Relevant Articles Summarized.
Contents:
1. Introduction.
2. Antecedents of Saul
3. Benjamin by Vermaak
4. Samuel and Monarchy.
5. Young King Saul.
6. Saul as Prototype. The Model for his Tribe?
7. Saul & the She-Donkeys.
The Asses of Saul.
8. Saul - Chosen of God.
9. Saul as MBJ?
10. Royal Melancholy.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. Introduction.
We have begun an ongoing series concerning King Saul:
Samuel and Saul.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/samuel/
We have now reached the end of 1-Samuel ch 9.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/samuel/saul2.html
Saul (in the next chapter, 1-Samuel 10) is about to be anointed as the first King of Israel.
Before continuing, for the sake of perspective, it is worthwhile looking over previous articles concerning Saul and matters related to him.
There are quite a few of these:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2. Antecedents of Saul .
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/antecedents.html
Saul was from the Tribe of Benjamin. Traditions concerting his immediate forebears shows some light on how he was viewed in Rabbinical tradition.
Descendants of Saul may also be found among the Normans and the Belgians (both Flemings and Walloons).
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
3. Benjamin by Vermaak
THE PROWESS OF THE BENJAMINITES by P. S. Vermaak
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/vermak.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
4. Samuel and Monarchy.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/quora/qbible/monarchy.html
1-Samuel (NASB) 8:
' 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5 and they said to him, 'Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.' 6 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, 'Give us a king to judge us.' And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 The LORD said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.'
It may be asked, How had the people offended? The option of appointing a king is mentioned in the Torah and is considered a commandment. The Sages (Talmud, Sanhedrin 21) commented that the elders of the people made the request for valid reasons. The younger members however had wished for a leader who would institute an idolatrous regime among them. This may be hinted at in the reply quoted above of the Almighty to Samuel,
"they have rejected Me from being king over them" (1-Samuel 4:7).
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
5. Young King Saul .
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/quora/qbible/youngsaul.html
Physical and Social Status Characteristics of Saul.
"Shem MeShmuel" (the Sochatover Rebbe, a Chassidic Rebbe in Poland in the 1800s) says:
"It would seem that the point of their being two Anointed Saviors in the future, Messiah son of Joseph and Messiah son of David, is that the Messiah son of Joseph is destined to destroy the seed of Amalek and fight the War of Gog and Magog, and all the other wars that he is destined to bring to a successful close as the Sages spoke, "Esau cannot be defeated except by means of the descendants of Rachel" (Midrash Breishit Rabah 73;5). Then after the removal of the concealing darkness will shine the light of the Messiah son of David whose only mission is to bring knowledge of the Almighty into the world. It would seem that something of this nature was seen in the rulership of King Saul, prior to that of King David. The initial intention was that Saul finish all the fighting since he was descended from the Sons of Rachel [favorite wife of Jacob] and he was an [intended] prototype of the Messiah son of Joseph. After Saul came the Kingdom of David. This was a prototype of the future Messiah son of David whose goal should only be to increase the revelation of Divine Light [in the world] and to build the Temple"
(quoted by Elyahu Yedid, "Shaul Bechir HaShem", p. 29).
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
6. Saul as Prototype. The Model for his Tribe?
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/model.html
Saul was a warrior and a champion runner. These were known traits of Benjamin.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
7. Saul & the She-Donkeys.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/asses.html
The search by Saul and his youthful assistant for asses of his father that had gone astray is illuminating converning Sault himself.
The Asses of Saul.
The Hidden Meanings of Scripture. Project Benjamin
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/asses2.html
Rabbi Moshe Yechiel Epstein (1889 - 1971 the Ozharover Rebbe) in his book "Beer Moshe" (Well of Moses) says that the "asses" represent the lost souls of Israel. Saul had attempted to repair the sins of that generation.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
8. Saul - Chosen of God.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/chosen.html
Saul was referred to as the "Chosen of the LORD" (2-Samuel 21:6).
Saul has qualities that in some ways were greater than those of David but in a different context.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
9. Saul as MBJ?
Could Saul have Been a Forerunner of the Messiah son of Joseph? Project Benjamin
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/tribes/project/asses3.html
In the future tradition says there will be two Messiahs: Messiah son of David (MBD), and Messiah son of Joseph (MBJ).
The Tribe of Benjamin was descended from Jacob through his wife Rachel. Joseph was also a son of Jacob and Rachel.
Benjamin was to find his destiny as part of Judah and therefore serves as a potential bridge from Judah to Joseph.
The Commentary "Pri Tsadik" quotes the RAMA from Pano (Rabbi Menahem Azariah da Fano, 1548-1620) that when Jehonathan the son of Saul said to David, "I will be second to you"" (1-Samuel 23:17) he meant that he would play the fulfill of the Messiah son of Joseph preparing the way for the MBD who in this case was David himself!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
10. Royal Melancholy.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/saulmad.html
Saul was to suffer from a type of depression. David was first called to the service of Saul in order that through his music he might alleviate the suffering.
Different onions exist concerning the nature of this affliction.