Reading the Bible in Historical Sequence Part 4மாதிரி

1095 BC Samuel organizes a public crowning of Saul as king. He warns all to obey God. Saul wins acclaim by defeating the Ammonites but when the Philistines raid, he panics into usurping the priest’s role. Samuel condemns Saul for this.

Note 1 Samuel 13:1–2: The first verse is a bit obscure; translated texts seem to be in error. Ussher states 1 Samuel 13:1 should read, ‘Saul was the son of one year when he reigned; and he reigned two years over Israel.’ Verse 2 implies he then selected 3,000 troops to form a special armed fighting guard and later, when his son Jonathan was of fighting age, he put 1,000 of these under him – only these (of the Israeli troops) had iron weapons. Josephus recorded him as a youth when anointed king and Acts 3:21 refers to Saul reigning 40 years in total.