Inerrant Lie #81

Another lie from "God's ineffable, inerrant word":

The night before king Saul died, he went to Endor to consult with a medium. The purpose of Saul's consultation with “the witch of Endor” (as she is commonly referred to) was to enquire of the recently- departed prophet and judge of Israel, Samuel (who had anointed Saul king) concerning the Philistines who were on the warpath against Israel.

Of Saul's death the following day, First Chronicles has this to say: "[Saul] inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse [1 Chronicles 10:14]." This, according to the first book of Samuel, is a lie.

In the same chapter of First Samuel which describes king Saul's consultation with the medium at Endor, it is alleged without equivocation that Saul sought counsel of the LORD, but the LORD refused to talk to the man He had commanded Samuel to anoint king of Israel. According to the twenty- eighth chapter of First Samuel, it was because the LORD refused to counsel Saul that Saul consulted the medium. First Samuel says: "And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets [1 Samuel 28:6].”

The truth about king Saul is that he never went to war without at least attempting to enquire of the LORD about it. Even when events conspired to make it impossible for Saul to enquire of the LORD before joining the battle [such as when Saul’s son Jonathan assaulted the garrison of the Philistines (1 Samuel 14) without first notifying anyone of his aggressive intent] king Saul would have “enquired of the LORD” had he had a chance to.

It was, in fact, king Saul's propensity for enquiring of the LORD before going to battle which purportedly caused the rift between him and Samuel (1 Samuel 13). Either way, 1 Chronicles 10:14 is a lie if 1 Samuel 28:6 isn't. Perhaps neither is altogether true.

Inerrant Lie #79

Another lie from "God's ineffable, inerrant word":

Of the demise of king Saul, there are two disparate accounts recorded in the 'Holy Bible'. The first of these is found in the last chapter of the first book of Samuel.

1 Samuel 31 alleges Saul's final demise on Mount Gilboa was of a decidedly Samurai nature. Verses 3 & 4 say, “3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.”

The narrative of 1 Samuel 31 immediately goes on to say that king Saul's armorbearer confirmed Saul's death, sans any mention of further effort being required to effect Saul's passage. Verses 5 & 6 say, “5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.” Contrarily, the second book of Samuel tells another story altogether about this event.

In the first chapter of the second book of Samuel, a man who represents himself as an Amalekite comes to David at Ziklag (the redoubt endowed to the refugee David and his band of outlaws by Achish the Philistine king of Gath) with the news of Saul’s demise and with Saul's crown in possession. Contrary to the allegation of the last chapter of First Samuel that Saul killed himself, this Amalekite takes credit for being the one who dispatched king Saul.

According to David's Amalekite messenger, Saul's demise was on this wise: “As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I…. 9 And he said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 10 So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord [2 Samuel 1:6 - 10].”

Perhaps the Amalekite messenger told the story he told in a vainglorious attempt to ingratiate himself with the presumptive new king of the Jews. That is to say, the Amalekite messenger’s version of king Saul’s demise may have been a fabrication told with an eye toward obtaining a reward from his new leige. Perhaps it happened as he said it did, and the description of Saul’s demise from the final chapter of First Samuel is an outright lie or an incomplete truth. Either way, the outlaw refugee (soon to be forever King of the Jews), David, killed the Amalekite messenger who crowned him king.