King Saul: A Re-Examination of his Reign and its Effect on Israel Down to the Schism BY Simcha Shalom Brooks University College London Thesis submitted to the University of London in fulfilment of the Requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in History. London, January 1998. ProQuest Number: U644185 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U644185 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT The subject of this thesis is King Saul of Israel. Though Saul is depicted negatively in the biblical narrative, carefiil examination of the Books of Samuel and part of the Book of Judges will not only reveal new clues suggesting a more favourable image of Saul, but will also provide a new insight into his reign as well as its effect on Israel long after his death. In contrast to his biblical image, such clues show Saul to have been a strong ruler who successfully united the various Israelite groups, a unity which was not to be achieved by any later leader. Examination of the relationship between Saul and David reveals that Saul's position was threatened by David, not because David was more successful but because he was ambitious and coveted Saul's throne. While David was pursued by Saul he made a treaty with the Philistines, the Israelites' enemy. I suggest, not only that David was responsible for the Philistines' initiation of the battle at Gilboa, in which Saul died, but also that he himself took part in that battle. Even though David eventually became king of Israel, the people continued to support the House of Saul. The hostility associated with the fragile relationship between David and the people continued under Solomon and contributed to the schism. Using original methods of research, this thesis re-examines the period from the eve of the rise of monarchy, through the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon; events relating to David and Solomon are dealt with only within the context of their application to Saul. Not only is Saul shown to have been a more positive figure than portrayed in the biblical narrative, but also a new, more reahstic account of the history of the period from Saul to the schism is provided. TABLE OF CONTENT: Acknowledgement p. 4 List of Abbreviations p.6 List of Figures. p. 8 Introduction p. 9 Chapter I: Ancient Israel: Fiction or Historical Reality? p. 18 Chapter H Introduction to the Emergence of Monarchy p. 61 Chapter HI: Saul and the Deuteronomist p.93 Chapter rV: Saul and David p. 140 Chapter V: King Saul: Origins and Achievements p. 173 Chapter VI: Gibeah of Saul p.235 Chapter VH: From Saul to the Schism p.275 Summary and Conclusions p.330 Figures p. 341 Bibliography. p. 3 56 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my supervisor Professor John North of University College London, for reading the various drafts of this thesis. My gratefiil thanks go to my external supervisor Professor John Barton at the University of Oxford, who has discussed with me the various arguments in this thesis. I am especially grateful to him for his inspiration and encouragement throughout the last year of my research. I am also grateful to my teacher and fnend. Professor Haim Beinart (Jerusalem), who was the first who taught me how to handle a historical document; to Dr. M. Weitzman and Professor J.Wansbrough from whom I learned about the literary history of the books of the Old Testament. I am also grateful to members of the Society for the Study of the Old Testament who have been very helpful with my queries; in this context I would especially thank Professor W Lambert, Dr. R. Coggins and Professor John Rogerson; to Prof. Rogerson I owe special thanks for offering helpful suggestions regarding aspects of ancient military warfare. My thanks also go to Professor Michael Crawford of the History Department at UCL, for his help in various queries, and to Professor Martin Daunton who has been a helpful Post-Graduate Adviser. To Dr.S.Gibson and to Dr.R.Chapman at the Palestine Exploration Fund for the numerous debates and discussions on the archaeological data from Tell el-Ful. To Dr.Gibson I am especially grateful for the drawing of the topographical map of Tell el-Ful and for improving my map in figure 3. I also thank M.Egozi for the drawing of the maps in figs. 1-2. I owe thanks to Dr. Andrew George and Professor David Hawkins of SOAS from whom I learned a great deal about myth and ritual in the ancient Near East. I also owe thanks to Dr. Stephanie Dailey, Oriental Institute Oxford, for her useful discussion regarding inheritance problems in ancient Mesopotamia. I wish to thank Dr.E.Dench of Birkbeck College, for reading the final draft of this thesis. I would also like to thank Professor Israel Eph'al for his kind hospitality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem during my stay there during April-May 1994; Professor Amihai Mazar of the Institute of Archaeology for the discussion of Tell el-Ful and for his kind permission to allow me access to the archaeological material, from Giloh and other Iron I sites, stored at the Institute; the staff at the Institute, especially Gavriel Laron and Gila Hurvitz. I am indebted to Professor S. Gitin and Nancy Lapp for providing access to the finds from Tell el-Ful stored at the Albright Institute. My gratitude goes also to the staff* in London at the University of London Library, the British Library, UCL Library, the Institute of Archaeology, King's College Library, the PEF Library, and the SOAS Library; in Oxford at the Bodleian Library and the Oriental Institute Library; in Jerusalem at the Albright Institute Library, the Hebrew University, and the Institute of Archaeology Library; all who have been helpful during my research. I would also like to thank the Royal Historical Society and The Graduate School at University College London, for sponsoring my research in Jerusalem during April-May 1994; The Anglo-Israel Association and the Ian Carten Trust for their contribution to my financial support during my research from 1992-1995. My grateful thanks go Carla E.Hinrichsen for her genuine interest and continued support; to my son David for his patience and support throughout the writing of this thesis; and to my mother Rachel Shalom who aroused my childhood interest in the biblical narrative, and who gave me inspiration to carry out this research. To her memory I dedicate this work T|*i-a n"iDT Tf» . List of Abbreviations: AASOR Annual American School of Oriental Research AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts ASOR American School of Oriental Research BA Biblical Archaeologist BAR Biblical Archaeology Review BASOR Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research BR Bible Review BWANT Beitrage zur Wissenschaft vom Alien undNeuen Testament CAH Cambridge Ancient History CUP Cambridge University Press EAEHL Encyclopaedia o f Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land EncMiq. lEJ Israel Exploration Journal IBS Israel Exploration Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JCS Journal of Cuneiform Study JNES Journal of Near Eastern Study JSOT Journal for the Study o f the Old Testament JSOTSup. Journal for the Study o f the Old Testament Supplement NCB New Century Bible GUP Oxford University Press PEF Palestine Exploration Fund PEFQ Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly PEFQS Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Supplement RB Revue Biblique SOAS School of African and Oriental Studies F7' Vetus Testamentum WCJS World Congress o f Jewish Studies. WHJP World History o f the Jewish People ZA W Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZDPV Zeitschrift des deutschen Palastina-Vereins Lengthy biblical quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (Cambridge: CUP, 1989). Short quotations are adopted and sometimes corrected from the NRSV and from P.K.McCarter I Samuel (1980) and II Samuel (1984). List of Figures 1. The Fertile Crescent. p.341 2. Palestine; Iron Age I main and secondary routes. p.342 3. The central highlands (The territory of Benjamin and south Ephraim). p.343 4 The territory of Benjamin. P.344 5. The campaign against Ammon. P.345 6. The campaign against Amalek. P.346 7. The Battle of Michmash. P.347 8. The battle of the Valley of Elah. P.348 9. The battle of Gilboa. P.348 10. Saul's kingdom. P.349 11. Topographic map of Tell el-Ful. P.350 12. Reconstructed outline plan of Saul's fortress. P.351 13. Reconstructed plan of Albright's Fortress I. P.352 14. Reconstructed plan of Albright's Fortress II. P.352 15. Representative Iron I ceramic vessels from Tell el-Ful. P.353 16. Iron I pottery samples from Tell el-Ful (Periods 1 & 2) p.354 17. Iron I pottery sample from Tell el-Ful (Periods 1 & 2). p.355 INTRODUCTION This thesis was originally intended to be entitled, simply, 'A Case for Saul'. My early intention was to discover whether Saul, the first king of Israel, deserved such a negative presentation as he received in the biblical text.