438 SAMANTHA JOO him (14,12) which he does (v. 13a). And Jonathan with his armor-bearer “ after ” him (v. 13b) kills the Philistines. Because of their proactive deed, the trembling which seized the army and Saul is now brought upon the Philistine camp, even among the special raiding party. In fact, a “great panic ” was upon them all: There was a panic in the camp, in hdcb hnjmb hdrj yhtw the field, and among all the people; μ[hAlkbw the garrison and even the raiders hmhAμg wdrj tyjvmhw bxmh trembled ; the earth quaked; and it became yhtw ≈rah zgrtw a very great panic. (14,15) μyhla tdrjl The same root, drj, occurs three times in the verse. Therefore, Jonathan’s act of bravery offset the trembling in Israel’s army and actually rallied them, even the Hebrews who were in hiding, into battle against the Philistines. The Hebrews were clinging “after” them (14,22). However, Saul, with his trembling scattered the army away from him. Yet this is not the first time in which the Davidic historian faults Saul for his fear. According to the historian, fear plagues his reign; he succumbs to it even against divine commandment 20. The reason why Saul disobeys God’s command to put the Amalekites under the ban is his “ fear ” (ary) of the army (15,24), which wanted to keep the best of the s h e e p and cattle. Moreover, Saul fears David to the point of a psychological breakdown. When Saul becomes aware of God’s support for David, he fears him (18,12.15.29). The buildup of the fear parallels the slow disintegration of Saul. He becomes obsessed with capturing and killing David. By the end of Saul’s reign, he is only a shadow of the man he once was. When Saul sees the Philistine army assembled against him at Gilboa, the author explicitly describes his fear (28,5): When Saul saw the army of the μytvlp hnjmAta lwav aryw Philistines, he was afraid, aryw and his heart trembled greatly. dam wbl drjyw 14,7 (Èbblk, “according to your heart”). God seeks a person like the armor- bearer who will follow his master into the heart of the Philistine camp without fear. P. BORGMAN, David, Saul, and God. Rediscovering an Ancient Story 20 (Oxford 2008) 24, correctly observes that “Saul’s character flaw, it appears, is not so much the wrongdoing, but a habit of the heart — a fear — that leads to the wrongdoing”.