Saul

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sal \Sal\ (s[add]l), n. [Hind. s[=a]l, Skr. [,c][=a]la.] (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}.]
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Saul \Saul\, n.
     Soul. [Obs.]
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Saul \Saul\, n.
     Same as {Sal}, the tree.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  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).
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Saul, demanded; lent; ditch; death