Saul at En-dor and Gilboa

About the same time the Philistines resolved to make war on the Israelites. They sent to all their allies to go with them to the war at Reggan, where they could gather together and then suddenly attack the Hebrews. Then Achish, the king of Gath, asked David to help them against the Hebrews with his armed men. David readily promised, and said that the time had now come when he could repay him for his kindness and hospitality. So the king promised to make him his bodyguard after the victory, if the battle with the enemy went as they wished; and he made this promise of honor and trust on purpose to increase David’s zeal for his service. [a]

Now Saul, the king of the Hebrews, had driven out of the country the fortune-tellers and those who called up the dead, and all who practiced such arts, except the prophets. But when he heard that the Philistines had already come and pitched camp near the city of Shunem, which lies in the plain, he hurried to oppose them with his forces. When he came to a mountain called Gilboa, he pitched his camp facing the enemy. But when he saw the enemy’s army he was greatly troubled, because it looked numerous and stronger than his own; and he inquired of God through the prophets about the battle, so as to know beforehand how it would turn out. When God did not answer him, Saul was in still greater dread and his courage failed, for he foresaw, as was only reasonable, that disaster would come on him now that God was not there to help him. Yet he told his servants to find him some woman who called up the souls of the dead, so that he might learn whether his affairs would go as he wished; for women of this kind, who bring up the souls of the dead, foretell the future through them to those who ask. One of his servants told him that there was such a woman in the city of En-dor. So Saul, slipping away unnoticed by anyone in the camp, took off his royal clothes, took with him two of his servants whom he knew to be most loyal to him, and came to the woman at En-dor, and begged her to act the fortune-teller and bring up to him whatever soul he named to her. The woman refused. She said she did not hold in contempt the king who had banished fortune-tellers of this kind, and that he himself was not acting well in trying to lay a snare for her, when she had done him no harm, and to expose her practicing a forbidden art so as to have her punished. He swore that no one would know what she did, that he would tell no one else what she foretold, and that she would run no danger. When by this oath he had brought her to fear no harm, he told her to bring up to him the soul of Samuel. [b]

She, not knowing who Samuel was, called him up out of Hades. When he appeared, and the woman saw someone venerable and godlike in form, she was thrown into confusion, and in her astonishment at the sight she said, “Are you not King Saul?” — for Samuel had told her who he was. When he had admitted that this was true, and asked her what had alarmed her, she said she saw a certain person coming up who was like a god in form. When he told her to say what he looked like, how he was dressed and how old he was, she told him that he was an old man by now, of glorious appearance, and wore a priest’s mantle. By these signs the king knew that it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground and greeted him and bowed down to him. When the soul of Samuel asked him why he had disturbed him and had him brought up, Saul lamented the necessity he was under. He said that his enemies were pressing him hard; that he did not know what to do in his present circumstances; that he was forsaken by God and could get no prediction of what was coming, either by prophets or by dreams; and “these are the reasons why I have fled to you, to take care of me.” But Samuel, seeing that the end of Saul’s life had come, said, “It is useless for you to want to learn anything of the future from me, when God has forsaken you. But hear what I say: David is to be king and to bring this war to a successful end, and you are to lose your rule and your life, because you did not obey God in the war with the Amalekites and have not kept his commandments, as I foretold to you while I was alive. Know, then, that the people will be made subject to their enemies, and that you and your sons will fall in the battle tomorrow; and then you will be with me.”

When Saul heard this, he could not speak for grief and fell down on the floor. Whether it was from the sorrow that came over him at what Samuel had said, or from hunger — for he had eaten nothing the day or night before — he lay there helpless, like a corpse. When with difficulty he had come to himself, the woman pressed him to eat. She begged this of him as a favor, in return for the danger she had run in that act of fortune-telling: it was not lawful for her to have done it, because of her fear of the king, yet, not knowing who he was, she had undertaken it and carried it through. For that reason she begged him to let a table and food be set before him, so that he might recover his strength and get safely back to his own camp. When he resisted, and refused outright because of his anxiety, she pressed him and at last persuaded him. Now she had one calf that she was very fond of and took great care of, and fed herself; for she was a woman who earned her living by the work of her own hands, and had no other possession but that one calf. She killed it, prepared its meat, and set it before his servants and himself. So Saul came back to the camp while it was still night.

It is only right to commend the generosity of this woman. The king had forbidden her to use the art by which her circumstances were improved, and she had never seen him before; yet she did not hold it against him that he had condemned her kind of learning, nor turn him away as a stranger she had no acquaintance with. She had compassion on him and comforted him, urged him to do what he was very reluctant to do, and offered him the only creature she had, poor woman that she was — and that earnestly and with great kindness — not repaying any kindness he had done her, nor hunting for any future favor from him, for she knew he was going to die. Men by nature, on the other hand, are either eager to please those who give them benefits, or very ready to serve those from whom they may receive some advantage. It would be good, then, to imitate her example: to do kindnesses to all who are in need, and to think that nothing is better or more fitting for mankind than such generosity toward all, nor anything that will sooner make God favorable and ready to give us good things. So much may be enough to say about this woman. But I will speak further on another subject, which will give me every opportunity to discuss what is of benefit to cities and peoples and nations, and what suits the taste of good men. It will encourage them all in the pursuit of virtue; it can show them the desirability of acquiring glory and an everlasting fame; it can instill in the kings of nations and the rulers of cities a great inclination and diligence to do well; it can encourage them to face dangers and to die for their countries, and teach them how to despise all the most terrible adversities. And Saul the king of the Hebrews gives me a fair occasion to enter on such a discourse. For although he knew what was coming on him, and that by the prophet’s prediction he was to die immediately, he did not resolve to run from death, nor indulge his love of life so far as to betray his own people to the enemy or bring disgrace on his royal dignity. Instead, exposing himself and all his family and children to danger, he thought it a noble thing to fall together with them, fighting for his subjects, and that it was better for his sons to die like this, showing their courage, than to leave them behind with no knowing what kind of men they would turn out to be, since in place of succession and descendants they gained praise and a lasting name. Such a man alone seems to me just, courageous and prudent; and whoever has reached these dispositions, or will reach them hereafter, is the man who ought to be honored by all with the testimony of a virtuous or courageous man. As for those who go out to war hoping for success and expecting to return safe after performing some glorious deed, I think those who call them valiant men — as so many historians and other writers about them are accustomed to do — do not do well, though I admit that such men also deserve some praise. But only those may be called courageous and bold in great undertakings, and despisers of adversity, who imitate Saul. For when men do not know how the war will turn out for themselves, and though they do not lose heart in it, give themselves up to an uncertain future and are tossed this way and that, this is not so very outstanding an instance of a noble mind, even if they happen to perform many great exploits. But when men’s minds expect no good outcome, and they know beforehand that they must die, and die in the battle too — and after this they are neither frightened nor dismayed at the terrible fate that is coming, but go straight to meet it, knowing it beforehand — this is what I count the character of a truly courageous man. That is what Saul did, and so he showed that all men who desire fame after they are dead should act in such a way that they may obtain it. This especially concerns kings, since the greatness of their power does not allow them merely to refrain from wickedness toward their subjects, or to be only moderately good to them. I could say more than this about Saul and his courage, for the subject gives plenty of material; but so that I may not seem to run on improperly in his praise, I return to the history from which I made this digression. [g]

Now when the Philistines, as I said before, had pitched their camp and counted their forces by nations, kingdoms and governments, King Achish came last of all with his own army, and after him came David with his six hundred armed men. When the Philistine commanders saw him, they asked the king where these Hebrews had come from and at whose invitation. He answered that it was David, who had fled from his master Saul; he had taken him in when he came to him, and now David was willing to repay him for his favors and to avenge himself on Saul, and so had become his ally. The commanders complained that he had taken as an ally a man who was an enemy, and advised him to send him away, so that he would not unwittingly do his friends great harm by keeping him; for he was giving David an opportunity to be reconciled with his master by doing harm to their army. So they asked him, out of prudent foresight, to send him away with his six hundred armed men to the place he had given him to live in; for this was the David whom the young women celebrated in their songs for having destroyed many tens of thousands of the Philistines. When the king of Gath heard this, he thought they spoke well. So he called David and said to him, “As for me, I can testify that you have shown great diligence and kindness toward me, and that was why I took you as my ally. But what I have done does not please the commanders of the Philistines. So go within a day to the place I have given you, without suspecting any harm, and guard my country there, in case any of our enemies should raid it. That will be one part of the help I expect from you.” So David came to Ziklag, as the king of Gath had told him. But it happened that while he was away helping the Philistines, the Amalekites had raided and taken Ziklag beforehand and burned it; and when they had taken a great deal of other plunder from that place and from the other parts of the Philistines’ country, they left.

When David found Ziklag laid waste and all of it plundered, and that his own wives, who were two, and the wives of his companions with their children had been taken captive, he immediately tore his clothes, weeping and lamenting with his friends. He was so cast down by these misfortunes that at last even his tears failed him. He was also in danger of being stoned to death by his companions, who were deeply grieved at the captivity of their wives and children and laid the blame for what had happened on him. But when he had recovered from his grief and lifted his mind to God, he asked the high priest Abiathar to put on his priestly garments, inquire of God and prophesy to him whether God would grant that, if he pursued the Amalekites, he would overtake them, rescue their wives and their children, and take vengeance on the enemy. When the high priest told him to pursue them, he set off quickly after the enemy with his six hundred men. When he came to a brook called Besor, he came on a man wandering about, an Egyptian by birth, who was almost dead from want and hunger (he had been wandering without food in the wilderness for three days). First he gave him food and drink and so revived him. Then he asked him whose he was and where he came from. The man told him he was an Egyptian by birth and had been left behind by his master because he was so sick and weak that he could not follow him. He also told him that he was one of those who had burned and plundered not only other parts of Judea but Ziklag itself. So David used him as a guide to find the Amalekites. He overtook them as they lay scattered on the ground — some eating, some disorderly and thoroughly drunk with wine, enjoying their spoils and their plunder — and fell on them suddenly and made a great slaughter among them. For they were unarmed and expected nothing of the kind, having given themselves over to drinking and feasting, and so they were all easily destroyed. Some who were caught lying at table were killed in that position, and their blood brought up their food and their drink with it. Others were killed as they were drinking toasts to one another, and some when their full bellies had put them to sleep; and as many as had time to put on their armor were killed with the sword no less easily than those who were unarmed. David’s followers kept up the slaughter from the first hour of the day until evening, so that not more than four hundred of the Amalekites were left, and these escaped only by getting on their swift camels. So David recovered not only all the other spoil the enemy had carried off, but also his wives and the wives of his companions. But when they came to the place where they had left the two hundred men who were not able to follow them, and had been left to guard the baggage, the four hundred did not think it right to share with them any part of what they had taken, or of the plunder, since they had not gone with them but had grown faint and had not followed them in pursuit of the enemy; they should be content, they said, to have safely recovered their wives. But David declared that this opinion of theirs was evil and unjust. Since God had granted them such a favor — that they had avenged themselves on their enemies and recovered everything that belonged to them — they should make an equal distribution of what they had taken to all, because the rest had stayed behind to guard their baggage. And from that time this became a law among them, that those who guarded the baggage should receive an equal share with those who fought in the battle. When David came to Ziklag, he sent portions of the spoil to all who had been close to him and to his friends in the tribe of Judah. And so ended the affair of the plundering of Ziklag and the slaughter of the Amalekites. [j]

When the Philistines joined battle, a fierce fight followed. The Philistines won and killed a great number of their enemies. But Saul the king of Israel and his sons fought courageously and with the greatest eagerness, knowing that their whole glory lay in nothing else but dying honorably and exposing themselves to the utmost danger from the enemy, for they had nothing else to hope for. So they drew the whole strength of the enemy on themselves, until they were surrounded and killed — but not before they had killed many of the Philistines. The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua; and when these were killed, the mass of the Hebrews was put to flight, and all was disorder and confusion and slaughter as the Philistines pressed in on them. But Saul himself fled, with a strong body of soldiers around him; and when the Philistines sent after them men who threw javelins and shot arrows, he lost all his company except a few. He himself fought with great bravery. When he had received so many wounds that he could no longer hold up or resist, and yet was not able to kill himself, he told his armor-bearer to draw his sword and run him through before the enemy could take him alive. But his armor-bearer did not dare kill his master. So Saul drew his own sword and, setting himself against its point, threw himself on it. When he could neither stand nor, by leaning on it, make the sword pass through him, he turned around and asked a young man who stood by who he was. When he learned that he was an Amalekite, he asked him to force the sword through him, because he was not able to do it with his own hands, and so to give him the death he wanted. The young man did so. Then he took the gold bracelet that was on Saul’s arm and the royal crown that was on his head, and ran away. When Saul’s armor-bearer saw that he was dead, he killed himself. Nor did any of the king’s guards escape; they all fell on the mountain called Gilboa. When the Hebrews who lived in the valley beyond the Jordan, and those who had their cities in the plain, heard that Saul and his sons had fallen and that the multitude around them had been destroyed, they left their own cities and fled to those that were best fortified and walled; and the Philistines, finding those cities deserted, came and lived in them. [o]

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip their dead enemies, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons. They stripped them and cut off their heads, and sent messengers all around their country to announce that their enemies had fallen. They dedicated their armor in the temple of Astarte, but hung their bodies on stakes at the walls of the city of Beth-shan, which is now called Scythopolis. When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard that they had mutilated the dead bodies of Saul and his sons, they thought it so horrible a thing to overlook this barbarity and leave them without funeral rites that the most courageous and hardy men among them — and that city had men who were very strong in body and mind — traveled all night and came to Beth-shan. They went up to the enemy’s wall, took down the bodies of Saul and his sons, and carried them to Jabesh, while the enemy were neither able nor bold enough to stop them, because of their great courage. So the people of Jabesh all wept together and buried the bodies in the best place in their country, which was called Aroura; and they kept a public mourning for them seven days, with their wives and children, beating their breasts and lamenting the king and his sons, without tasting food or drink. [p]

Saul came to this end, as Samuel had prophesied, because he disobeyed God’s commands about the Amalekites, and because he had destroyed the family of Ahimelech the high priest, with Ahimelech himself, and the city of the high priests. So Saul ended his life, after reigning eighteen years while Samuel was alive, and twenty-two after his death. [u]