Lecture Seven: Ruth, Samuel, and Saul

The Book of Ruth

The story of Ruth is set in the time of the Judges.

Christians place the book of Ruth immediately after the book of Judges for this reason.

Jews place Ruth near the end of their canon.

The story of Ruth was written much later than the book of Judges, most likely during the post-exilic period.

The main character of the book, Ruth, is from Moab.

The book of Ruth tells the story of King David’s ancestors.

Chapter One

There was a famine in Israel, so Elimelek, his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chileon, leave Israel and settle in Moab.

Mahlon and Chileon marry two Moabite women - Ruth and Orpah.

The three men die right away.

“Mahlon” means “sickly,” and “Chileon” means “bound-to-go,” so their deaths are no surprise.

Naomi decides to return home and takes Ruth and Orpah with her.

As they are leaving, she tells them to go back to Moab.

Orpah leaves, but Ruth refuses to go.

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

-- Ruth 1:16-17

When they arrive in Bethlehem, Naomi tells everyone that her new name is “Marah” because the LORD has dealt bitterly with her.

"Marah" means "bitter," showing how Naomi has become a bitter person.

Chapter Two

Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz with the other poor women of Bethlehem.

Boaz provided protection for her.

Boaz also told his servants to leave extra grain behind for Ruth to pick up.

Boaz also let Ruth eat lunch with him and his servants.

Later, Ruth showed Naomi all the grain.

Noami told Ruth that Boaz was their “kinsman-redeemer,” meaning that he was next in line to lead the family after the death of Elimelek.

Chapter Three

Noami told Ruth to wash herself and then go to the threshing floor where Boaz slept that night and “uncover his feet” once he fell asleep and lay by him.

"Uncovering his feet" is a euphemism for exposing his private parts. However, this is not necessarily meant as a sexual act, but rather as a blunt reminder of Boaz's circumcision, which was the sign of the covenant he had sworn to uphold, including his role as kinsman-redeemer.

Ruth did as she was told.

Boaz woke up and was startled to find a woman in his bed.

Ruth told him to “spread his garment over her.”

Boaz praised her for not chasing after younger men and choosing him instead.

Boaz agreed to be her “kinsman-redeemer” and let her stay the night with him.

She left before dawn to avoid a scandal.

Before she left, Boaz told her to spread out her garment, and he poured grain into it for her to carry.

So after this night, Ruth carries the seed of Boaz… 

Chapter Four

In the morning, Boaz found the man who was actually in line ahead of him to be the kinsman-redeemer and offered him the property of Alimelek’s sons which belonged to this man by right…but the property also included Ruth.

The man didn’t want a Moabite wife, so he refused to be the kinsman-redeemer, and the job fell to Boaz who was next in line.

Boaz and Ruth were married.

The elders blessed them and said, “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

Boaz was a descendant of Perez, Judah’s son through Tamar.

The story of Ruth ends with a brief genealogy:

Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed

Obed was the father of Jesse

Jesse was the father of King David, the greatest king of Israel

 The Book of First Samuel

Structure of 1st Samuel

1st Sam. 1:1–8:22 – The story of Samuel

1st Sam. 9:1–15:35 – The story of Samuel and Saul

1st Sam. 16:1–2nd Sam. 1:27 – The Story of Saul and David

1st Samuel according to puppets...

A continuation of the book of Judges

Judges is the second book of the Deuteronomistic History.

1st Samuel is the third book of the Deuteronomistic History.

Begins with “There was a certain man…”

Similar to Manoah and Micah in Judges.

The book of Judges ends in Shiloh.

1st Samuel begins in Shiloh.

The Birth Narrative of Samuel (1:1–2:7)

Elkanah’s lineage (v. 1)

We don’t know anything about the people in his lineage.

However, great prophets are usually introduced by their lineage in the Old Testament.

Elkanah’s family (v. 2)

Two wives

Peninnah bears children, her name means “prolific.”

Hannah is the favorite wife, but is barren. Hannah means “favor.”

Similar to previous stories (e.g., Jacob’s wives, Leah and Rachel)

In the Old Testament, if a woman is barren and gives birth, something important will happen with that child.

Peninnah is cruel to Hannah.

Elkanah is clueless, and the best he can do to comfort Hannah is to state that being married to him is a much greater blessing than ever having kids.

Hannah’s vow at the Shiloh shrine (v. 11)

The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament says that Hannah vows to give her son to God as a Nazirite if He would give her a son.

Eli the priest hears Hannah praying and thinks she is drunk – ironic since Nazirites don't drink.

Hannah’s response (v. 15)

She is “not drinking” but “pouring out her soul,” this language sounds like “pouring” a blood sacrifice.

Eli’s blessing (v. 17)

A note of promise that God has heard Hannah's plea.

The family returns home

Elkanah “knows” her

The LORD “remembers” her.

She has a son and names him Samuel.

“Samuel” means “God heard.”

Hannah’s offering (v. 24)

Samuel is her offering

Not traditional sacrifice, but a “living sacrifice.”

Hannah’s Song (2:1-10)

Very old section of the Old Testament

Praises God

Reference to a barren woman having seven kids

Reference to a king, which points to the beginnings of monarchy in Israel

The New Testament figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus, has very much in common with Hannah.

Eli’s Sons (2:12-36)

Hophni and Phinehas

They’re no good scoundrels

Three indictments:

Inappropriate sacrifice – robbing God (vv. 12-17)

Sex at the sanctuary (vv. 22-25)

Becoming fat off the offerings

A “man of God” condemns Eli’s family

Chastises Eli for doing nothing about his sons

Predicts Eli’s house will be “cut off”

Predicts a faithful priest will be brought up

Samuel’s Dream Theophany (3:1–4:1a)

Conditions at Shiloh

“The word of the LORD was rare”

“Not many visions”

Eli is going “blind”

Samuel’s dream

Samuel sleeps near the Ark

God calls to Samuel, not Eli

Samuel goes to Eli

It takes Eli three times before he realizes what’s going on

Samuel becomes prophet

Eli demands to know what the LORD said

Samuel is honest and faithful to God’s word

God’s Message: I will destroy Eli’s family

The word of the LORD keeps on appearing to Samuel at Shiloh

The Ark Narratives (4:1b-22)

Philistines defeat Israel

Israel camped at Ebenezer, which means “stone of help”

They receive no help and are defeated by the Philistines.

They ask “why?”

Conclusion: “we didn’t bring the Ark with us so we lost”

Battling the Philistines with the Ark

Ark has become an idol (vv. 3-4)

Ark is captured by Philistines (vv. 10-11)

Eli’s sons killed in battle

Eli faints and breaks his neck because he’s so fat

Eli’s daughter-in-law gives birth and dies, names her son “Ichabod,” meaning “The glory has departed.”

The Ark among the Philistines (5:1–7:17)

The Ark at Ashdod

The Philistines take the Ark to the temple of their god Dagon.

Dagon lays prostrate in front of Yahweh.

Yahweh humiliates Dagon and decapitates him (opposite of Samson’s story)

Humiliation of the Philistines

There is a rat infestation at Ashdod because of the presence of the Ark of God.

Also, the people begin to develop some sort of tumors or hemorrhoids. We're not exactly sure, but either way, it was a pain in the butt.

Hot Potato with the Ark

Ashdod sends the Ark to Gath, plagues break out at Gath

Gath sends the Ark to Ekron, plagues break out at Ekron

The people “cry out” because the “hand of God was heavy” upon them.

Return of the Ark

The Philistines present a guilt offering, admitting they were wrong

They also make five golden replicas of the "tumors" and five golden replicas of the rats.

They put the Ark on a cart pulled by two milk cows, and the milk cows apparently head straight back to Israel.

The Ark arrives in Israel

Comes to the field of Joshua

Some Israelites peeked inside the Ark and dropped dead

All of the people gathered at Mizpah and Samuel told them to get rid of all their idols so they did.

Later the Philistines tried to attack Israel again.

The text says that God “thundered” among the Philistines so that they were too frightened to do anything.

The men of Israel chased the Philistines away and defeated them in battle.

Samuel set up the “Ebenezer stone,” or “stone of help,” saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.”

The people ask for a King (8:1-22)

As Samuel got older, his sons did not follow in his ways and were not trusted by the people.

The people went to Samuel and told him they wanted to have a king rule over them, just like their neighbors.

Samuel was displeased that the people had asked for a king.

God said to Samuel, “They are not rejecting you, but they are rejecting me.”

God told Samuel to tell the people that if they chose the path of kingship, the king would be their master and he would make them work as slaves.

The people told Samuel they wanted a king anyway.

So God told Samuel to give them a king.

Saul Becomes King of Israel (9:1–11:15)

Saul and his buddy wandered the countryside looking for his father’s missing donkeys, but unfortunately the donkeys outsmarted them.

They decided to go ask “The Seer” if he knew where the donkeys were.

Samuel was “The Seer.”

Samuel already knew that Saul was on his way.

God told Samuel that Saul was to be ruler of Israel.

Samuel told Saul to not worry about the donkeys, they had been found.

Samuel told Saul that he was the “desire” of all Israel.

Saul was confused and pointed out the low-rank of his Benjamite family.

He was also from Gibeah, the scene of the nasty incident that sparked the civil war at the end of the Book of Judges.

Samuel put together a feast for Saul and his friend.

Samuel anoints Saul’s head with oil before sending him on his way.

Confirmation of Saul’s Calling:

Donkeys found (v. 2)

Saul will meet three men; is given two loaves of bread (vv. 3-4)

Saul will meets band of prophets; is possessed by Spirit of God and prophesies (vv. 5-7)

The text explains that this event is one reason why the Israelites had a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

Saul kept quiet to his family about his new role as king.

Later, Samuel had all of the people gather together for the inauguration of Saul as King of Israel.

Saul was nowhere to be found.

He was hiding because he was afraid.

The people pulled him from his hiding place and shouted “Long live the king!”

The festivities were interrupted with word that Nahash king of the Ammonites had attacked the city of Jabesh Gilead.

The people of Jabesh Gilead were Saul’s cousins.

Nahash tried to gauge out the right eye of every man in the land.

Saul came to the rescue and defeated Nahash in battle.

Some Israelites had previously mocked Saul, and after Saul’s victory the people wanted to kill them, but Saul spared their lives.

At this point, Samuel officially sets Saul up as king over Israel.

Saul is Rejected as King (13:1–15:35)

First Failure

Saul’s son Jonathan fought a successful battle against the Philistines.

Saul took credit for the battle.

The Philistines mustered their armies to attack Israel again and the people fled and hid in caves.

Saul and his army waited seven days for Samuel to show up and give them God’s instructions.

Samuel did not show up right away, so Saul took on Samuel’s role and made sacrifices to God in order to figure out what to do next.

Just as Saul had finished making the offerings, Samuel showed up.

Saul made excuses.

Samuel told him he had done a foolish thing and that his dynasty would not last forever because of his unfaithfulness.

Second Failure

After this, Saul took his 600 men back to Gibeah.

Saul and Jonathan were the only people with weapons as the Philistines were preparing to attack.

Saul just sat around “under a pomegranate tree.”

Jonathan and his armor-bearer sneaked away from Saul and crossed over a canyon to where the Philistines were at.

The Philistines attacked them, but Jonathan and his armor-bearer began slaughtering them.

The text says that God caused the Philistines to panic, and that the ground began to shake.

Meanwhile, Saul had made a rash vow, forbidding the people to eat any food under penalty of death.

Saul was caught off guard by the sound of battle, but joined in as well only to find the Philistines killing themselves in confusion.

After the battle, Jonathan ate some honey because he did not know about his father’s vow.

The people told Jonathan about the vow, and Jonathan told them that what his father had told them was stupid.

The people refused to let Saul kill his son Jonathan for breaking the fast.

Similar to Jephthah’s vow, but with different outcome.

Third Failure

Later, Samuel told Saul to go completely destroy the Amalekites.

Saul was victorious in battle, but he failed to destroy everything.

He kept the livestock for himself.

He kept King Agag alive.

God said to Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.”

Samuel cried bitter tears before he went to confront Saul.

When Saul saw Samuel approaching, he said, “Look! I did what God said!”

Samuel asked him about the livestock.

Saul blamed the soldiers.

He said they were actually planning on making a sacrifice later.

He said they had completely destroyed everything else.

Samuel stopped him and rebuked him for “pouncing on the plunder.”

Saul again tried to say that they would eventually get around to sacrificing to God.

Samuel's response:

“To obey is better than sacrifice.”

“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”

“Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

Saul begged for forgiveness and grabbed ahold of Samuel’s robe and tore it as Samuel was turning to leave.

Samuel said, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.”

Samuel had to go kill Agag himself.

Eating the Blood: Saul and the Witch of Endor

I have always wondered what the connection between witchcraft, rebellion, and eating blood had to do with one another in the Old Testament laws. My wife taught at a local Christian school last year and something the administration liked to do was to quote from the Torah laws to the kids. One verse they especially enjoyed using out of context in order to keep kids “in line” was “rebellion is as the sin of divination.” I have wondered about that verse a number of times, along with the verse that condemns divination immediately after having condemned the eating of blood. I have wondered how these commands might correlate with one another, and after reading Pamela Tamarkin Reis’s article “Eating the Blood: Saul and the Witch of Endor,” I believe I have come to see how all of these commands are connected to each other in the life of Saul in the way that he broke all of them. I believe I am beginning to understand better how the eating of blood is related to divination and how both of these things are related to rebellion.

This article begins by saying that theologians have long been confused about how to interpret and to look at the Witch of Endor in the narrative of Saul. Some early church fathers thought that her attitude and her hospitality should be emulated and that she was a better servant than was Saul. Some have even gone so far as to say she pre-figured Christ. She provides Saul with a meal which allows him to revive his strength and go to face his immanent death in battle. The author, however, states that she believes the witch’s acts to be not acts of hospitality but of self-preservation. While Saul becomes petrified with fear the witch recognizes her peril and acts in order to save herself. The meal which she provides for Saul should not be interpreted as a hospitable meal, but as a part of the séance itself. Reis says “it is a mantic sacrifice to the dead entailing the stringently proscribed eating of blood.” The witch realizes that she has helped Saul, but Saul is the one who has attempted to stamp out all divination in the land, putting mediums to death. However, Saul has nonetheless still come to her and has successfully been delivered an ominous message from the realm of the dead. At this, Saul realizes that he has lost all hope. The witch recognizes this and provides this sacrifice to the spirits so that they may somehow reverse the death sentence they have placed on Saul’s head. In doing this, the witch is attempting to save Saul’s life so that her own life may be saved. Saul is, after all, the one who had originally tried to stamp out all mediums from the land, and how she has delivered a message of death to him. It would seem that the appropriate response of Saul would be to kill this messenger.

The witch recognizes her peril and provides Saul with a sacrifice to the spirits, or to the “gods” as she calls them. She also recognizes that Saul is extremely hungry, since he appears to have fasted for a full day in preparation for this séance. Reis also points out that this sharing of the meal also indicates a sort of covenant or relationship between Saul and the witch being established. It indicates that they are making an agreement to help and not harm each other.

The set up for this story reminds the reader that Samuel has died and also that Saul had eradicated the diviners from the land. Also, it sets up the battle that is to come between the Philistines and the Israelites. Saul is filled with fear at the approach of the Philistines and he attempts to make contact with God, but God does not answer him “neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” God had already rejected Saul and this had not changed. Instead of repentance, Saul wishes to use God to protect him. What Saul desires is the occult. Saul cannot find the answers he desires from God so he tells his servant to go seek out a witch. This is in reference to Leviticus 19:31 where God says, “'Do not seek out a witch', because Ί am the Lord'.”

The proximity of the witch to Saul’s camp is also discussed. Saul puts on a disguise and they travel to go meet with her. Some wonder if Saul wears a disguise because he is crossing into enemy territory, the place where mediums have been expelled. However, this does not make sense because what is driving Saul is his great fear of the Philistines. It would not follow that he would venture into their territory. What seems more likely is that mediums still existed within Israel’s boundaries and that Saul’s eradication of the spiritists had not been completely thorough. The reason he wears a disguise then seems to be that he does not want his own people or the witch to recognize him as the king. He gets rid of his royal robes so as to not draw attention to himself and what he is doing. The words used to describe Saul’s process of disguising himself are interesting. He “puts on” these clothes similar to how one “puts on” righteousness, majesty, or desolation elsewhere in scripture. Also, the word for “clothing” that is used here has the same root as the word “treachery,” so the text is hinting by word-play that Saul is putting on treachery.

This root-word is also used previously when Saul accuses his army of being treacherous when he discovers them eating upon the blood of the animals. There seems to be a difference between the command to not eat blood and the command to not eat upon or on the blood. This first command is related to the belief that the life of the creature is in the blood, so eating its blood is disrespectful of life itself. The second command has to do with participating in an evil sacrifice to other gods, an act of witchcraft where the blood of the animal is eaten. It can be argued then that when Saul finds his army eating upon the blood, the text may be implying that his army was participating in pagan sacrificial rituals. However, not everyone agrees with this interpretation. Some also say that the command to not eat upon the blood is not related to the command immediately following it to not practice divination. It is relates more to not eating the flesh of a live animal or not eating the flesh of the sacrifice before the blood has been offered up. However, many would still interpret the eating of the blood to be associated with acts of sorcery.

The witch hesitates to work for Saul because she knows that the king has fiercely tried to eliminate her kind and she fears he may turn her in. She does not seem to recognize that she is speaking to Saul himself. The irony is the witch reminds Saul of his own stance against what he is about to do. She also says Saul has “cut” off the sorcerers, another ironic use of words because later Saul and the witch seem to be “cutting” a covenant together. Saul also reassures the witch in the name of the Lord, which is ironic considering his actions are acts against the Lord.

There seems to be much confusion about the point at which the witch recognizes Saul for who he really is. It is at the point when she sees Samuel rising up out of the ground. Some say that she realized from the beginning that he was really Saul because of his request to see Samuel and was only pretending to not recognize him. The reasoning here is that only the king would request to see Saul right before a significant battle. Some also say that the witch recognized that it was truly Saul because Saul is the only person Samuel would have risen up to appear to. The fact that her conjuring actually worked caused her to realize that it was Saul who was with her. Also, some have interpreted that she recognized Samuel and thus Saul before Samuel had fully emerged because only spirits who were important rose from the ground head first. Other spirits apparently rose upside down. Others further say that the aura of the prophet’s presence cast away all deception taking place so that the witch immediately recognized Saul when Samuel appeared. The author states that Samuel had likely been summoned in vain by others, but that he only appeared for Saul because of his close relationship with Saul. Previously in the story of Saul, Samuel is seen rejoicing over Saul and mourning over Saul and praying on Saul’s behalf after he has been rejected by God to the point that God chastises Samuel for making a case for Saul after God has already rejected him. Samuel appears because of his love for Saul. Samuel’s last words to Saul are seen as a call to repentance and a condemning of the path Saul has chosen to take. Samuel utters the name of YHWH seven times in his message from the grave.

The text rarely uses the name of Saul once he dons his disguise as a way of showing how he is hiding his identity. He does not want people to know that he is the king. However, he does use his kingly authority once the witch recognizes him. He uses it when he tells her to not be afraid of him. It is also interesting that when the ghost appears she is not afraid of it but rather of Saul.

Saul’s requests of Samuel are very much centered upon himself. He tells Saul of his own fear and he wants to know what he should do against the Philistines. He is not concerned with his estranged relationship with God, except in the sense that he no longer is able to receive reliable military advice. Samuel’s response then is a reordering of Saul’s priorities to the way they ought to be. Samuel is calling Saul to repentance. Samuel also informs him that he and his sons will die the following day and that he is running out of time. He indicates that the Philistines will rout the Israelites. As long as Samuel had judged, the Philistines had been able to take away any territory from Israel so Saul hoped that Samuel would be able to continue this even after this death. However, Samuel does not provide this assurance for Saul at this point. Saul, though, is as unwilling to listen to Samuel as he was to God, and he does not do as Samuel commands him. He collapses to the ground at Samuel’s disappearance after relaying the divine judgment.

After this the witch begins to act in order to save herself. She approaches Saul perhaps in a sexual sort of way. The text says that she “comes to Saul” in the sense that she may have “come on to Saul” or approached him in a sexual manner. However, she seems to change her tactic when she realizes that Saul is overcome with fear. She then offers him the meal, seeing his weakness and hunger from his 24-hour fast. Also, the words which accompany the meal she offers Saul are a proposition. She refers to herself as Saul’s handmaid and tells him that she has placed her life in his hands. She offers him food, indicating that he may place his life in her hands. This makes more sense if the meal is part of the sacrifice to the spirits to appease them. Saul consents to this, making a covenant with her. He is agreeing to save her life from his punishment if she tries to save his life by interceding on his behalf to the spirits. Saul gives in to her pressing in typical Saul fashion, just as he had given in to the pressure placed on him by the people at other times, such as when he broke his oath in order to protect Jonathan and when he offered an improper sacrifice to save himself from the Philistines. Here he is again seen to be breaking his oath in order to protect someone deserving to die as well as offering up an improper sacrifice. He gives into pressure in the same ways he has before. Though Saul always fails to listen to the voice of God and of Samuel, he seems never to fail to listen to the voices of others.

The author also points out the position Saul takes upon the bed at this point. His position is a reminder of two other accounts involving some form of idolatry. The first relates to the idol or “teraphim” of Laban which Rachel steals and hides in her place of rest. She fails to rise. Also, this word is used when Michal protects David from Saul’s men, using a “teraphim” as a decoy by placing it in David’s bed. The text seems to be implying that Saul continues to participate in the worship of other gods. Further, when the witch kills the calf for the meal, the word used is not the word for butchering or slaughtering it, but rather the word for sacrificing it. The author also points out that a great deal of detail is given as the witch prepares the unleavened bread, a task which does not take an exceptionally long time, but that the preparation of the calf is not described in detail. This may mean that that calf was not in fact cooked properly and that it was intended to be eaten raw and with the blood still in it as a continued part of this séance. Here, Saul, the representative of Yahweh, is seen making a covenant with the enemies of Yahweh.

The offering of the witch on Saul’s behalf, however, does not work out, and the prophecy of Samuel from the grave does indeed come true. One would think that the message given to Saul would cause the reader to feel sorry for him, but it does not. Saul’s response causes the reader to view him with indignation, even more so than the witch herself. Saul is seen as a worse person than the witch. The ironic end to this is that as Saul watches his sons die and realizes that he is next, he becomes afraid of life itself. Up until this point, his survival was what appeared to be most important to him and was what drove him to go to the witch in the first place. Now, however, he despairs of life itself, and the very thing he desired most is not the thing that has become a horror to him. So he kills himself.

Saul’s response to his sin is also compared to David’s response to his sin. When Saul hears that he and his sons will die, his response is one of anguish and he participates in the occult in order to manipulate the divine judgment. He “sits up” to engage in pagan sacrifice and the eating of blood. On the other hand, when David is told that his son will die for his sin, he reacts with anguish and pleads with God himself to take away this punishment rather than participating in the occult. After his anguish, David also “sits up,” but he washes his face and worships God rather than making a covenant with a witch and eating blood as Saul did. This shows how the Davidic monarchy is better than Saul’s monarchy.