Saul /ˈsɔl, ˈsɑl/
 撒羅[舊約撒母耳記上篇]


 Sal n.  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.]


 Saul n. Soul. [Obs.]


 Saul, n. Same as Sal, the tree.

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 Saul
      n 1: (Old Testament) the first king of the Israelites who
           defended Israel against many enemies (especially the
           Philistines)
      2: (New Testament) 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; "Paul's name was Saul prior to his
         conversion to Christianity" [syn: Paul, Saint Paul, {St.
         Paul, Apostle Paul, Paul the Apostle, {Apostle of the
         Gentiles, Saul of Tarsus]


 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).



 Saul, demanded; lent; ditch; death