King Saul שאול המלך
the first king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin
Shaul son of Kish stood «head and shoulders above the people», yet was so modest that on the day of his proclamation he hid among the baggage. He set out to find his father's lost donkeys and came back a king: Shmuel anointed him in 2882.
His first act was the rescue of Yavesh-Gilad; he then fought Philistines, Moabites, Edomites and Amalek, and his son Yonatan became one of Scripture's purest figures.
The turning point was Amalek. The order was total destruction; Shaul spared King Agag and the best livestock, explaining that it was for sacrifice. Shmuel answered with words that entered Jewish ethics: «To obey is better than sacrifice.» The kingdom was taken from him.
Then comes a slow unravelling: fits of gloom, jealousy of David, a nationwide manhunt, the slaughter of the priests of Nov, the night with the medium at Ein-Dor. In 2884 the Philistines broke Israel on Mount Gilboa; Yonatan fell, and Shaul, wounded, threw himself on his sword.
The sages speak of him with sympathy: he went out to battle knowing he would die.