Samuel played a key role in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. He anointed Saul as the first king after Samuel served as a judge. Saul had some early military successes against the Philistines but disobeyed God by not following instructions to completely destroy the Amalekites. This led to Samuel announcing that God had rejected Saul as king. Samuel then anointed David to be the future king, beginning the transfer of power to David. Saul's reign marked a transitional period as Israel shifted from a loose confederation under judges to a centralized monarchy.

1. FIGUR SAMUEL DAN SAUL, SERTA PERANNYA
DALAM LAHIRNYA MONARKI DI ISRAEL
SESI 8
ALBERTUS PURNOMO, OFM (SSL)

2. SAMUEL

3. INFORMASI UMUM
 Samuel, Hebrew Shmuʾel, (flourished 11th century BC,
Israel), religious hero in the history of Israel,
represented in the Old Testament in every role of
leadership open to a Jewish man of his day—seer,
priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. His greatest
distinction was his role in the establishment of the
monarchy in Israel.
 Bible References: Samuel is mentioned in 1 Samuel 1-
28; Psalm [Mazmur] 99:6; Jeremiah [Yeremia] 15:1; Acts
[Kisah PR] 3:24, 13:20; and Hebrews [Ibrani] 11:32.

4. INFORMASI UMUM
 Samuel, the son of Elkanah (of Ephraim) and
Hannah, was born in answer to the prayer of his
previously childless mother. In gratitude she
dedicated him to the service of the chief sanctuary
of Shiloh, in the charge of the priest Eli. As a boy
Samuel received a divine oracle in which the fall of
the house of Eli was predicted (1 Samuel 1–3).
 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Hebrew-
prophet

5. Kisah tentang Samuel,
kelahiran dan masa
kanak-kanak dapat dibaca
dalam 1 Samuel 1:1-7:15

6. MONARKI DI DUNIA KUNO
KINGSHIP IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EASTBY STEVEN L. MCKENZIE
STEVEN L. MCKENZIE, "KINGSHIP IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST", N.P. [CITED 30 MAY 2021]. ONLINE:
HTTPS://WWW.BIBLEODYSSEY.ORG:443/PEOPLE/RELATED-ARTICLES/KINGSHIP-IN-THE-ANE

7. Kingship (rule by a single, male monarch) was
the nearly exclusive form of government in the
ancient Near East.
Female monarchs, such as Hatshepsut in Egypt
and Athaliah in Judah (2Kgs 11:1-3), were by
far the exception, as illustrated by Hatshepsut:
she adopted the costume of Egyptian kings,
including the false beard and bare chest.

8. Monarchy in the ancient Near East was by
definition hereditary and dynastic.
We see such expectations and traditions in the
Hebrew Bible, especially in the books of
Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles.
A king was expected to be succeeded by his
oldest son, that son by his oldest son, and so
on.

9. If a king was sonless, the closest male relative
would succeed him, continuing the dynasty.
Usurpation—succession by someone who as not
an heir—was relatively common and was not
peaceful.
It typically entailed a violent overthrow by a
military rival of the king or dynasty or both and
slaughter of supporters and family members of
the former king or dynasty.

10. The domains of ancient Near Eastern kings
varied in size.
Some ruled over city-states; others claimed
vast empires. There was, therefore, a
hierarchy among kings. Conquering kings
subjugated those monarchs whom they
conquered.

11. Conquered kings could still be "kings," but
they had obligations to the conqueror:
usually annual payment of tribute, specified
in quantities of gold, silver, and goods.
Kings who were equals also drafted treaties
between themselves agreeing to mutual
recognition and the avoidance of hostilities.

12. Monarchs were considered to be the owners of the lands
in their realms with final authority over their subjects and
subject property. At the same time, they had certain
responsibilities.
Above all, they were expected to ensure order in their
kingdoms and justice for all subject citizens. (The famous
Code of Hammurabi is a good example.)
Kings were also understood to be the defenders of their
domains and hence the leaders of their armies.

13. Kings had a special relationship with the national
gods. In Egypt, the monarch, or pharaoh (meaning
“great house”), was even considered divine.
An important part of the monarch’s task of
maintaining order was the appeasement of the gods.
Kings were also expected to build and maintain
temples to the gods, and they had a special role in
the worship of the head god.

14. In fact, the understanding of the gods and
language referring to them was drawn from the
political system of kingship and is reflected in
biblical references to God as king.
In the ancient Near East, this meant that the
national god (Israel's was Yahweh) was
considered the king of the gods. Other, lesser
deities served as members of his court or
counsel, just as the human king had a group of
advisors or a cabinet.

15. Trappings (ornament) of kingship included the royal
residence or palace, crown, throne, scepter, and (in
Egypt) the flail (cambuk).
These things together with statuary, reliefs,
inscriptions, and other documents (including biblical
texts) were useful propaganda, exalting the king’s
accomplishments and illustrating his election and
favor by the gods—particularly important if he was a
usurper.

17. SAUL

18. DESKRIPSI SAUL
 Ada seorang dari daerah Benyamin, namanya Kish
bin Abiel, bin Zeror, bin Bekhorat, bin Afiah, seorang
suku Benyamin, seorang yang berada. Orang ini ada
anaknya laki-laki, namanya Saul, seorang muda
yang elok rupanya; tidak ada seorangpun dari antara
orang Israel yang lebih elok dari padanya: dari bahu
ke atas ia lebih tinggi dari pada setiap orang
sebangsanya (1 Sam. 9:1-2 ITB)

19. PERTEMUAN SAMUEL DENGAN SAUL
 Awal: hilangnya keledai
 Because Kish had lost some donkeys, Saul was sent in
search of them. Unsuccessful in his search, he went to
the seer-prophet Samuel at Ramah.
 The day before Saul went to Ramah, Samuel the seer
(ro’e), who was depicted by the Deuteronomic historian
as a prophet (navi’ ), received notice from Yahweh that
Saul was the man chosen to reign over Israel.

20. SAUL DIURAPI
 At the sacrificial meal, Saul, a tall young man,
was given the seat of honour, and the next
day Samuel anointed him prince (nagid ) of
Israel in a secret ceremony.
 Before returning home, Saul joined a band of
roving ecstatic prophets and prophesied under
the influence of the spirit of Yahweh.

21. SAUL MENJADI RAJA DENGAN UNDIAN
Sam 10, 17–27, generally accepted as part of
the later source, the Deuteronomic historian’s
views are depicted—Saul was chosen by lot at
Mizpah.

22. PEMBUKTIAN SAUL SEBAGAI RAJA
The early source picks up the story of
Saul in chapter 11, which illustrates Saul’s
military leadership abilities and describes
his acclamation as king at Gilgal.
Saul was vindicated as king by his
leadership of Israel in a campaign against
the Ammonites (chapter 11);

23. PERPISAHAN SAMUEL
 Samuel retired from the leadership of Israel (chapter
12).
 Samuel’s farewell address, a Deuteronomic reworking
of the later source, recapitulates the history of the
Israelite tribes from the time of the patriarch Jacob
through the period of the judges and forcefully
presents the conservative view that the request for a
monarchy will bring about adversity to Israel.

24. PEMERINTAHAN SAUL
 The early reign of Saul and his confrontations with
Samuel until the last judge’s death is the subject of
chapters 13–15.
 (Chapter 13) Saul’s early acts as king centred about
battles with the Philistines. Because his son Jonathan
had defeated one of their garrisons at Geba, the
Philistines mustered an army to counterattack near Beth-
aven (probably another name for Bethel).
 Saul issued a request for volunteers, who gathered
together for battle but awaited the performance of the
sacrifice before the battle by Samuel.

25.  Because Samuel did not come for seven days, Saul, acting on
his own, presided at the sacrifice.
 Immediately after the burnt offering had been completed,
Samuel appeared (perhaps waiting for such an opportunity to
reassert his leading position) and castigated Saul for
overstepping the boundaries of his princely prerogatives—even
though Saul had been more than patient.
 Samuel warned him that this type of act (which Saul, in the
early source, and later David and Solomon also often
performed) would cost Saul his kingdom.

26.  In spite of Samuel’s apparent animosity [kebencian],
Saul continued to defend the interests of the newly
formed kingdom.
 The tragedy of Saul was that he was a transitional
figure who had to bear the burden of being the man
who was of an old order and at the same time of a
new way of life among a people composed of disparate
[berbeda] elements and leading figures.
 Both Samuel, the last judge of Israel, and David, the
future builder of the small Israelite empire, opposed
him.

27.  Saul was more a judge—a charismatic leader—than
a monarch.
 Unlike most kings of his time and area, he levied
no taxes, depended on a volunteer army, and had
no harem.
 He did not construct a court bureaucracy but relied
rather on the trust of the people in his charismatic
leadership and thus did not alter the political
boundaries or structure of the tribal confederacy.

28.  The issue between Saul and Samuel came to a
head in the events described in chapter 15 (a
section from the later source).
 Samuel requested Saul to avenge the attacks by
the Amalekites on the Israelite tribes during their
wanderings in the wilderness after the Exodus from
Egypt about 200 years earlier.

29.  Saul defeated the Amalekites in a holy war but did not devote
everything to destruction as was required by the ban (ḥerem).
 Because Saul had not killed Agag, the Amalekite king, and
had saved sheep and cattle for a sacrifice, Samuel informed
Saul that he had disobeyed Yahweh and was thus rejected by
God, for “to obey is better than to sacrifice.”
 Samuel then asked that Agag be brought to him, and he
hacked the Amalekite king to pieces. After that, Saul and
Samuel saw each other no more.

30.  He reappeared, however, to announce the oracle of
Yahweh rejecting Saul as king, once for arrogating
to himself the right of sacrifice (chapter 13)
 and a second time for failing to carry out the law of
the ban—a primitive institution by which persons or
objects were devoted to the deity, normally by
destruction—against the Amalekites (chapter 15).

31.  By the oracle of Yahweh, Samuel secretly anointed
David as king (chapter 16).
 He then faded into the background, appearing at the
sanctuary of Naioth (chapter 19).
 He died, and his ghost was evoked by a
necromancer, or sorceress, at the request of Saul;
he then announced a third time the rejection of Saul
(chapter 28).

32. LEGACY OF SAUL (WARISAN DARI SAUL)
 Best described as a tragic hero, Saul displayed a
strength in battle and an ability to inspire his followers
that place him high in the ranks of the military great.
 If unable finally to solve the Philistine problem, he
nevertheless prevented their complete subjugation of the
land. So enduring was the devotion of the men of
Jabesh-Gilead that they risked their lives to remove
Saul’s exposed body from the Philistine fortress at Beth-
shan and give it proper burial (I Samuel 31:11–13).

33.  The finest tribute paid the fallen leader is
found in the immortal words of David’s
magnificent elegy in II Samuel 1, which
begins, “Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy
high places! How are the mighty fallen!”
 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saul-king-
of-Israel