The last chapter of Makhashabah: Patterns in Ruth shows a pair of story trellises arranged in a chiasm that spans the entire book of Ruth. The book of 1 Samuel features a different arrangement of story trellises: a cluster. A cluster of three story trellises in 1 Samuel 13-14 launches the story of the decline of King Saul of Israel. This cluster is characterized by multiple story trellises overlaying the same text spans as illustrated in the following table:
| Story Trellis | 13:1-14 | 14:1-30 | 14:31-46 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saul’s Foolishness | Text 1 | Text 2 | |
| Saul’s Dynasty Will End | Text 1 | Text 2 | |
| Divided by Honey | Text 1 | Text 2 |
Text 1 of the first two story trellises overlap in chapter 13. Text 2 of Saul’s Foolishness overlaps Text 1 of Divided by Honey, and Text 2 of Saul’s Dynasty Will End overlaps Text 2 of Divided by Honey.
Blog Plan
This blog will be composed of several series of posts. The first series of three will focus on the story trellises in the Decline of Saul cluster, with one trellis being described per post. A second series will follow focusing on another cluster, Choosing David, in 1 Sam. 16-17. Following that will be a couple of series on chiasms and other patterns occurring in the same chapters as the clusters.
Saul’s Foolishness Story Trellis
The following table shows a story trellis with two texts: one from 1 Sam. 13 and the other from 1 Sam. 14. The background for both stories is that Israel and King Saul are at war with the Philistines who have invaded Israel. In both chapters, Saul’s son Jonathan on his own initiative attacks and defeats a Philistine garrison. The story trellis captures this along with the aftermath that follows.
| Element Specifications | Text 1 – 1Sam 13:1-14 | Text 2 – 1Sam 14:1-30 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Saul has a number of men. | 13:2 | 14:2 |
| T | Jonathan defeats a Philistine garrison. | 13:3 | 14:6, 13 |
| U | The Philistines and the people react. | 13:5-6 | 14:16-22 |
| V | Saul reacts with religion. | 13:9 | 14:24 |
| W | Saul is rebuked. | 13:13-14 | 14:30 |
To better focus on the details, the above table has been divided into to two tables with elements S, T, and U with their subelements being in the first table and elements V and X with their subelements in the second.
Elements S, T, and U
The spec for element T is Jonathan, [defeat], [Philistine garrison]. The entire spec is expressed in T>1 with the simple sentence “Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines,” but in T>2 the spec is expressed by a by an eight-verse narrative (vv. 6-13). However, the spec components can be seen in the first and last verses. The component [defeat] is expressed as “And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.” The concept [Philistine garrison] is expressed as “garrison of these uncircumcised.”
| Element Specs | Text 1 – 1Sam 13:1-14 | Text 2 – 1Sam 14:1-30 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Saul [has] [number] men | Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. (13:2) | Saul … The people who were with him were about six hundred men, (14:2) |
| T | Jonathan, [defeat], [Philistine garrison] | Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba (13:3) | Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised … And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. (14:6, 13) |
| U | The Philistines and the people react. | ||
| U₁ | [Philistines] ◐[join battle/scatter] | 5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel (13:5) | the multitude was dispersing here and there. (14:16) |
| U₂ | Hebrews, [the people], ◐[scatter/join battle] | Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. 8 … and the people were scattering from him. (13:6-8) | Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle … Now the Hebrews … they also turned to be with the Israelites … they too followed hard after them in the battle. (14:20-22) |
| U₃ | [the people] ◐hide themselves | the people hid themselves in caves and in holes (13:6) | … all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves (14:22) |
The next two elements, U and V, focus on three sets of reactions to the defeat of a garrison: from the Philistines, from the people, and from Saul. The reactions from the Philistines and the people have been grouped into the single element U to highlight the contrasts between them.
The overview for U is The Philistines and the people react. The spec for U₁, which focuses on the reaction of the Philistines, is [Philistines] ◐[join battle/scatter]. In U₁>1 [Philistines] is expressed as “the Philistines” and in U₁>2 as “the multitude.” The component ◐[join battle/scatter] specifies a contrast between the two texts. It is expressed as “mustered” in U₁>1 and contrastively as “dispersing” in U₁>2.
The spec for U₂ is Hebrews, [the people], ◐[scatter/join battle]. The word Hebrews is expressed as “Hebrews” in both texts. In U₂>1 the concept [the people] is expressed as “the people” and in U₂>2 it is expressed first as “the people” and then as “the Israelites.” The final component ◐[scatter/join battle] is similar to the final component in U₁, but in reverse order, indicating that the reaction of the Hebrews and the people is opposite to that of the Philistines. In U₂>1, scatter is expressed twice: first as “crossed the fords of the Jordan,” and second as “were scattering.” In U₂>2, the contrasting concept join battle is expressed multiple times. With respect to the people it is expressed as “rallied and went into battle.” With respect to the Hebrews it is expressed as “turned to be with the Israelites.”
The spec for U₃ is [the people] ◐hide themselves. In U3>1 the sequence is expressed as “the people hid themselves,” whereas in U3>2 is expressed as “the men of Israel who had hidden themselves.” The component ◐hide is marked as contrastive because in the first text the people are going into hiding and in the second text they are coming out of hiding.
Elements V and W
Element V portrays how Saul responds to the events in U. Its overview is Saul reacts with religion. The spec for V₁ is Saul say [command]. The sequence Saul say is expressed as “Saul said” in V₁>1 and as “Saul … saying” in V₁>2. The concept [command] is expressed in V₁>1 as “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” In V₁>2 it is expressed as “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening.” The spec for V₂ is [Saul] [did religious act] where Saul performs a religious act that parallels his command. The component [did religious act] is expressed as “offered the burnt offering” in V₂>1 and as “laid an oath on the people” in V₂>2.
| Element Specs | Text 1 – 1Sam 13:1-14 | Text 2 – 1Sam 14:1-30 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Saul acts reacts with religion | ||
| V₁ | Saul say [command] | So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” (13:9) | Saul … saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening (14:24) |
| V₂ | [Saul] [did religious act] | And he offered the burnt offering. (13:9) | Saul had laid an oath on the people, (14:24) |
| W | Saul is rebuked. | ||
| W₁ | [someone] say, [Saul], [foolishness] | And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. (13:13) | Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land (14:29) |
| W₂ | [what could have happened] | For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. (13:13) | How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. (14:30) |
| W₃ | [blessing reduced] | But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, (13:14) | For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great. (14:30) |
The overview of W is Saul is rebuked, where someone rebukes Saul for his religious act. In both texts the rebuke consists of a statement of Saul’s foolishness followed by explanations of the consequences of his foolishness. Samuel rebukes Saul, prophesying that instead of lasting forever, his kingdom will not continue. His son Jonathan also rebukes Saul, predicting that the defeat of the Philistines would not be as great as it could be. The spec for W₁ is [someone] say, [Saul], [foolishness]. In W₁>1 [someone] is “Samuel” and in W₁>2 it is “Jonathan.” The component [Saul] is expressed as “Saul” in W₁>1 and as “my father” in W₁>2. The concept [foolishness] is expressed in W₁>1 with Samuel’s words, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you.” In W₁>2 it is expressed by Jonathan as “My father has troubled the land.”
Subelements W₂ and W₃ each portray a consequence of Saul’s action. The spec for W₂ is [what could have happened]. It is expressed in W₂>1 as “the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,” and in W₂>2 as “How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found.” The spec for W₃ is [blessing reduced] which is expressed in W₃>1 as “now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people.” In W₃>2 it is expressed as “now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”
Significance
What does this story trellis tell us about what the author thinks is important? What is he highlighting? In the first part of the trellis (S, T, and U) there is a contrast in army size between the texts and a contrast in outcomes. In the first text, with Saul having three thousand men, the Israelites suffer a humiliating defeat, but in the second text with only six hundred men, the Israelites rally and scatter the Philistines.
What is the reason for the difference between the two outcomes? God through Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days, and then Samuel would offer a sacrifice (10:8; 13.8-12). In the first text Jonathan does not wait for the sacrifice before he attacks the garrison at Geba, so he does not have God’s backing. Even though he and his men defeat the garrison, the eventual outcome is a disaster. He attacks a second garrison at Michmash after the seven day weight and the sacrifice, and God enables a great victory. Apparently God honors the sacrifice for Israel’s sake, even though he chastises Saul for it. God also honors Jonathan’s faith in attacking the garrison assisted only by his armor bearer.
In the second part of the trellis the author highlights Saul’s foolish behavior and the ensuing rebukes. These mark the beginning of Saul’s decline. He tends to put his reliance on religious acts to appease or manipulate God and/or men, rather than obeying God and seeking His heart. This tendency leads to a steady decline in Saul’s authority and impact which is portrayed in the remaining chapters of 1 Samuel. Evidence of the decline can be seen in growing rifts between Saul and those close to him. In this story trellis we can see a rift beginning between Saul and Samuel and another between Saul and his son Jonathan.
Next Post
The next post will feature the story trellis Saul’s Dynasty Cut Short.
Makhashabah: Patterns in 1 Samuel 