The previous post in this series introduced a cluster of three story trellises in 1 Sam. 13-14, along with a description of the first trellis, Saul’s Foolishness. This post describes the second story trellis in the cluster named Saul’s Dynasty Will End. The first texts of these two trellises overlap in 1 Sam. 13, but the second texts of the trellises are from different parts of 1 Sam. 14. Despite the overlap, the trellises tell different stories.
Saul’s Dynasty Will End Story Trellis
The story outlined by this trellis takes place while King Saul and the Israelites are fighting against the Philistines However, it focuses on neither the battle nor its outcome, but rather on the various reactions of the Israelites and Saul during the battle and the consequences of Saul’s actions. The following table shows the story trellis:
| Element Specs | Text 1 1 Sam. 13:5-14 |
Text 2 1 Sam. 14:31-39 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Israel battles the Philistines. | 13:5 | 14:31 |
| T | The people are stressed. | 13:6 | 14:31 |
| U | The people react to stress. | 13:6-8 | 14:32 |
| V | Saul reacts to the people’s actions. | 13:8-12 | 14:33-37 |
| W | It is declared: Saul’s dynasty will end. | 13:13-14 | 14:38-39 |
To better focus on the details, the above table has been divided into two tables with elements S, T, and U and their subelements in the first table, and elements V and X and their subelements in the second.
Elements S, T, and U
Element S opens the story trellis with the background situation and has the spec [Israel], [battles], ‘the Philistines’. The concept [Israel] is expressed as “Israel” in S>1 and as “they” in S>2. The component [battles] is expressed as “mustered to fight with” in S>1 and as “struck down” in S>2.
The spec for T is ‘the people were’ [stressed] where the people are those fighting under Saul. The concept of [stressed] is expressed as “hard pressed” in T>1 and as “very faint” in T>2.
| Element Specifications | Text 1 1 Sam. 13:5-8 |
Text 2 1 Sam. 14:31-32 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| S | [Israel], [battles], ‘the Philistines’ | And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, (13:5) | They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. (14:31) |
| T | ‘the people were’ [stressed] | When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), (13:6) | And the people were very faint. (14:31) |
| U | The people react to stress. | ||
| U₁ | ‘the people’ [react to stress] | the people hid themselves in caves and in holes (13:6) | The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. (14:32) |
| U₂ | ‘the people’ [react to stress] | the people were scattering from him. (13:8) | And the people ate them with the blood. (14:32) |
The overview for U is The people react to stress. In both texts the people exhibit a pair of reactions which are specified in U₁ and U₂ with identical specs: ‘the people’ [react to stress]. In Text 1 the people react from fear with [react to stress] being expressed as “hid themselves in caves and holes” in U₁>1 and as “were scattering from him” in U₁>2, with “him” being Saul. In Text 2 the people react from extreme hunger. In U₁>1 [react to stress] is expressed as “pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground” and in U₂>2 as “ate them with the blood.”
Elements V and W
In the last three elements, the focus shifts from the people to Saul. Element V has the overview Saul reacts to the people’s actions. Just as the people display a pair of reactions, Saul also displays a pair of reactions, which are specified in its subelements.
The spec for V₁ is ‘Saul said’, bring [animals], ‘to me’, [kill animals according to ritual]. This collection of components does not represent a single action but disconnected parallel pieces of multiple actions. The phrase ‘Saul said’ appears at the beginning of V₁>1 and in the middle of V₁>2. The sequence bring [animals] is expressed as “bring the burnt offering here” in V₁>1 and as “bring his ox or his sheep” in V₁>2. In V₁>1 the phrase ‘to me’ pertains to bringing the burnt offering to Saul and in V₁>2 it pertains to rolling a stone to him. The concept [kill animals according to ritual] is expressed in V₁>1 as “offered the burnt offering.” In V₁>2 it is expressed by the combination of “a great stone” and “slaughter them.” Slaughtering the animals on a large stone is a way to conform to the command in Deut. 12:15-16 to not eat the blood in animals, but to pour it out like water.
The spec for V₂ is ◐[Saul seek God], ◐[will engage the Philistines]. In V₂>1 Saul explains why he performed the sacrifice himself, and in V₂>2 Saul decides to follow the priest’s suggestion. The contrastive concept ◐[Saul seek God] is expressed negatively in V₂>1 as “I have not sought the favor of the Lord.” In V₂>2 it is expressed as “Saul inquired of the Lord.” The concept ◐[Saul will engage the Philistines] is expressed in V₂>1 as Saul’s fear that “the Philistines will come down against me.” In V₂>2 the attacker/defender relationship is reversed with Saul’s eager question “Shall I go down after the Philistines?”
| Element Specs | Text 1 1 Sam. 13:9-14 |
Text 2 1 Sam. 14:33-39 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| V | Saul reacts to the people’s actions. | ||
| V₁ | ‘Saul said’, bring [animals], ‘to me’, [kill animals according to ritual] | So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. (13.9) | roll a great stone to me here.” And Saul said, “ … Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them and eat, (14:33-34) |
| V₂ | ◐[Saul seek God], ◐[Saul will engage the Philistines] | I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ (13:12) | And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” (14:37) |
| W | It is declared: Saul’s dynasty will end. | ||
| W₁ | [authority] says | And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. (13:13) | And Saul said, (14:38) |
| W₂ | [somebody sins] | You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. (13:13) | “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. (14:38) |
| W₃ | [Saul’s dynasty will end] | But now your kingdom shall not continue. (13:14) | For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” (14:39) |
Element W has the overview It is declared: Saul’s dynasty will end. The details are expressed in its three subelements. The spec for W₁ is [authority] says. In W₁>1 the [authority] is the prophet Samuel who speaks to Saul. In W₁>2 the [authority] is King Saul who speaks to the people who have been fighting alongside him.
In W₂>1 the concept [somebody sins] is expressed as “You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you,” where [somebody] is Saul. In W₂>2 [somebody sins] is expressed as “this sin has arisen today.” In 14:38 neither the sin nor the sinner have yet been identified, but Saul assumes that sin is the reason behind God’s silence.
The spec for W₃ is [Saul’s dynasty will end]. Neither Samuel nor Saul actually say that Saul’s dynasty will end, but that is the parallel impact of their declarations. In W₃>1, Samuel says, “But now your kingdom shall not continue.” In W₃>2, Saul says, “Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” Although in this verse Saul is speaking only hypothetically, in a later verse he makes a very clear statement: “you shall surely die, Jonathan” (v. 44). His son Jonathan will not be king. Saul’s kingdom and dynasty will end.
Significance
There are several ongoing themes in 1 Samuel that are highlighted in this story trellis. The first is that Saul consistently reacts to situations rather than leading. He seems unconcerned about the needs of the people who have followed him into battle, but is focused on how he can win. In Text 1 he doesn’t seemed concerned that the people are hard pressed, only that he has a under-sized army to face the Philistines. In Text 2 he seems unconcerned about the people being hungry, only about their breaking a law.
The second theme is the question of who will succeed Saul as king. In 13:14 the prophet Samuel tells Saul, “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.” It would be easy to assume that when Saul’s kingdom ended, his dynasty would end, but Samuel did not explicitly say that. At the beginning of chapter 14, when his son Jonathan trusts God and triggers a mighty victory for Israel, the reader could surmise that Jonathan might be the man after God’s own heart that Samuel referred to and thus be the next king. But this hypothesis is dashed in the trellis with pairing of “your kingdom shall not continue” with “Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” The question of who will succeed Saul arises again and again in the succeeding chapters, but ultimately the answer is the same: Saul’s kingdom will end and someone besides Jonathan will be king.
Another theme is that Saul consistently confirms or reinforces Samuel’s prophecies, either intentionally or unintentionally. After Samuel prophesies that Saul’s kingdom will not continue, Saul condemns his own heir to death. Later, after Samuel secretly anoints David to be the next king, Saul brings David into his inner circle, giving him authority and recognition, and inadvertently trains him to be king.
Makhashabah: Patterns in 1 Samuel 