the id, the ego, & the single misfiring brain cell

This morning, a friend posted this photo on Facebook. I reposted with the comment that I thought I was familiar with all the bible's contradictions by now and was surprised I wasn't aware of this one. Then I checked the references and retracted. I do not believe this is a contradiction. The goal of this post is to argue same. 

disclaimer

For those one or two random people who may have just added yourself to the handful of people who read my ramblings, I am an atheist, but I was raised in a very conservative religious tradition in which I was taught the "harmonization" method of reading the bible. Harmonization of scripture is predicated upon the basic assumption that the bible has no contradictions; thus, if you think you've found one, you're missing something, because the bible has no contradictions (because you have decided, a priori, that this is so). This position is the epitome of "unfalsifiable," which makes it irrational, or in less complimentary terms, dogmatic.

Since that time, I've had some education and I've read the bible as well as the koran and countless tomes arguing for and against each. My professional speciality, if I may be said to have one, is literature and literary criticism (although I probably have more education and practice in the study of history and historical method than most, as well). Where I once read the bible in the spirit of fundamentalism, believing it must make sense even if I couldn't figure out how, I now approach it as a collection of ancient writings by poets and historians and politicians and priests who were trying to make sense of the world they lived in. 

It is riddled with contradictions and other problems, but I believe that the question of how Saul died is not one of them. 

so how did he die?

1 Sam 31.4-6*

4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.

* All quotes taken from the NIV, but double-checked against the English Standard Version Anglicized. Had I thought to be more thorough, I'd have consulted the NRSV and footnotes, which in my experience is by far the most honest and faithful translation extant. 

context 

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.

in other words

Saul and his army was were fighting the Philistines, who wounded him "critically," and he fell on his own sword to avoid humiliation and death at their hands. I would argue that they were still the guiding force behind his death in this passage. He was about to die anyway, thanks to the Philistines; he just robbed the "uncircumcised" of the pleasure of humiliating him before they offed him (rather like Cleopatra ;) ). 

We have modern equivalents to the notion that it isn't necessarily the person holding the weapon who "killed" someone. Charles Manson, anyone? Hitler? Stalin? 

The literal interpretation of literature is only the tip of the iceberg. 

2 Sam 1.8-10

8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.

9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’

10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

context

1 After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.

3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.

He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”

4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”

“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

in other words...

We have a man who reports to King David that he himself offed Saul. That's all. This is not the bible claiming that it actually happened that way. It is only the bible claiming that this is the story the Amalekite told David. It's hearsay. 

2 Sam 21.12

12 he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)

context

1 During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”*

* I'm intrigued with the repetition of this ancient motif in biblical lore, by the way--the idea that a king's wickedness (intended or not) brought famine and disease to the entire land he ruled. Check Sophocles' Oedipus for another classic example. 

2 The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) 3 David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make atonement so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?”

4 The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

5 They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, 6 let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord’s chosen one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

7 The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the Lord between David and Jonathan son of Saul. 8 But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 9 He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning.

10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds touch them by day or the wild animals by night. 11 When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had stolen their bodies from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.)

in other words...

Again, if you know your actions were the leading cause of someone's death, does that not make you culpable? 

There's also the fact that "striking down Saul" doesn't necessarily mean that they killed him; it means they defeated his army. It's a figure of speech called "metonymy,"* folks. We do the same thing when we speak of "the White House" issuing a statement (although the White House, last I checked, cannot speak) or "all hands on deck!" when we expect the entire body of each person to also report for duty. 

* Or synecdoche. I confuse them all the time, probably because their "difference" is so slight that only scholars and pedants would care. 

1 Chron 10.13-14

13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

context

This is pretty much the same as the 1 Samuel story: 

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him.

4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.

7 When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.

11 When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

in other words...

God is often said to strike down people who were clearly slain via intermediate means. If anything, this is the weakest part of this "contradiction" argument. God wiped out entire nations throughout the Old Testament, including their cattle and such, but he did it via the Israelites, right? He punished the Israelites with the Babylonian captivity, as well. (I could go on, but I won't. I credit my audience with above average intelligence until they demonstrate otherwise.) 

1 Sam 28.1-7

1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”

2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”

Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,” they said.

context

8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

9 But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”

14 “What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

in other words...

The Lord had already passed judgement on Saul via Samuel before his death. Saul just didn't like what he heard, so he broke another rule--thou shall not suffer a witch to live, or something like that--and sought out the medium (aka "witch") of Endor (who merely brought Samuel back up to remind Saul that judgment had already been passed and there was nothing he could do about it). 

***

There are real, irreconcilable contradictions in the bible. It's just that, in my opinion, this is not one of them. 

d