Meaning of SAUL

"ask of God."
(a) King of Edom, originally from Rehoboth on the Euphrates (Gen. 36:37; 1 Chron. 1:48).

(b) Son of Simeon and a Canaanite woman (Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15); he was the founder of a clan (Num. 26:13).

(c) Son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, and first king of Israel. He was anointed by Samuel at God's command when the Israelites asked for a king.

As their chosen and desired king, he was given a propitious start to his reign; However, he signally disobeyed God. He was rejected, and David was anointed in his place.

Saul relentlessly pursued David for years. Abandoned by God, and lacking faith and conscience, he turned to a fortune teller at Endor, from whose lips he heard his sentence. (See DIVINATION.)

He was defeated by the Philistines, the same nation he would have defeated if he had remained faithful. Saul constitutes a notable example of disobedience and spiritual shipwreck (1 Sam. 9-31).