One Shining Moment

I Samuel Chapter 14, the Strange the Spectacular

Verses: 52

Is It Read At Synagogue?: There is a Yemenite custom to make the final verse of this chapter the first verse in the Haftarah (prophetic reading) for Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath prior to the holiday of Purim.

Famous Quotes/Phrases: Verse 44 includes an interesting phrase: Saul exclaims, “Thus and more may God do”. The inclusion of “and more” appears in several instances when the speaker expresses a fervent hope that God will go above and beyond all expectations.

Basic Plot: Saul’s son Jonathan decides unilaterally to take a small group of soldiers into Philistine territory and wage war, confident God would deliver them if the Philistines sees them and coaxes them. Jonathan neglects to tell his father this, so when Saul sees the Philistines running around in terror, Saul and his soldiers join the fray and are triumphant on the battlefield.

Jonathan doesn’t realize that Saul had exhorted the soldiers not to eat before the battle is won, so when Jonathan encounters a beehive during the battle, he helps himself to some honey. Meanwhile, once achieving victory, the soldiers slaughter their victims’ cattle and begin to eat them with the cattle’s blood. Saul calls out the soldiers on their misstep, setting up an altar to God.

Saul wishes to battle again, but God doesn’t answer his plea, so he realizes that something is amiss. When it’s revealed that Jonathan had eaten during the battle, Saul wants to execute him, but the Israelite soldiers talk him out of it. We learn that Saul’s reign is filled with nonstop fighting against enemy nations.

What’s Strange: At one point, Saul requests that the Ark be brought when they are on the verge of battle. Why would the people shlep an Ark onto the battlefield? Rashi suggests that Saul isn’t asking for the entire Ark to be brought — rather, he only needs a priest to wear the Urim and Thumim, the stone-adorned plates first described in the Book of Exodus that light up according to the fortunes of Israel. These items reveal that Jonathan is the one who transgresses against Saul’s orders against eating during the battle.

What’s Spectacular: Saul doesn’t have a lot of triumphant moments as king, but this chapter is, by and large, an exception. He prevails on the battlefield, even when his son goes rogue and picks a fight on his own. His soldiers are loyal to him, even if they find occasion to speak up against him when they disagree with him. Saul’s success is short-lived, but it’s on full display here.

Werner Keller suggests another reason why Saul is, at least for a time, a good choice to lead Israel: “Saul belonged to the weakest tribe and the remaining tribes would therefore have no cause to be jealous,” he writes in his book The Bible As History. “Saul's successes gave Israel new heart.”

This is not the typical big-picture view of Saul, as we’ll see starting next chapter. But it suggests that God doesn’t necessarily choose Saul to be king because God wants him to fail. Maybe Saul serves as an example for all of us to celebrate the accomplishments of even those who don’t thrive for long — even short-term achievements can motivate and inspire.

Shabbat Shalom!