Going to Extremes

I Samuel Chapter 15, the Strange and the Spectacular

Verses: 35

Is It Read At Synagogue?: Almost all of this chapter is the Haftarah (prophetic reading) for Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath prior to the holiday of Purim.

Famous Quotes/Phrases: Verse 14 can be seen as a Socratic response to Saul’s claim that he’d destroyed all of Amalek; instead of calling him a liar, Samuel says, “Then what is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen that I hear?”

Basic Plot: God is ready to avenge the nation of Amalek for the time it attacked the Israelites shortly after the Exodus. Samuel tells Saul to destroy Amalek without exception — their people and their animals too. Saul, meanwhile, kills every Amalekite except for King Agag, and then spares their valuable animals. God expresses to Samuel regret for crowning Saul.

Samuel confronts Saul, having also learned that Saul had created a monument to commemorate his victory. Saul greets Samuel with an assurance that he had followed God’s command, claiming that he had saved the choicest Amalekite animals to offer as sacrifices to God. Samuel reminds him that God prefers obedience to offerings. Saul begs Samuel to forgive him, tearing Samuel’s garment, which causes Samuel to remark that God had likewise torn the kingship away from him. Samuel kills King Agag and grieves over Saul’s failure.

What’s Strange: We learned in a previous chapter that God had already rejected Saul as king of Israel. Is mentioning it again redundant? Not necessarily, according to Marc Zvi Brettler in his book How to Read the Bible, who writes, “This unit of Samuel legitimates [the eventual kingship of] David within a theological framework: Saul loses his kingship when he rejects proper religious norms, and, typical biblical measure-for-measure manner, is rejected as king for rejecting God. This pronouncement applies not only to King Saul, but also to all those who follow him.”

What’s Spectacular: This chapter is one of the most familiar to me in the books of the Prophets, since we read almost all of it in synagogue the Shabbat before Purim, and I’ve always been uncomfortable with it. While there’s no doubt that Amalek is considered Israel’s ultimate villain (and the template for many subsequent enemies of the Jewish world, such as Haman), it seems incredibly harsh to strip Saul of power just because he stops short of complete annihilation.

But while I’m not able to explain such an extreme response from God, it is fair to look down on Saul for his attitude. Leaving the best animals alive and building an altar in his own honor feels very self-serving. And when he claims at first that he had fulfilled God’s command, it seems like he’s trying to trick Samuel into believing it. Saul only shows regret when he realizes he’s been caught.

We’re a long way from understanding the absolutist philosophy of this chapter. But Saul’s behavior and the response thereof reminds us that very few things rankle us quite like a lack of authenticity.

Shabbat Shalom!