ABSTRACT
Samuel’s forebodings proved to be correct: Saul’s reign was plagued by a number of difficulties. His first problem was that he soon lost the support of Samuel. When Saul was instructed to take neither prisoners nor spoil in a campaign against the Amalekites, these instructions were not strictly followed. As a consequence, Samuel denounced the king and declared he had been rejected by God (1 Samuel 15). The second problem concerned Saul’s moods of gloom and violence. After his anointing, God’s spirit came upon Saul and imparted to him prophetic frenzy so that he could lead Israel to victory. As is known from the eighteenth-century BCE letters from Mari, prophetic ecstasy linked with military triumph was a feature of the ancient Near East. But for Saul such emotional activity took a toll on his mental state. To relieve him from depression, David joined his retinue so that he might bring relief through music. Yet this was no solution. Saul became jealous of David’s popularity and success. Much of the account of Saul’s reign is
c. 1050 BCE Victory of Philistines over Israelites at Aphek
c. 1020-1000 BCE Saul, king of Israel
c. 1000-961 BCE David, king of Israel
c. 961-922 BCE Solomon, king of Israel
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