439 “ TREMBLED LIKE HIM ” : REASSESSMENT 1 SAM 13,7B OF The author is not vague about Saul’s fear; Saul trembles before the Philistines. Out of sheer fear, Saul tries to inquire of God but fails miserably. In desperation, through a medium, Saul consults the ghost of Samuel who foresees only destruction. Upon hearing Samuel’s words of doom, Saul falls completely on the ground because he was filled with fear (28,20). One could even argue that Saul kills himself out of fear of torture from the Philistines (31,4) 21. In sum, the beginning of Saul’s demise stems from his initial fear of the Philistines which pervades his whole reign. It is not clear whether the Davidic historian draws from an earlier tradition or completely creates an image of a fearful leader in Saul. Yet it is an effective criticism of Saul since a leader, especially a military leader, needs to be fearless. God commands the paragon of a military leader, Joshua, Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (1,9) 22 Like Joshua, Saul, with God at his side (1 Sam 10,7), should not have been afraid. Instead, he is fraught with terror. Even before God rejects Saul, he is afraid which in turn weakens the resolve of his army. Aside from disobeying God, why would the Israelites want a king who is too weak to lead them? Unlike David, who fights Goliath single-handedly and commands his men to victory against the Philistines, Saul cracks under pressure. Consequently, the Davidic historian attacks Saul’s character as a leader. According to the historian, Saul begins to disintegrate in his first battle against the Philistines; therefore, he is unfit to lead. Department of Christian Studies Samantha JOO Seoul Women’s University 623 Hwarangno, Nowon-gu Seoul 139-774, South Korea Though the author does not explicitly mention Saul’s fear, one could 21 compare his situation with King Zedekiah, who refuses to surrender to the Babylonians because of his “fear” (gad) of “torture” (hithp. of ll[) under the pro-Babylonian Judeans (Jer 38,19). One could also contrast Saul’s armor- bearer with Jonathan’s armor-bearer. Whereas Jonathan’s armor-bearer fights the Philistines like his leader, Saul’s armor-bearer is extremely afraid like him (1 Sam 31,4). Josh 8,1 and 10,25. As a matter of fact, people (Deut 1,21), prophets (Isa 22 51,7 ; Jer 1,17; Ezek 2,6; 1 Chr 22,13), and kings (1 Chr 28,20; 2 Chr 20,15; 32,7) are encouraged not to fear.