* This manner of retaliating against the Philistines for the
disaster they had formerly inflicted on Israel, is supposed
by some critics to be an addition of a later date, either
belonging to the time of the prophets, or to the period when
the Jews, without any king or settled government, rallied at
Mizpah. According to these scholars, 1 Sam. vii. 2-14 forms
part of a biography, written at a time when the foundation
of the Benjamite monarchy had not as yet been attributed to
Saul.
** 1 Sam. xiii. 20, 21.
The Manassite rule extended at most over two or three clans, but that of Saul and David embraced the Israelite nation.* Benjamin at that time reckoned among its most powerful chiefs a man of ancient and noble family—Saul, the son of Kish—who possessed extensive flocks and considerable property, and was noted for his personal beauty, for “there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” ** He had already reached mature manhood, and had several children, the eldest of whom, Jonathan, was well known as a skilful and brave soldier, while Saul’s reputation was such that his kinsmen beyond Jordan had recourse to his aid as to a hero whose presence would secure victory. The Ammonites had laid siege to Jabesh-Gilead, and the town was on the point of surrendering; Saul came to their help, forced the enemy to raise the siege, and inflicted such a severe lesson upon them, that during the whole of his lifetime they did not again attempt hostilities. He was soon after proclaimed king by the Benjamites, as Jerubbaal had been raised to authority by the Manassites on the morrow of his victory.***
* The beginning of Saul’s reign, up to his meeting with
David, will be found in 1 Sam. viii.-xv. We can distinguish
the remains of at least two ancient narratives, which the
writer of the Book of Samuel has put together in order to
form a complete and continuous account. As elsewhere in this
work, I have confined myself to accepting the results at
which criticism has arrived, without entering into detailed
discussions which do not come within the domain of history.
** 1 Sam. ix. 2. In one account he is represented as quite a
young man, whose father is still in the prime of life (1
Sam. ix.), but this cannot refer to the time of the
Philistine war, where we find him accompanied, at the very
outset of his reign, by his son, who is already skilled in
the use of weapons.
*** 1 Sam. xi. According to the text of the Septuagint, the
war against the Ammonites broke out a month after Saul had
been secretly anointed by Samuel; his popular proclamation
did not take place till after the return from the campaign.
We learn from the sacred writings that Samuel’s influence had helped to bring about these events. It had been shown him by the divine voice that Saul was to be the chosen ruler, and he had anointed him and set him before the people as their appointed lord; the scene of this must have been either Mizpah or Gilgal.*
* One narrative appears to represent him as being only the
priest or local prophet of Hamah, and depicts him as
favourable to the establishment of the monarchy (1 Sam. ix.
1-27, x. 1-16); the other, however, admits that he was
“judge” of all Israel, and implies that he was hostile to the
choice of a king (1 Sam. viii. 1-22, x. 17, 27, xii. 1-25)
The accession of a sovereign who possessed the allegiance of all Israel could not fail to arouse the vigilance of their Philistine oppressors; Jonathan, however, anticipated their attack and captured Gibeah. The five kings at once despatched an army to revenge this loss; the main body occupied Michmash, almost opposite to the stronghold taken from them, while three bands of soldiers were dispersed over the country, ravaging as they went, with orders to attack Saul in the rear. The latter had only six hundred men, with whom he scarcely dared to face so large a force; besides which, he was separated from the enemy by the Wady Suweinît, here narrowed almost into a gorge between two precipitous rocks, and through which no body of troops could penetrate without running the risk of exposing themselves in single file to the enemy. Jonathan, however, resolved to attempt a surprise in broad daylight, accompanied only by his armour-bearer. “There was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rooky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez (the Shining), and the name of the other Seneh (the Acacia). The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba (Gribeah).” The two descended the side of the gorge, on the top of which they were encamped, and prepared openly to climb the opposite side. The Philistine sentries imagined they were deserters, and said as they approached: “Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armour-bearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armour-bearer slew them after him. And that first slaughter that Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land.” From Gribeah, where Saul’s troops were in ignorance of what was passing, the Benjamite sentinels could distinguish a tumult. Saul guessed that a surprise had taken place, and marched upon the enemy.
Drawn by Boudier, from photograph No. 402 of the Palestine
Exploration Fund.
The Philistines were ousted from their position, and pursued hotly beyond Bethel as far as Ajalon.* This constituted the actual birthday of the Israelite monarchy.