Samuel: Chapter 9

 

Who do you find
As you rise, as you fall
looking for
this day, this hour, this now

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After the drama and heartbreak of the previous chapter's depiction of Samuel's old age, this chapter opens with a new beginning--and a new protagonist: "There was a man in Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel...a Benjaminite, ..He had a son whose name was Saul". This sonorous introduction deliberately echoes the exact syntax of the opening verses of the book:  "There was a man from Ramathaim...whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu ... an Ephraimite. And he had two wives..." , as does the focus on food and sacred eating. If until now, we have been reading the saga of Samuel, it now turns into the story of Saul.

The name itself emphasizes the linkages between the two protagonists: the name  Saul (Shaul ש'א'ל--lit. "asked for""lent") takes us back to Hannah's introduction of her own son: "This is the child I prayed for, and God has given me my request (sha'alti ש'א'ל) that I asked (sha'alti ש'א'ל) of him. I in tוrn lend him (hish'altihu ש'א'ל) to God...For as long as he lives, he is lent (shaul ש'א'ל) to God"--Saul retroactively taking the place of Samuel.

The change in protagonist comes with a shift in ambiance, as the narrative switches to a fable-like quest of threes, full of direct dialogue, and replete with allusions to earlier biblical narratives, from Abraham to Joseph to Moses to Gideon. In this version, Samuel is no longer the national leader, but a local "seer", come to play his part in a quest of "searching" and "finding" (מצאו)--two leitworts of the chapter.

The appointment of a king is also redefined: not as idolatrous betrayal, but as an act of mercy analogous to the Exodus itself: "He will deliver My people from the hands of the Philistines; for I have taken note of the plight of My people, and their outcry has come to Me”.  

Yet the chronotope of this fairytale-like story is complex. Space is defined by a continuous oscillation between rising and falling, echoing Hanna's song of flux; meetings happen at liminal spaces, heavy eith expectation. Time opens with a retrospective look at history ("Formerly in Israel...the prophet of today was formerly called a seer), then narrows down to focus on a specific day ("one day before" "on this day" "this time appointed" "just then"): far from being timless, this fable is almost breathlessly of a moment, easily missed and transient.