Expert: Marilyn - 4/20/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hey Marilyn,

I have a question for you concerning 1 Samuel 31: 4-5 and 2 Samuel 1:1-10

Now in these two Books of The Bible, it seems to some that there is a contradiction in the account of Saul's death.

I was wondering if you could help me with regards to bringing clarity to these scriptures.  Thanks.

Junior

ANSWER: Hello Junior;

Great to hear from you again.  Hope you and yours are doing well.

I Samuel 31 and I Chronicles 10 describe Saul's death. Saul was in a battle. It got nasty, his sons were killed (except the one with the injured foot who remained at the palace), he was mortally wounded, he realized he was a goner, he ordered his armor bearer to kill him, he refused, so Saul fell on his sword, then the armor bearer killed himself.  Both I Samuel 31 and I Chronicles agree.

II Samuel is like it's straight out of a Greek tragedy.  Here comes an Amalekite, an enemy of Israel--that should be a warning flag, don't you think?  Kind of like the prophet who seduced the Trojans into thinking the big horse was a parting gift?  

The Amalekite falls in the dust before David.  This guy is not a total idiot, he knows who's "all that" in Israel!  It's David, the Hero women adore and men would die for.  He's thinking, "how can I ingratiate myself with this guy?  I know, I'll make it sound like I handed him the crown of Israel on a silver platter, then I'll be a top dog in his cabinet."  

So, the guy tells David that Saul and Jonathan are dead.  Apparently, he knew enough about David to know Jonathan was his best friend, so he makes a point of mentioning Jonathan.  Besides, Jonathan was almost as much "all that" as David was.  Remember that story where Jonathan whupped a bunch of Philistines with only his armor bearer and surprise on his side?  

Anyway, this Amalekite tells David he saw Saul leaning on his spear and the Philistine chariots and riders almost upon him. He says, "Then Saul said to me, 'Stand over me and kill me! I am in the throes of death, but I'm still alive.' So I stood over 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 you my lord," verses 9 & 10.  

Oh boy, so if this idiot had really killed Saul, how did he get away from the Philistines with the arm band and crown unless they thought he was on their side?  More likely, he was lurking around the area, pretending to fight on one side or the other, hoping for a chance to enrich himself and got a golden opportunity. Throughout most of history, men lurked around battle fields hoping to scavenge the bodies for loot, this guy got lucky.

You've seen the type.  He's an archetype, even. The sniveling thief lurking near the hero who manages to grab an opportunity at the hero's expense.  Judas is such a type: stealing from Jesus' purse, lurking with Him and seizes an opportunity to enrich himself at the hero's expense.  He gets to pretend he's "all that" while he's with the hero and then get revenge on the hero for being so cool, all at the same time. You've seen the type on the playground even.

This Amalekite thought David would be thrilled to be finished with the irrational Saul, but David said, "Where are you from?" The young man answered, "I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite."  David asked him, "Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the Lord's anointed.'" Then David called one of his men and said, "Go, strike him down!" verses 13-16.  No true Israelite or friend of David or of Israel would strike down Saul and David knew it.  If he let this clown live, next thing that happened would be him taking an opportunity to hurt David.  Besides, David had already turned down many opportunities to take Saul.  Remember the time Saul went into the cave where David hid with his men to take a leak?  David cut the corner of Saul's robe then walked out into the open, waved it in the air and pointed out how easily he could have killed him.  Saul repented for trying to murder David, but his repentance didn't last long, soon he was after David again.

This Amalekite was nothing more than a thief and an opportunist and David knew it. There's no contradiction here.  It's a story about a fool who thought he could get in good with David.  The Bible is great literature.

Sincerely,

Marilyn


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Marilyn, you are always there for me, greatly appreciated.

My next question for you, What were the Jewish customs for burying the dead, In the Book of Mark, it states that the Mary's came to anoint Jesus with spices, but I have not been able to find an outside source to confirm this, not that I dont believe the Bible because I do, there are those as usual that claim that anointing was only for the living and not the dead, and they show scripture or should I say fragments of scripture supporting this.

I thank you in advance for your help.

Answer
Hello Junior;

The Gospels don't tell us everything. The Jews have a separate book which tells them how to conduct a Passover service and what hymns to sing, the authors of the Gospels didn't feel the need to explain all this stuff to their readers because many of them already had a copy of that book or knew where to get one and that they needed one.  Same goes for burial practices.

The body would be washed, if the family could afford it, anointed, and placed in a cave where it was allowed to rot. (Abraham purchased land with a cave where he might bury Sarah.) After that the bones would be gathered and placed in a stone box. Gathering the bones into a stone box was a relatively new thing of Jesus' day. Maybe because it allowed more family members to be placed in the same cave over time. Some say it was common in that day to place coins over the eyes and tie up the chin so the jaw wouldn't fall open. The body would be laid in a linen bag that would be loosely knotted at the feet. Or the body would be placed feet near one end of a long strip of linen, a square piece of cloth placed on the face, then the remaining linen would be brought over the head and down to the feet. The Jewish person would be clothed in the best plain white robe that could be found, with an untied rope or cloth sash.  Sometimes the body would be wrapped in strips of linen then placed in the shroud.

Always glad to help.  :-)

Sincerely,

Marilyn

Here's some links you might find useful:

http://www.bible-history.com/jesus/jesusuntitled00000280.htm

http://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/back_to_basics/burial_practices.html

http://www.jhom.com/topics/firsts/burial.html

http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/Taharah_A_Personal_Look_at_the_Jewish_

http://www.rigal.freeserve.co.uk/jewish/death/death.htm

http://www.aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/The_Jewish_Way_of_Death.asp

http://www.lamed.org/Glossary%20Jewish.htm

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/021219_Ossuaries.html