David slew Goliath and was made the subsequent King of Israel. The Qur'anic account differs from the Biblical account (if Saul is assumed to be Talut) in that in the Bible the sacred Ark was returned to Israel before Saul's accession, and the test by drinking water is made in the Hebrew Bible not by Saul but by Gideon . The historicity of Saul's kingdom

8760-429: The framework for modern theories on the composite nature and origins of the Torah. By the end of the 19th century, the scholarly consensus was that the Pentateuch was the work of many authors writing from 1000 BCE (the time of David ) to 500 BCE (the time of Ezra) and redacted c.  450 , and as a consequence whatever history it contained was more often polemical than strictly factual—a conclusion reinforced by

8880-450: The historicity of the biblical texts, e.g., against claims of Faustus of Mileve . Historians hold that the Bible should not be treated differently from other historical (or literary) sources from the ancient world. One may compare doubts about the historicity of, for example, Herodotus ; the consequence of these discussions is not that historians shall have to stop using ancient sources for historical reconstruction, but need to be aware of

9000-420: The king has made witchcraft a capital offence , but he assures her that Saul will not harm her. She conjures a spirit which appears to be the prophet Samuel , and tells him that God has fully rejected him, will no longer hear his prayers, has given the kingdom to David and that the next day he will lose both the battle and his life. Saul collapses in fear, and the medium restores him with food in anticipation of

9120-716: The late eighth century BCE or at some other later date." The status of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE is a major subject of debate. The oldest part of Jerusalem and its original urban core is the City of David , which does show evidence of significant Judean residential activity around the 10th century. Some unique administrative structures such as the Stepped Stone Structure and the Large Stone Structure , which originally formed one structure, contain material culture dated to Iron I. On account of

9240-476: The lifetime of Saul there was no idolatry in Israel. The famine in the reign of David ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ), seemingly blamed on Saul, was in fact the people's fault, for not according Saul the proper honours at his burial. In Sheol , Samuel reveals to Saul that in the next world, Saul would dwell with Samuel, which is a proof that all has been forgiven him by God. In the Quran , the character Ṭālūt ( Arabic : طالوت )

9360-492: The modern era, the focus of biblical history has also diversified. The project of biblical archaeology associated with W.F. Albright (1891–1971), which sought to validate the historicity of the events narrated in the Bible through the ancient texts and material remains of the Near East , has a more specific focus compared to the more expansive view of history described by archaeologist William Dever (b. 1933). In discussing

9480-473: The name 'Ṭālūt' means 'Tall' (from the Arabic "tūl") and refers to the extraordinary stature of Saul, which would be consistent with the Biblical account. In explanation of the name, exegetes such as Tha'labi hold that at this time, the future King of Israel was to be recognised by his height; Samuel set up a measure, but no one in Israel reached its height except Ṭālūt (Saul). In the Qur'an, Israelites demanded

9600-580: The narratives were fictional framing devices and were not intended as history in the modern sense. Though doubts have been cast on the historiographic reconstructions of this school (particularly the notion of oral traditions as a primary ancient source), much of its critique of biblical historicity found wide acceptance. Gunkel's position is that if, however, we consider figures like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be actual persons with no original mythic foundations, that does not at all mean that they are historical figures. ...For even if, as may well be assumed, there

9720-487: The narratives, many scholars (possibly most) reject the existence of the Patriarchal age. William Dever stated in 1993 that [Albright's] central theses have all been overturned, partly by further advances in biblical criticism, but mostly by the continuing archaeological research of younger Americans and Israelis to whom he himself gave encouragement and momentum. ...The irony is that, in the long run, it will have been

9840-420: The newer "secular" archaeology that contributed the most to Biblical studies, not "Biblical archaeology". Most mainstream scholars do not accept the biblical Exodus account as history for a number of reasons. It is generally agreed that the Exodus stories reached the current form centuries after the apparent setting of the stories. The Book of Exodus itself attempts to ground the event firmly in history, dating

9960-409: The next day's battle. Saul's death is described by the narrator (and also in 1 Chronicles 10) but a conflicting account is given by a young Amalekite . The defeated Israelites flee from the enemy and Saul asks his armour bearer to kill him, but the armour bearer refuses, and so Saul falls upon his own sword. But the Amalekite tells David he found Saul leaning on his spear after the battle and delivered

10080-471: The number of Israelites in the desert during the wandering were 603,550, including 22,273 first-borns, which modern estimates put at 2.5–3 million total Israelites, a clearly fanciful number that could never have been supported by the Sinai Desert . The geography is vague with regions such as Goshen unidentified, and there are internal problems with dating in the Pentateuch. No modern attempt to identify

10200-406: The old have sinned, why should the young suffer; and if men have been guilty, why should the cattle be destroyed? It was this humaneness which cost him his crown. And while Saul was merciful to his enemies, he was strict with his own people; when he found out that Ahimelech , a kohen, had assisted David with finding food, Saul, in retaliation, killed the remaining 85 kohanim of Ahimelech's family and

10320-572: The passage where David appears, midway through 1 Samuel. Before, Saul is presented in positive terms, but afterward his mode of ecstatic prophecy is suddenly described as fits of madness, his errors and disobedience to Samuel's instructions are stressed and he becomes a paranoiac. This may indicate that the David story is inserted from a source loyal to the House of David; David's lament over Saul in 2 Samuel 1 then serves an apologetic purpose, clearing David of

10440-400: The people how they should slaughter cattle. As a reward for this, God himself gave Saul a sword on the day of battle, since no other sword suitable for him was found. Saul's attitude toward David was excused by arguing that his courtiers were all tale-bearers, and slandered David to him; and in like manner he was incited by Doeg against the priests of Nob—this act was forgiven him, however, and

10560-410: The phenomenon of on-going historical revisionism , allow new findings and ideas into their interpretations of "what happened", and scholars versed in the study of texts (however sacred) see all narrators as potentially unreliable and all accounts—especially edited accounts—as potentially historically incomplete, biased by times and circumstances. A central pillar of the Bible's historical authority

10680-428: The problems involved when doing so. Very few texts survive directly from antiquity: most have been copied—some, many times. To determine the accuracy of a copied manuscript, textual critics examine the way the transcripts have passed through history to their extant forms. The higher the consistency of the earliest texts, the greater their textual reliability, and the less chance that the content has been changed over

10800-487: The promise given to the patriarchs in Genesis are not historical, nor do they intend to be historical; they are rather historically determined expressions about Israel and Israel's relationship to its God, given in forms legitimate to their time, and their truth lies not in their facticity, nor in the historicity, but their ability to express the reality that Israel experienced. Modern professional historians, familiar with

10920-403: The promise that one of his grandsons should sit upon the throne. The second view of Saul makes him appear in the most favourable light as man, as hero, and as king. In this view, it was on account of his modesty that he did not reveal the fact that he had been anointed king; and he was extraordinarily upright as well as perfectly just. Nor was there any one more pious than he; for when he ascended

11040-514: The prophet Samuel is found at 1 Samuel 1–28. It describes how Samuel's mother Hannah requests a son from Yahweh , and dedicates the child to God at the shrine of Shiloh. The passage makes extensive play with the root-elements of Saul's name, and ends with the phrase hu sa'ul le-Yahweh , "he is dedicated to Yahweh." Hannah names the resulting son Samuel, giving as her explanation, "because from God I requested him." Samuel's name, however, can mean "name of God," (or "Heard of God" or "Told of God") and

11160-429: The provenance of the historical books in his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (published in 1670), and elaborated on the suggestion that the final redaction of these texts was post-exilic under the auspices of Ezra (Chapter IX). He had earlier been effectively excommunicated by the rabbinical council of Amsterdam for his perceived heresies . The French priest Richard Simon brought these critical perspectives to

11280-701: The publication of The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives by Thomas L. Thompson and Abraham in History and Tradition by John Van Seters . Thompson, a literary scholar, argued on the lack of compelling evidence that the patriarchs lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, and noted how certain biblical texts reflected first millennium conditions and concerns, while Van Seters examined the patriarchal stories and argued that their names, social milieu, and messages strongly suggested that they were Iron Age creations. Van Seter and Thompson's works were

11400-439: The relationship between narrative history and theological meaning present a special challenge for assessing the historicity of the Bible. Supporters of biblical literalism "deny that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn

11520-498: The report of any other eyewitness, some scholars theorize that the Amalekite may have been lying to try to gain favor with David. In this view, 1 Samuel records what actually happened, while 2 Samuel records what the Amalekite claimed happened. Two opposing views of Saul are found in classical rabbinical literature. One is based on the reverse logic that punishment is a proof of guilt, and therefore seeks to rob Saul of any halo which might surround him. The passage referring to Saul as

11640-441: The rest of his hometown, Nob. The fact that he was merciful even to his enemies, being indulgent to rebels themselves, and frequently waiving the homage due to him, was incredible as well as deceiving. But if his mercy toward a foe was a sin, it was his only one; it was his misfortune that it was reckoned against him, while David (who had committed many sins) was so favored that it was not remembered to his injury. In some respects Saul

11760-520: The role of his discipline in interpreting the biblical record, Dever has pointed to multiple histories within the Bible, including the history of theology (the relationship between God and believers), political history (usually the account of "Great Men" ), narrative history (the chronology of events), intellectual history (treating ideas and their development, context and evolution), socio-cultural history (institutions, including their social underpinnings in family, clan, tribe and social class and

11880-514: The ruse and reprimands Jonathan for protecting David, warning him that his love of David will cost him the kingdom, furiously throwing a spear at him. The next day, Jonathan meets with David and tells him Saul's intent. The two friends say their goodbyes, and David flees into the countryside. Saul later marries Michal to another man. Saul is later informed by his head shepherd, Doeg the Edomite , that high priest Ahimelech assisted David, giving him

12000-423: The sanctuary at Gibeah. For five months their bodies were hung out in the elements, and the grieving Rizpah guarded them from being eaten by the beasts and birds of prey. Finally, David had the bodies taken down and buried in the family grave at Zelah with the remains of Saul and their half-brother Jonathan. Michal was childless. The only male descendant of Saul to survive was Mephibosheth , Jonathan's lame son, who

12120-630: The school known as higher criticism that culminated in Julius Wellhausen formalising the documentary hypothesis in the 1870s, which identifies these narratives as the Jahwist , Elohist , Deuteronomist , and the Priestly source . While versions of the documentary hypothesis vary in the order in which they were composed, the circumstances of their composition, and the date of their redaction(s), their shared terminology continues to provide

12240-480: The state), cultural history (overall cultural evolution , demography , socio-economic and political structure and ethnicity), technological history (the techniques by which humans adapt to, exploit and make use of the resources of their environment), natural history (how humans discover and adapt to the ecological facts of their natural environment), and material history (artifacts as correlates of changes in human behaviour). Sharply differing perspectives on

12360-409: The sword of Goliath, which had been kept at the temple at Nob . Doeg kills Ahimelech and eighty-five other priests and Saul orders the death of the entire population of Nob. David had left Nob by this point and had amassed some 300 dissatisfied men, including some outlaws. With these men David rescues the town of Keilah from a Philistine attack. Saul realises he could trap David and his men by laying

12480-446: The teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood." "History", or specifically biblical history, in this context appears to mean a definitive and finalized framework of events and actions—comfortingly familiar shared facts—like an omniscient medieval chronicle , shorn of alternative accounts, psychological interpretations, or literary pretensions. But prominent scholars have expressed diametrically opposing views: [T]he stories about

12600-472: The tenth century does not allow us to interpret this lack of evidence as a gap in our knowledge and information about the past, a result merely of the accidental nature of archeology. There is neither room nor context, no artifact or archive that points to such historical realities in Palestine's tenth century. One cannot speak historically of a state without a population. Nor can one speak of a capital without

12720-412: The then-fresh scientific refutations of what were at the time widely classed as biblical mythologies. There is a Christian tradition of criticism of the creation narratives in Genesis dating back to at least St Augustine of Hippo (354–430), and Jewish tradition has also maintained a critical thread in its approach to biblical primeval history. The influential medieval philosopher Maimonides maintained

12840-461: The throne and was later murdered by his own military leaders, and then his son-in-law David became king. The biblical narrative of Saul's rise to kingship and his death contains several textual inconsistencies and plays on words that scholars have discussed. These issues include conflicting accounts of Saul's anointing and death, changes in the portrayal of Saul from positive to negative following David's introduction, and etymological discrepancies in

12960-492: The throne he was as pure as a child, and had never committed sin. He was marvelously handsome; and the maidens who told him concerning Samuel ( 1 Samuel 9:11–13 ) talked so long with him in order to observe his beauty for longer. In war he was able to march 120 miles without rest. When commanded to smite Amalek ( 1 Samuel 15:3 ), Saul said: For one found slain the Torah requires a sin offering ; and here so many shall be slain. If

13080-461: The usual dating of the Exodus to Pharaoh Ramses, on the basis of her excavations in the early 1950s. The same conclusion, based on an analysis of all the excavation findings, was reached by Piotr Bienkowski. By the 1960s it had become clear that the archaeological record did not, in fact, support the account of the conquest given in Joshua: the cities which the Bible records as having been destroyed by

13200-468: The years. Multiple copies may also be grouped into text types , with some types judged closer to the hypothetical original than others. The meaning of the term "history" is itself dependent on social and historical context. Paula McNutt, for instance, notes that the Old Testament narratives, Do not record "history" in the sense that history is understood in the twentieth century. ...The past, for biblical writers as well as for twentieth-century readers of

13320-457: Was a rather small town with a mighty citadel, which could have been a center of a substantial regional polity." It has been argued that recent archaeological discoveries at the City of David and the Ophel seem to indicate that Jerusalem was sufficiently developed as a city to be the capital of the United Monarchy in the 10th century BCE. Andr%C3%A9 Lemaire André Lemaire (born 1942)

13440-1851: Was afflicted by a mental disorder, and lists a number of possible conditions. However, Christopher C. H. Cook of the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, UK recommends caution in offering any diagnoses in relation to people who lived millennia ago. ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon

13560-458: Was five years old at the time of his father's and grandfather's deaths. In time, he came under the protection of David. Mephibosheth had a young son, Micah, who had four sons and descendants named until the ninth generation. The First Book of Samuel gives three accounts of Saul's rise to the throne in three successive chapters: André Lemaire finds the third account probably the most reliable tradition. The Pulpit Commentary distinguishes between

13680-464: Was not aware, but was nevertheless liable for its breach, until popular intervention allowed Jonathan to be saved from death on account of his victory over the Philistines. During Saul's campaign against the Philistines, Samuel said that he would arrive in seven days to perform the requisite rites. When a week passed with no word of Samuel, and with the Israelites growing restless, Saul prepares for battle by offering sacrifices. Samuel arrives just as Saul

13800-484: Was not wealthy. Samuel rebuked the people for this and told them that Talut was more favored than they were. Talut led the Israelites to victory over the army of Goliath , who was killed by Dawud (David). Talut is considered a divinely appointed king. The name 'Ṭālūt' has uncertain etymology . Unlike some other Qur'anic figures, the Arabic name is not similar to the Hebrew name ( Sha'ul ). According to Muslim exegetes ,

13920-402: Was once a man call "Abraham," everyone who knows the history of legends is sure that the legend is in no position at the distance of so many centuries to preserve a picture of the personal piety of Abraham. The "religion of Abraham" is, in reality, the religion of the legend narrators which they attribute to Abraham. This has in various forms become a commonplace of contemporary criticism. In

14040-421: Was stalled because he was not able to run the sword through himself, and that he therefore asked the Amalekite to finish it. Later biblical criticism has posited that the story of Saul's death was redacted from various sources , although this view in turn has been criticized because it does not explain why the contradiction was left in by the redactors. But since 2 Samuel records only the Amalekite's report, and not

14160-468: Was superior to David, e.g., in having only one concubine ( Rizpah ), while David had many. Saul expended his own substance for the war, and although he knew that he and his sons would fall in battle, he nevertheless went forward, while David heeded the wish of his soldiers not to go to war in person. According to the Rabbis, Saul followed the rules of ritual impurity prescribed for the sacrifice, and taught

14280-603: Was the tradition that it had been composed by the principal actors or eyewitnesses to the events described—the Pentateuch was the work of Moses , the Book of Joshua was by Joshua , and so on. As early as the Middle Ages, scholars such as Abraham ibn Ezra noted internal contradictions that suggested the Pentateuch was not authored by Moses . For example, Moses could not have written an account of his own death in Deuteronomy 34. These ideas became more common during

14400-500: Was undoubtedly to save time, lest the Philistines should gain ground of them in their flight. But the event showed it was a false policy; for the people were so faint and weak for want of food, that they were less able to follow and slay the Philistines than if they had stopped to take a moderate refreshment". Jonathan's party were not aware of the oath and ate honey , resulting in Jonathan realizing that he had broken an oath of which he

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