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saulmore about saul

saul


  6  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Sal  \Sal\  (s[add]l),  n.  [Hind.  s[=a]l,  Skr.  [,c][=a]la.]  (Bot.) 
  An  East  Indian  timber  tree  ({Shorea  robusta}),  much  used  for 
  building  purposes.  It  is  of  a  light  brown  color, 
  close-grained,  heavy,  and  durable.  [Written  also  {saul}.] 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Saul  \Saul\,  n. 
  Soul.  [Obs.] 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Saul  \Saul\,  n. 
  Same  as  {Sal},  the  tree. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  Saul 
  n  :  a  Christian  missionary  to  the  Gentiles;  author  of  several 
  Epistles  in  the  New  Testament;  even  though  Paul  was  not 
  present  at  the  Last  Supper  he  is  considered  an  apostle 
  [syn:  {Paul},  {Apostle  Paul},  {Paul  the  Apostle},  {Apostle 
  of  the  Gentiles},  {Saul},  {Saul  of  Tarsus}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Saul 
  asked  for  (1.)  A  king  of  Edom  (Gen.  36:37,  38);  called  Shaul  in 
  1  Chr.  1:48. 
 
  (2.)  The  son  of  Kish  (probably  his  only  son,  and  a  child  of 
  prayer,  "asked  for"),  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  the  first  king 
  of  the  Jewish  nation.  The  singular  providential  circumstances 
  connected  with  his  election  as  king  are  recorded  in  1  Sam.  8-10. 
  His  father's  she-asses  had  strayed,  and  Saul  was  sent  with  a 
  servant  to  seek  for  them  Leaving  his  home  at  Gibeah  (10:5,  "the 
  hill  of  God,"  A.V.;  lit.,  as  in  R.V.  marg.,  "Gibeah  of  God"), 
  Saul  and  his  servant  went  toward  the  north-west  over  Mount 
  Ephraim,  and  then  turning  north-east  they  came  to  "the  land  of 
  Shalisha,"  and  thence  eastward  to  the  land  of  Shalim,  and  at 
  length  came  to  the  district  of  Zuph,  near  Samuel's  home  at  Ramah 
  (9:5-10).  At  this  point  Saul  proposed  to  return  from  the  three 
  days'  fruitless  search,  but  his  servant  suggested  that  they 
  should  first  consult  the  "seer."  Hearing  that  he  was  about  to 
  offer  sacrifice,  the  two  hastened  into  Ramah,  and  "behold, 
  Samuel  came  out  against  them,"  on  his  way  to  the  "bamah",  i.e., 
  the  "height",  where  sacrifice  was  to  be  offered;  and  in  answer 
  to  Saul's  question,  "Tell  me  I  pray  thee,  where  the  seer's 
  house  is,"  Samuel  made  himself  known  to  him  Samuel  had  been 
  divinely  prepared  for  his  coming  (9:15-17),  and  received  Saul  as 
  his  guest.  He  took  him  with  him  to  the  sacrifice,  and  then  after 
  the  feast  "communed  with  Saul  upon  the  top  of  the  house"  of  all 
  that  was  in  his  heart.  On  the  morrow  Samuel  "took  a  vial  of  oil 
  and  poured  it  on  his  head,"  and  anointed  Saul  as  king  over 
  Israel  (9:25-10:8),  giving  him  three  signs  in  confirmation  of 
  his  call  to  be  king.  When  Saul  reached  his  home  in  Gibeah  the 
  last  of  these  signs  was  fulfilled,  and  the  Sprit  of  God  came 
  upon  him  and  "he  was  turned  into  another  man."  The  simple 
  countryman  was  transformed  into  the  king  of  Israel,  a  remarkable 
  change  suddenly  took  place  in  his  whole  demeanour,  and  the 
  people  said  in  their  astonishment,  as  they  looked  on  the 
  stalwart  son  of  Kish,  "Is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets?",  a 
  saying  which  passed  into  a  "proverb."  (Comp.  19:24.) 
 
  The  intercourse  between  Saul  and  Samuel  was  as  yet  unknown  to 
  the  people.  The  anointing"  had  been  in  secret.  But  now  the  time 
  had  come  when  the  transaction  must  be  confirmed  by  the  nation. 
  Samuel  accordingly  summoned  the  people  to  a  solemn  assembly 
  "before  the  Lord"  at  Mizpeh.  Here  the  lot  was  drawn  (10:17-27), 
  and  it  fell  upon  Saul,  and  when  he  was  presented  before  them 
  the  stateliest  man  in  all  Israel,  the  air  was  rent  for  the  first 
  time  in  Israel  by  the  loud  cry,  "God  save  the  king!"  He  now 
  returned  to  his  home  in  Gibeah,  attended  by  a  kind  of  bodyguard, 
  "a  band  of  men  whose  hearts  God  had  touched."  On  reaching  his 
  home  he  dismissed  them  and  resumed  the  quiet  toils  of  his 
  former  life. 
 
  Soon  after  this  on  hearing  of  the  conduct  of  Nahash  the 
  Ammonite  at  Jabeshgilead  (q.v.),  an  army  out  of  all  the  tribes 
  of  Israel  rallied  at  his  summons  to  the  trysting-place  at  Bezek, 
  and  he  led  them  forth  a  great  army  to  battle,  gaining  a  complete 
  victory  over  the  Ammonite  invaders  at  Jabesh  (11:1-11).  Amid  the 
  universal  joy  occasioned  by  this  victory  he  was  now  fully 
  recognized  as  the  king  of  Israel.  At  the  invitation  of  Samuel 
  "all  the  people  went  to  Gilgal,  and  there  they  made  Saul  king 
  before  the  Lord  in  Gilgal."  Samuel  now  officially  anointed  him 
  as  king  (11:15).  Although  Samuel  never  ceased  to  be  a  judge  in 
  Israel,  yet  now  his  work  in  that  capacity  practically  came  to  an 
  end 
 
  Saul  now  undertook  the  great  and  difficult  enterprise  of 
  freeing  the  land  from  its  hereditary  enemies  the  Philistines, 
  and  for  this  end  he  gathered  together  an  army  of  3,000  men  (1 
  Sam.  13:1,  2).  The  Philistines  were  encamped  at  Geba.  Saul,  with 
  2,000  men,  occupied  Michmash  and  Mount  Bethel;  while  his  son 
  Jonathan,  with  1,000  men,  occupied  Gibeah,  to  the  south  of  Geba, 
  and  seemingly  without  any  direction  from  his  father  smote"  the 
  Philistines  in  Geba.  Thus  roused,  the  Philistines,  who  gathered 
  an  army  of  30,000  chariots  and  6,000  horsemen,  and  "people  as 
  the  sand  which  is  on  the  sea-shore  in  multitude,"  encamped  in 
  Michmash,  which  Saul  had  evacuated  for  Gilgal.  Saul  now  tarried 
  for  seven  days  in  Gilgal  before  making  any  movement,  as  Samuel 
  had  appointed  (10:8);  but  becoming  impatient  on  the  seventh  day 
  as  it  was  drawing  to  a  close  when  he  had  made  an  end  of 
  offering  the  burnt  offering,  Samuel  appeared  and  warned  him  of 
  the  fatal  consequences  of  his  act  of  disobedience,  for  he  had 
  not  waited  long  enough  (13:13,  14). 
 
  When  Saul,  after  Samuel's  departure,  went  out  from  Gilgal  with 
  his  600  men,  his  followers  having  decreased  to  that  number 
  (13:15),  against  the  Philistines  at  Michmash  (q.v.),  he  had  his 
  head-quarters  under  a  pomegrante  tree  at  Migron,  over  against 
  Michmash,  the  Wady  esSuweinit  alone  intervening.  Here  at 
  Gibeah-Geba  Saul  and  his  army  rested,  uncertain  what  to  do 
  Jonathan  became  impatient,  and  with  his  armour-bearer  planned  an 
  assault  against  the  Philistines,  unknown  to  Saul  and  the  army 
  (14:1-15).  Jonathan  and  his  armour-bearer  went  down  into  the 
  wady,  and  on  their  hands  and  knees  climbed  to  the  top  of  the 
  narrow  rocky  ridge  called  Bozez,  where  was  the  outpost  of  the 
  Philistine  army.  They  surprised  and  then  slew  twenty  of  the 
  Philistines,  and  immediately  the  whole  host  of  the  Philistines 
  was  thrown  into  disorder  and  fled  in  great  terror.  "It  was  a 
  very  great  trembling;"  a  supernatural  panic  seized  the  host. 
  Saul  and  his  600  men,  a  band  which  speedily  increased  to  10,000, 
  perceiving  the  confusion,  pursued  the  army  of  the  Philistines, 
  and  the  tide  of  battle  rolled  on  as  far  as  to  Bethaven,  halfway 
  between  Michmash  and  Bethel.  The  Philistines  were  totally 
  routed.  "So  the  Lord  saved  Israel  that  day."  While  pursuing  the 
  Philistines,  Saul  rashly  adjured  the  people,  saying,  "Cursed  be 
  the  man  that  eateth  any  food  until  evening."  But  though  faint 
  and  weary,  the  Israelites  "smote  the  Philistines  that  day  from 
  Michmash  to  Aijalon"  (a  distance  of  from  15  to  20  miles). 
  Jonathan  had  while  passing  through  the  wood  in  pursuit  of  the 
  Philistines,  tasted  a  little  of  the  honeycomb  which  was  abundant 
  there  (14:27).  This  was  afterwards  discovered  by  Saul  (ver.  42), 
  and  he  threatened  to  put  his  son  to  death.  The  people,  however, 
  interposed,  saying,  "There  shall  not  one  hair  of  his  head  fall 
  to  the  ground."  He  whom  God  had  so  signally  owned,  who  had 
  "wrought  this  great  salvation  in  Israel,"  must  not  die.  "Then 
  Saul  went  up  from  following  the  Philistines:  and  the  Philistines 
  went  to  their  own  place"  (1  Sam.  14:24-46);  and  thus  the 
  campaign  against  the  Philistines  came  to  an  end  This  was  Saul's 
  second  great  military  success. 
 
  Saul's  reign,  however,  continued  to  be  one  of  almost  constant 
  war  against  his  enemies  round  about  (14:47,  48),  in  all  of  which 
  he  proved  victorious.  The  war  against  the  Amalekites  is  the  only 
  one  which  is  recorded  at  length  (1  Sam.  15).  These  oldest  and 
  hereditary  (Ex.  17:8;  Num.  14:43-45)  enemies  of  Israel  occupied 
  the  territory  to  the  south  and  south-west  of  Palestine.  Samuel 
  summoned  Saul  to  execute  the  ban"  which  God  had  pronounced 
  (Deut.  25:17-19)  on  this  cruel  and  relentless  foe  of  Israel.  The 
  cup  of  their  iniquity  was  now  full.  This  command  was  "the  test 
  of  his  moral  qualification  for  being  king."  Saul  proceeded  to 
  execute  the  divine  command;  and  gathering  the  people  together, 
  marched  from  Telaim  (1  Sam.  15:4)  against  the  Amalekites  whom 
  he  smote  "from  Havilah  until  thou  comest  to  Shur,"  utterly 
  destroying  "all  the  people  with  the  edge  of  the  sword",  i.e., 
  all  that  fell  into  his  hands.  He  was  however,  guilty  of 
  rebellion  and  disobedience  in  sparing  Agag  their  king,  and  in 
  conniving  at  his  soldiers'  sparing  the  best  of  the  sheep  and 
  cattle;  and  Samuel,  following  Saul  to  Gilgal,  in  the  Jordan 
  valley,  said  unto  him  "Because  thou  hast  rejected  the  word  of 
  the  Lord,  he  also  hath  rejected  thee  from  being  king"  (15:23). 
  The  kingdom  was  rent  from  Saul  and  was  given  to  another,  even  to 
  David,  whom  the  Lord  chose  to  be  Saul's  successor,  and  whom 
  Samuel  anointed  (16:1-13).  From  that  day  "the  spirit  of  the  Lord 
  departed  from  Saul,  and  an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord  troubled 
  him."  He  and  Samuel  parted  only  to  meet  once  again  at  one  of  the 
  schools  of  the  prophets. 
 
  David  was  now  sent  for  as  a  "cunning  player  on  an  harp"  (1 
  Sam.  16:16,  18),  to  play  before  Saul  when  the  evil  spirit 
  troubled  him  and  thus  was  introduced  to  the  court  of  Saul.  He 
  became  a  great  favourite  with  the  king.  At  length  David  returned 
  to  his  father's  house  and  to  his  wonted  avocation  as  a  shepherd 
  for  perhaps  some  three  years.  The  Philistines  once  more  invaded 
  the  land,  and  gathered  their  army  between  Shochoh  and  Azekah,  in 
  Ephes-dammim,  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  valley  of  Elah.  Saul 
  and  the  men  of  Israel  went  forth  to  meet  them  and  encamped  on 
  the  northern  slope  of  the  same  valley  which  lay  between  the  two 
  armies.  It  was  here  that  David  slew  Goliath  of  Gath,  the 
  champion  of  the  Philistines  (17:4-54),  an  exploit  which  led  to 
  the  flight  and  utter  defeat  of  the  Philistine  army.  Saul  now 
  took  David  permanently  into  his  service  (18:2);  but  he  became 
  jealous  of  him  (ver.  9),  and  on  many  occasions  showed  his  enmity 
  toward  him  (ver.  10,  11),  his  enmity  ripening  into  a  purpose  of 
  murder  which  at  different  times  he  tried  in  vain  to  carry  out 
 
  After  some  time  the  Philistines  "gathered  themselves  together" 
  in  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  and  pitched  their  camp  at  Shunem,  on 
  the  slope  of  Little  Hermon;  and  Saul  "gathered  all  Israel 
  together,"  and  "pitched  in  Gilboa"  (1  Sam.  28:3-14).  Being 
  unable  to  discover  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  Saul,  accompanied  by 
  two  of  his  retinue,  betook  himself  to  the  "witch  of  Endor,"  some 
  7  or  8  miles  distant.  Here  he  was  overwhelmed  by  the  startling 
  communication  that  was  mysteriously  made  to  him  by  Samuel  (ver. 
  16-19),  who  appeared  to  him  "He  fell  straightway  all  along  on 
  the  earth,  and  was  sore  afraid,  because  of  the  words  of  Samuel" 
  (ver.  20).  The  Philistine  host  "fought  against  Israel:  and  the 
  men  of  Israel  fled  before  the  Philistines,  and  fell  down  slain 
  in  Mount  Gilboa"  (31:1).  In  his  despair  at  the  disaster  that  had 
  befallen  his  army,  Saul  "took  a  sword  and  fell  upon  it."  And  the 
  Philistines  on  the  morrow  "found  Saul  and  his  three  sons  fallen 
  in  Mount  Gilboa."  Having  cut  off  his  head,  they  sent  it  with  his 
  weapons  to  Philistia,  and  hung  up  the  skull  in  the  temple  of 
  Dagon  at  Ashdod.  They  suspended  his  headless  body,  with  that  of 
  Jonathan,  from  the  walls  of  Bethshan.  The  men  of  Jabesh-gilead 
  afterwards  removed  the  bodies  from  this  position;  and  having 
  burnt  the  flesh,  they  buried  the  bodies  under  a  tree  at  Jabesh. 
  The  remains  were  however,  afterwards  removed  to  the  family 
  sepulchre  at  Zelah  (2  Sam.  21:13,  14).  (See  {DAVID}.) 
 
  (3.)  "Who  is  also  called  Paul"  (q.v.),  the  circumcision  name 
  of  the  apostle,  given  to  him  perhaps,  in  memory  of  King  Saul 
  (Acts  7:58;  8:1;  9:1). 
 
 
  From  Hitchcock's  Bible  Names  Dictionary  (late  1800's)  [hitchcock]: 
 
  Saul,  demanded;  lent;  ditch;  death 
 




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