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Was It a Mitzvah [Good Deed] Or a Sin Not To Kill King
Sha'ul {Saul}? -Part 1
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The Bible Testifies That
King Sha'ul Tried To Kill David |
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B"H
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I
Samuel Chapter 18
7 And the women answered one another as they danced, and
said, Sha'ul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And
Sha'ul was very angry. And the saying displeased him; and he said, They have
given David ten thousands, and to me they have given the thousands: and what can
he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Sha'ul viewed David with suspicion from
that day and onwards.
10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil
spirit from the L-rd came upon Sha'ul, and he raved in the midst of the house:
and David played with his hand like everyday and the spear was in Sha'ul's hand.
11 And Sha'ul raised the spear; for he said, I will pin David to the wall
with it. And David turned aside out of his presence twice.
12 And Sha'ul was
afraid of David because G-d was with him, and was departed from Sha'ul.
13
Therefore Sha'ul removed him from him, and made him a captain over a thousand;
and he went out and came in before the people.
14 And David was
successful in all his ways; and G-d was with him.
15 Wherefore saw Sha'ul
that he was very successful, he was afraid of him.
16 But all Israel and
Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
17 And Sha'ul
said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merav {Merab}, her will I give her to
you for a wife: but you must be a warrior for me, and fight G-d's battles. For
Sha'ul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be
upon him.
18 And David said to Sha'ul, Who am I? and what is my
life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
19 And so it came to pass at the time when Merav Sha'ul's daughter should
have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholati as a
wife.
20 And Mikhal Sha'ul's daughter loved David: and they told Sha'ul, and
the matter was upright in his eyes.
21 And Sha'ul said, I will give him her,
that she may be a snare to him and that the hand of the Philistines may be
against him. And Sha'ul said to David, you shall this day be my son in law
through the second.
22 And Sha'ul commanded his servants, saying, Speak with
David secretly, and say, Behold, the king desires you and all his servants love
you: now therefore be the king's son in law.
23 And Sha'ul's servants spoke
those words in the ears of David. And David said, is it a trivial matter in your
eyes to become a son in law to the king? Furthermore, I am a poor man, and
insignificant!
24 And the servants of Sha'ul told him saying; in this manner
did David speak.
25 And Sha'ul said, this shall you to say to David, the
king desires no dowry, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be
avenged of the king's enemies. But Sha'ul thought to make
David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants told
David these words, and the proposal was upright in David's eyes to be the king's
son in law. Then, before the days were expired;
27
David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred
men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the
king, that he might be the king's son in law. Then Sha'ul gave him Mikhal his
daughter as a wife.
28 And Sha'ul saw and knew that G-d was with David and
that Mikhal Sha'ul's daughter loved him.
29 Now Sha'ul continued to be
afraid of David; and Sha'ul became David's enemy continually.
I Samuel chapter 19
1
And Sha'ul spoke to Yonatan {Jonathan} his son and to all his servants, that
they should put David to death; but Yehonatan {here the Bible adds a letter to
his name} the son of Sha'ul liked David very much.
2
And Yehonatan told David, saying, "Sha'ul my
father seeks to bring about your death, so now be cautious tomorrow morning and
abide in a secret place and hide yourself.
I Samuel chapter
19
9 And an evil spirit from G-d came upon Sha'ul, as he sat in his house
with his spear in his hand: and David strummed.
10 Then
Sha'ul tried to thrust the spear through David and the wall with the spear; but
he slipped away out of Sha'ul's presence, so that he struck the spear into the
wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
I Samuel chapter
19
11 And Sha'ul sent messengers to David's house to watch
him and to make him die in the morning: so Mikhal, David's wife told him,
saying, If you don't save your soul tonight, tomorrow you will be put to
death.
12 So Mikhal let David down through a window : and he went and fled
and escaped.
13 Then Mikhal took the mannequins, and placed them on the bed,
and put the hairy goat skin bottle at its head, and covered it with a
cloth.
14 And when Sha'ul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Sha'ul sent messengers again to see David, saying, bring him up to me in the bed, that I may put him to death.
I Samuel chapter 22
17
And the king said to the runners that stood about him, surround, and put
to death the priests of G-d ; because their hand is also with David and because
they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me; but the servants of
the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of
G-d.
18 So the king said to Do'eg, you circle around and fall upon the
priests; so Do'eg the Edomite circled and fell upon the priests, so that on that
day eighty-five men that did wear a linen Efod-robe died.
19 So Nov the city
of priests he struck with the edge of the sword; man and woman alike; child and
suckling alike; ox, donkey and sheep, {all} by the edge of the sword.
20 And
one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahituv, named Evyatar escaped and
fled after David.
21 Then Evyatar told David that Sha'ul had killed
G-d's priests.
22 And David said to Evyatar, I knew it that day, when Do'eg
the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Sha'ul; I have occasioned the
death of all the people of your father's house.
23 Remain with me, fear not,
for he that seeks my life seeks your life for you are well guarded by
me.
David Chose Not To Kill Sha'ul When Sha'ul Accidentally Neared David's Hiding Place
I Samuel Chapter
24
1 And it came to pass when Sha'ul returned from pursuit of the
Philistines, that they told him saying, behold, David is in the wilderness of
En-gedi.
2 Then Sha'ul took
three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men
upon the rocks of the wild goats.
3 And he came to the sheep enclosures by
the way, and there was a cave there; and Sha'ul went in to relieve himself: and
David and his men remained in the back of the cave.
4 Now the men of David
said to him, behold the day of which G-d said to you, behold, I will deliver
your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it shall seem good to you.;
then David arose and secretly cut off the corner of Sha'ul's robe.
5 And it
came to pass afterwards, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off
Sha'ul's corner.
6 And he said to his men, G-d forbid, that I should do this
thing to my master, G-d's anointed, to send out my hand against him, for he is
the anointed of G-d.
7 So David sundered his men with words and did not
permit them to rise up against Sha'ul. So Sha'ul rose up out of the cave, and
went on his way.
8 Then after this
David rose, and went out of the cave and cried after Sha'ul, saying, my master
the king, and when Sha'ul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the
ground and bowed.
9 And David said to Sha'ul, why do you listen to the words
of someone who says, "Behold, David seeks your harm".
10 Behold this day your
eyes have seen how G-d had delivered you today into my hand in the cave
and he spoke to kill you and she caused compassion to be
brought upon you {translator's note: the Hebrew word in the Biblical text,
'Vatachas' is classified as a feminine word, which is why the word she is
emphasized above}; then I said I will not put my hand out against my master for
he is G-d's anointed.
11 Furthermore, my father, see, indeed, see the corner
of your robe in my hand: for when I cut off the corner of your robe and
did not kill you, you must understand and comprehend that there is no evil or
rebelliousness in my hand, nor did I transgress against you, yet you hunt out
for my soul to take it away.
12 Let G-d judge between you and me and let G-d
grant me vengeance from you but my hand shall not be upon you.
13 As the
proverb of the ancients say, from the wicked shall wickedness depart but my hand
shall not be upon you.
Was It
Permissible According to Standard Torah Law to Kill Sha'ul By Classifying Sha'ul
As A Rodef [Someone Pursuing Another Person to Murder Him]?
"and he spoke to kill you and she caused compassion to be brought upon you" [I Samuel chapter 24], instead of saying and he spoke, it should have said and I had spoken, instead of saying and she caused compassion to be brought upon you, it should have said, I granted you compassion. [In other words it was more fitting for David to say, I spoke to kill you but I granted you compassion and the text especially should not have used the feminine Hebrew word, 'Vatachas' ].
Rabbi Elazar said, David told Sha'ul: From the Torah - you have the status of one who should be killed, for you are a Rodef [a person attempting to murder] and the Torah said: "He that comes to kill you, rise up earlier to kill him". Rather your chastity [which is also a feminine word in Hebrew] was the reason you were granted compassion; now what was this?
For it was written [I Samuel chapter 24] "And he came to the sheep enclosures by the way, , and there was a cave there; and Sha'ul went in to relieve himself": It was taught an enclosure within an enclosure, and a cave within a cave - To relieve himself - Rabbi Elazar said: this is to teach us that he covered himself as a hut [that is to say there is a linguistic connection in Hebrew between the word that is translated "to relieve himself" and the word which means to cover himself as a Succah or hut covering].
In a practical halachic ruling the Tashbetz ruled that Sha'ul had the status of a Rodef and here is a translated quote of his words in the responsa of Tashbetz, Volume II, Siman 26 starting with the words "Teshuva Bigmara":
And Similarly it is permitted to tell the king and his officers that this person is liable to the death penalty according to the law and if the king or the official takes his money it is considered indirect damage and permissible, for definitely it is even permissible to damage the body of the person who gives over Jewish individuals or their property to violent gentiles for such a person is a Rodef as stated by David to Sha'ul, that from the Torah - you have the status of one who should be killed - on what account? - for you are a Rodef and the Torah said, "He that comes to kill you, rise up earlier to kill him" as stated in the chapter of Haroeh [tractate Brachot 62b]. And Rabbi Shila killed a person who wished to hand over Jews to violent gentiles as stated there [Brachot 58a] and even one who hands over property to the nations it is permissible to kill him at the time that he attempts to hand over and Rav Kahana killed someone because he attempted to show straw to the king's men and that person was considered a Rodef, for it is written, your sons have fainted, they lie down at the head of all the streets like a bison in a net...(Yishayahu/Isaiah 51:20); just as a bison once it falls into the net, no one gives it mercy, [so too, befalls the Jewish victim...] as stated in the chapter Hagozel Batra [Baba Batra 117a].
So too did Radak's commentary to I Samuel chapter 24 verse 11 establish. Namely, that Sha'ul had the status of a Rodef and here is a quotation:
"And he spoke to kill you" - ... and the meaning of this is that every one of David's men said that they wanted to kill him [Sha'ul] if not for the fact that David sundered them with his words and by this way of interpreting the text did the Targum Yonatan commentary, choose, namely, "and others sought to kill you and my soul had compassion upon you". And our rabbis of blessed memory explained and said, scripture tells us that, "He that comes to kill you, rise up earlier to kill him", if a thief be found breaking in [the verse from Exodus 22:1 concludes, and be smitten that he {the thief} die, he is not accountable for his blood.]; that is to say, it would be permissible to kill, if not for the fact that my soul had compassion for you. "she caused compassion to be brought upon you" - my soul or my eye {translator's note: these too are feminine words in Hebrew} and our rabbis of blessed memory explained the chastity that you had caused you to receive compassion for it was permissible to kill you for you are a Rodef and "He that comes to kill you, rise up earlier to kill him."
And so concurred Ralbag and Malbim that Sha'ul had the status of a Rodef and it was permissible to kill him and I will bring their words later on.
And so too the author of the Shulchan Aruch - in the Beit Yosef commentary, to C.M. 388:16 [the text being in accordance to the version presented by The Bar Ilan Responsa Project on CD-ROM] the words starting with Catav Harosh:
The Rosh wrote in Teshuva, Clal 6, siman 22 concerning the expenses incurred in order to destroy a person that handed Jews over to violent Gentiles that all are obligated to pay for the expenditure for it is for the rectification of the settlement of the city for those that remain will hear and fear and there won't be any more men of wickedness that emanate from their midst to turn their fellow city dwellers from the proper way; and the members of the city may coerce one another to build a protective wall with doors and a strong lock and regarding every matter which is needed by the city; now there is no greater need for the city greater than this to finish off the evil and to eradicate the rebels, and to destroy the doers of evil. So therefore all that dwell in the city, regardless of whether they pay tax in another place or whether they pay tax in the city are obligated to render their portion regarding all expenses incurred to destroy that wicked person from the world and there isn't any person in the world who is able to exclude himself from the debt, until here are the words of the Rosh.
And these are the words of the Rashba in a letter that he sent to the sages of France concerning an individual who handed Jews or their property to violent Gentiles, that
Rabbi Yona's son, the uncle of Rabbi Yona the Hasid of blessed memory and so too Rashba told the king that he is liable to the death penalty and the king commanded to kill him. Now the beginning of all this matter is as we stated that he was a Rodef and a Rodef is killed at all times whether he is within the borders of the land of Israel or outside the land and even without being brought to court. This may be derived from the account of Rabbi Shila in the chapter, Haroeh [Brachot 58b] and from what David said to Sha'ul [Brachot 62b] that you are a Rodef and the Torah said, "He that comes to kill you, rise up earlier to kill him". And he if he is attempting to hand over Jewish property from the case of Rav Kahana in the chapter Hagozel Batra (117a). And certainly someone who is not established as one who repeatedly does this crime, we do not kill after he has already done his act. However, he who is established as one who repeatedly does this offense is to be killed whether it is at the time of the act or after the act and he who is the swiftest to do the deed merits reward; and so it was taught [tractate Avoda Zara 26b] that the apostles of heresy and those who hand over Jews to violent Gentiles, etc. we lower them to a pit and do not bring them up and even to directly kill them with one's hands for they are like a snake. For both of them are obstacles. Likewise it is the practice in most of the places where the children of Israel reside to directly kill with one's hands a person who is established as one who repeatedly hands Jews over to violent Gentiles. And so too did Rambam [Maimonides] testify to this and this is his words in his composition:
And who is the one who is established [to repeatedly do this offense]? All that it is known by many that he is such an individual. Not that he is established to be so by a court of twenty three judges and that witnesses testified in front of him, for if such were the case there wouldn't be anyone who is established [to do this crime] in our times for we do not have expert judges. And behold the sages that composed books that testified and wrote that the person who hands over Jews is killed at all times and all who become tolerant and have mercy on them becomes cruel towards his generation. In the same manner that they stated in chapter Hanizakin [Gittin 56a], "the tolerance of Rabbi Zecharia son of Avkulos destroyed our Temple". In addition, because of the iniquity of the generation a few men have started to learn this harmful occupation etc. and all that the hour requires it, we hit and punish outside the normal legal limits in every place and all times such as the case of the person who rode his horse on the Sabbath, etc. [Sanhedrin 46a]. And so wrote the great men of blessed memory, that composed books. and towards these people and those who are similar, we to do not take care to specifically provide a court of twenty three with judges who have smikha [official biblical ordination from an ordained member of the court of a previous generation] , to testify in his presence nor do we do in general all the things needed for a court case involving capital punishment; for we only go after our knowledge of the truth, to remove damages and to make a fence against the breaches.
- In the opinion of Ralbag to I Samuel 24:5, he didn't kill Sha'ul because there would be benefit to the kingdom of the house of David in the future by choosing this choice, and this is a translated quotation of Ralbag: "Then David arose and cut off the robe's corner" - It is possible according to the simplest understanding of the text to explain that David already had the desire to kill him but he was only able to reach the corner of his [Sha'ul's] garment and afterwards David regretted this thought and even though it was permitted to kill him for he was a Rodef [someone attempting to murder] yet he said "G-d forbid, that I should do this thing". This being part of his extreme piety together with the reason that this would be the cause to take lightly the killing of kings and David knew that the kingdom would be his. Therefore he wanted to distance the matter of killing the kings, the anointed of G-d; and for this very reason did he command to kill the Amalekite youth that reported to him that he had killed Sha'ul, even though Sha'ul had commanded him [the youth] to do this {in Sha'ul's last moments of life} and for this reason did he [David] command to kill the men that killed Ish-boshet the son of Sha'ul.
- In the opinion of Malbim - David made a test to see if it was G-d's will to eliminate Sha'ul by cutting off part of Sha'ul's garment. The bad feeling he had about it was a sign for him that it wasn't G-d's desire to eliminate Sha'ul at that time. and this is a translated quote of Malbim.