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The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit
Midrash
The Book of Shmuel
Shiur #15: CHAPTER 9 (PART
II) THE
MEETING BETWEEN SHMUEL AND SHAUL Rav Amnon
Bazak I.
THE MOTIF OF "CONINCIDENCE" IN THE STORY OF
SHAUL
In the previous lesson I dealt with the character of Shaul as it is
reflected in the story of his search for the donkeys. In this lesson I will deal
with another point emerging from this story. One of the striking phenomena
throughout the story is the element of chance, as it were, in the various events
described over the course of the chapter. The very process - Shaul going off in
search of donkeys and finding the monarchy - has turned into a popular saying
that gives expression to the surprises occurring in the world, man having no
control over them whatsoever. But this point is also emphasized over the course
of the story itself.
The root mem-tzadi-alef ("find") seems to be the keyword in the
story, appearing seven times (in the usual manner of keywords). This root
generally denotes coincidence, and so too in our story: By chance, the lad
"finds" a quarter shekel of silver in his hand, without which Shaul and the lad
would have had to go home without meeting Shmuel; and by chance, they "find" on
their way to the city the maidens who help them reach Shmuel.[1]
Despite the appearance of chance, however, it eventually becomes clear that
everything had been carefully planned out in advance: Now
the Lord had revealed unto Shmuel a day before Shaul came, saying. Tomorrow
about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Binyamin, and you shall
anoint him to be prince over My people Israel…. (15-16)
The timing is so precise that they meet Shmuel precisely at the moment
that he expects to see them: And
they went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Shmuel came
out toward them, to go up to the high place.[2]
(14)
This point seems to be of great significance. It is precisely in
anticipation of the appointment of the first king in Israel that it is important
to emphasize that God continues to run the show, and that man has only limited
control of what happens around him. Even in times of success and victory, the
king must remember that true control over what goes on in the world is in the
hands of God, and that nothing essential changed since he went off in search of
the donkeys and found the kingship. II. "A
MAN OUT OF THE LAND OF BINYAMIN"
One of the surprising aspects of Shaul's selection is that the only thing
that God tells Shmuel about the designated king is that he is "a man out of the land of
Binyamin." This criterion is surprising in itself: why is it necessary to
emphasize the fact that the king is from the tribe of Binyamin?[3]
Shaul himself provides an answer to this question in the continuation of
the story. When Shmuel asks him: "And on
whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you, and on all your father's
house?" (v. 20), Shaul responds: And
Shaul answered and said, Am not I a Binyaminite, of the smallest of the tribes
of Israel; and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Binyamin?
Why then do you speak to me in this manner? (21)
Why is the tribe of Binyamin "the smallest of the tribes of Israel"? It
may, of course, be suggested that being the youngest of Yaakov's children,
Binyamin is therefore called "the smallest of the tribes of Israel." Shaul,
however, seems to be referring to quantitative smallness as well. Already in the
wilderness, Binyamin was not counted among the larger tribes.[4]
But the tribe of Binyamin became especially diminished in numbers during the war
with the other tribes of Israel following the incident of the concubine in Giva,
described at the end of the book of Shofetim. In this difficult war,
Binyamin suffered a loss of "twenty-five thousand people" (Shofetim
20:46), and afterwards, "the men of Israel turned back upon the children of
Binyamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the men of every city,
and beasts, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that
they came to" (ibid. v. 48). The women of Binyamin appear to have been
particularly hard hit, for the last chapter in the book of Shofetim tells
of Israel's attempts to solve the problems of the women of Binyamin – "seeing
the women are destroyed out of Binyamin" (ibid. 21:16). It is reasonable to
assume that the population of the tribe of Binyamin became drastically reduced
in the wake of the war, and thus it was "the smallest of the tribes of
Israel."
Shaul adds that not only is his tribe the smallest of the tribes, but his
family is "the least of all the families of the tribe of Binyamin." In the next
chapter (10:21), Shaul's family is designated "the family of Matri"; this name
is not familiar to us from the list of the tribe's known families in Parashat
Pinchas (Bamidbar 26:38-40), and thus it would appear that indeed we
are dealing with a "lesser" family.
It seems that it is not by chance that the man chosen to be king of
Israel comes from the least of the families of the smallest tribe in Israel.
This choice emphasizes the primary message of the chapter: the need for modesty,
humility, and the recognition that the king is subject to God's command. At the
beginning of the chapter, I noted that modesty was a basic component of Shaul's
personality; at this point the external facts underlying this modesty are
revealed – his lowly lineage and humble origins.[5] III. A CLOAK OF
SECRECY
The first encounter between Shmuel and Shaul includes two slightly
contradictory inclinations. On the one hand, Shmuel relates to Shaul with great
respect; he makes him sit "in the
chiefest place among them that were bidden, who were about thirty[6]
persons" (v. 22), and he gives him the best portion of the meat: "And the cook
took up the thigh, and that which was upon it,[7]
and set it before Shaul. And [Shmuel] said, Behold the meat
(ha-nishar)![8]
It is set before you (sim lefanekha),[9]
eat…" (v. 24). On the other hand, at this stage Shmuel does not reveal to Shaul
what is behind this attitude. Shmuel first responds to Shaul's question,
"Tell me, I
pray you, where the seer's house is" (v. 18), with
an inappropriate answer: I am the seer;[10]
go up before me unto the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the
morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is in your heart. And as
for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, set not your mind on them; for
they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you, and
on all your father's house? (19-20)
Apart from the first two words, Shaul was undoubtedly very surprised by
the mysterious welcome. Shmuel invites Shaul to eat with him, and even tells him
that the donkeys have been found, but he adds an unintelligible sentence:
"And on
whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you, and on all your father's
house?" It stands to reason that Shaul first understood that Shmuel meant to say
that he should not worry about the donkeys, because his family is wealthy. For
if not, there is no way to undestand Shaul's response: "Am not
I a Binyaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the
least of all the families of the tribe of Binyamin? Why then do you speak to me
in this manner?" In the continuation as
well Shmuel fails to explain to the surprised Shaul what stands behind the
special treatment that he is receiving. After the meal, Shmuel talks with Shaul
confidentially – "And
when they were come down from the high place into the city, he spoke with Shaul
upon the roof" (v. 25) – but Scripture does not tell us what he said.[11]
It stands to reason that Shmuel began to discuss with Shaul the matter of the
kingship. The conversation continues the next day, early in the morning – once
again in secret: "And they arose early; and it came to pass about the break of
day, that Shmuel called to Shaul on the roof, saying, Up, that I may send
you away" (v. 26). The chapter ends with a description that is unique in its
style: As
they were going down at the end of the city,[12]
Shmuel said to Shaul, Bid the servant pass on before us - and he passed on
- but stand you still at this time, that I may cause you to hear the word of
God. (27)
It should be noted that following Shmuel's words to Shaul, "Bid the
servant pass on before us," we are told that this was done – "and he passed on."
Only after the servant is out of earshot, does Shmuel continue to talk to Shaul.
This description emphasizes the great secrecy adopted by Shmuel, who did not
allow anybody to witness Shaul's being anointed king, not even his faithful
servant.
What is the meaning of all this secrecy? We will see below that it is
very important that the people should not know at this stage that Shaul was
chosen to be king, and that his being chosen should be announced in the presence
of all of Israel. I will come back to this point in the coming chapters, and
explain its significance. Now, I merely draw your attention to the phenomenon.
At this point it may be said that Shmuel is preparing Shaul for the expected
announcement, but at the same time he conceals from the people, for now, Shaul's
goal and mission. (Translated
by David Strauss) [1] In the previous lesson I
mentioned two of the Gemara's explanations (Berakhot 48b) of the lengthy
talk on the part of the young maidens. I will now add the third explanation
offered there, which fits in with the phenomenon under discussion here: "Rabbi
Yochanan says: It was because one kingdom cannot overlap another by a hair's
breadth." Rashi explains: "Since Shmuel was the leader of Israel, and Shaul
would be assuming leadership once Shmuel talked to him, the lengthy talk
temporarily delayed it." According to this approach, the precise timing of the
events stemmed from the fact that the time did not yet arrive for Shmuel to
terminate his leadership over Israel, and Shaul's anointing symbolizes the
moment of the transfer of authority. [2] The combination, "And they…
behold," in and of itself marks a surprising event, e.g.: "And it came to pass,
as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a
chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them from one another, and
Eliyahu went up by a storm of wind into heaven." (II Melakhim 2:11). Se
also Bereishit 42:35; Shoftim
19:22. [3] Another problem is that
this seems to contradict Yaakov's blessing given to Yehuda: "The staff shall not
depart from Yehuda, nor the scepter from between his feet" (Bereishit
49:10). If this promise means – as many have understood it – that authority
will remain in the hands of Yehuda – how can the monarchy begin with someone
from the tribe of Binyamin? What would have happened had Shaul not sinned?
Ramban deals with this question at length in his commentary to the verse in
Bereishit. He explains that from the very outset Shaul's monarchy was
supposed to be temporary, for Israel's "asking for a king at that time was
loathesome to the Holy One, blessed be He." And therefore, "He did not wish to
set upon them a king from a tribe from which the monarchy would never depart,
and so He gave them a temporary monarchy." Nevertheless, Ramban notes the words
of Shaul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the
Lord your God, which He commanded you; for now the Lord would have established
your kingdom upon Israel forever" (13:13). He explains that had Shaul not
sinned, his monarchy would have continued at least in part: "Perhaps he would
have reigned as king over the tribes of his mother, over Binyamin, Ephraim and
Menasheh… Or else, he would have reigned as king under the king of Yehuda." It
should be noted that the second possibility suggested by Ramban had already been
proposed by Yehonatan, the son of Shaul, when he said to David before they
parted for the last time: "And you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be
next to you, and that also Shaul my father knows" (23:17).
[4] In the census at the
beginning of the book of Bamidbar the tribe of Binyamin counted
thirty-five thousand, four hundred men (Bamidbar 1:37); only the tribe of
Menashe was smaller. In the census in Parashat Pinchas, the tribe grew to
forty-five thousand, six hundred men (Bamidbar 26:41), but most of the
tribes were still more larger than the tribe of
Binyamin. [5] It should be noted that
Shaul's modest words bring to mind the words of Gidon ben Yoash: "O my Lord,
with what shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Menashe, and
I am the youngest in my father's house" (Shoftim 6:15). Of all the
Shoftim, Gidon was the closest to becoming king (as requested by the
people: "Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also"
[ibid. 8:22]). Significantly, Gidon was graced with the quality of modesty that
so characterized Shaul. As for the parallels between Shaul and Gidon, see below,
in the discussion of the war against the Pelishtim in chapters 13 and
14. [6] The Septuagint reads
"seventy persons," suggesting that Shaul sat at the head of a political body
that represented the people of Israel over the course of many generations: the
seventy elders. The Masoretic reading, however, is more reasonable, because,
among other reasons, the general tendency in the chapter is for Shmuel to
conceal more than he reveals. It is difficult to assume that Shmuel convened a
large and well-known public body. It is more reasonable that we are dealing with
a group of the city's notables, and nothing
more. [7] The Gemara in Avoda Zara
(25a) brings a disagreement whether the reference is to the thigh and fat
tail or to the thigh and the breast. [8] It stands to reason that
the word ha-nishar is not derived from the word she'erit, "what is
left," for it is not a sign of honor to offer leftovers to a distinguished
guest. Rather, it is used here in the sense of "flesh, meat," as in "My flesh
(she'eri) and my heart fail" (Tehillim 73:26). See also
Vayikra 21:2; Mishlei 5:11. [9] "Sim lefanekha" is
not a command (the command appears earlier in v. 23), but rather a participle,
i.e., "it is set before you," as in Bamidbar
24:21. [10] Chazal saw this
expression as problematic, and as testifying to a certain arrogance: "Similar to
this you find: 'Then Shaul drew near to Shmuel in the gate, etc. And Shmuel
answered Shaul, and said, I am the seer.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to
him: You are the seer? I am telling you that you fail to see. When did He tell
him this? When He said to him: 'Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you
to Yishai, the Bet-Lechemite: for I have provided for Me a king among his sons'
(16:1), what did he say: 'And it came to pass, when they were come, that he
looked on Eliav, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him' (ibid. v.
6). The Holy One, blessed be He said: Did you not say: 'I am the seer'? 'Look
not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature; because I have refused
him' (ibid. v. 7)" (Sifrei Devarim, 17). In chapter 17, I will explain
that the criticism is primarily about what is related there, it being difficult
to see anything problematic in Shmuel's conduct
here. [11] Rashi explains: "He rebuked
him and taught him to fear the Holy One, blessed be
He." [12] This is sort of a "mirror
image" of what was stated at the beginning of the story: "As they went up the
ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water" (v.
11). It might be Scripture's intention to emphasize the change that transpired
in Shaul: All through the chapter the term "heima" refers to Shaul and
his lad (vvs. 5, 11 [2], 14), but now it refers to Shmuel and Shaul. Shaul's
modesty – his going with his lad as an equal (as noted in the previous lecture)
– earned him the privilege to go as an equal with
Shmuel. |