WILD SURMISE

November 1986 #10

AN ALMOST ANONYMOUS INFORMAL NOTE

SAUL

(A Drama)

This, of course, is a drama intended to be read while sprawled on the couch with a good light and a sandwich. There will not be the usual stage directions of a play nor standard filming instructions for a motion picture.

SCENE1:

The darkened interior of the tabernacle, a largish tent of heavy curtains over a wooden frame. As tents go, it is quite substantial. The cloth is heavy and fine and of different patterns. The tent has obviously seen a lot of wear and the various panels of fabric are of different ages. The interior is partitioned off into rooms by interior curtains. Outside it is night. The interior is lit by a flaming tripod and a seven-fold candelabrum. Glowing gold in the light is the Ark of the Covenant. It is a polished wood chest with poles through rings on either side. At each end is the winged figure of an angel. Inside lie the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments.

SAMUEL: (A dark eyed solemn boy of eight or ten enters with a bed roll. He is wearing a colored tunic and taking off is ephod, a kind of white bib. He glances mistrustfully toward the ark and begins to lay out his bed roll as far away as he can get.

VOICE: (The voice is loud, nasal, and abrupt. It stammers.) Samuel! Sa… Sa… Sam!… Sa… Sa… Samsuel! Sa…Samuel!?

SAMUEL: (Looks toward the ark in utter terror. Putting his clenched knuckles to his teeth and cowering against the curtain wall of the tabernacle. He shakes his head.)

VOICE: Sam? Sa..Sam.. Samuel!!

SAMUEL: (Bolting out of the room through the curtain.) Eli!

SCENE2:

Eli, very old, white haired and bearded, is lying on a cot piled deep with covers. His pupils have the bluish white tinge of long neglected cataracts. He looks like a creature of the blanket pile, unable to exist in light and fresh air. Samuel comes pelting in.

SAMUEL: Eli?

ELI: (Taking the frightened boy in one withered arm.) Is it the voices again, Samuel?

SAMUEL: (Trembling and looking over his shoulder.) Didn’t you call me, Eli?

ELI: (Sadly into the middle distance, where his sightless eyes are staring.) So it has come to this. My own sons do not know God. My sons steal the offerings that the faithful bring to the Lord. My sons lie with women who come to the door of the tabernacle in troops. The Lord has already made me know that he will destroy my sons. And now he speaks to this, the servant of my household.

SAMUEL: (Who seems to have more pressing interests than Eli’s rambling.) Can’t I stay here with you?

ELI: But what business has the Lord frightening little children, I do not know. Samuel listen to me. Do not defy the Lord. My sons have done so in trying to turn the Lord’s purposes to there own. I may have done as much myself. Go back to your bed, and if the voice speaks, answer; "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."

SAMUEL: (Gets back up and goes to the curtain.)

SCENE3:

The same as before, except this time the ark looks more imposing. There are no threadbare curtains. The ruddy light of the flames moves across the ark’s surface of beaten gold.

SAMUEL: (Enters looking terribly small and vulnerable.)

VOICE: Sa.. Sa... Sam! Samsamuel? Sa... Sa... Samuel!

SAMUEL: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

VOICE: (Suddenly deep, resonant, powerful, sure, congratulatory.) Samuel!!

SCENE4:

The view closes down on the flames. Many years pass. They are not peaceful years. The flames sum them up as well as anything. If this were a motion picture, it would be time for the credits. The credits would include the King James Version, with Booty trying to figure out what is going on in the story and M doing his best to keep Booty honest. The reader will notice that the language will change between King James Version English and modern usage. Interpret that as a change in tone of voice between self conscious and inspired on one hand and casual or even flippant on the other. As for the actors, the costumes, the camera work, the editing, the music, the directing, the historical consultants, the special effects and all, the credit must go to your imagination alone. For practice, let your imagination spell out the name of the drama. Against the flames, a sword suddenly appears along with the sound of metal clashing on metal. More swords appear until the letter "S" has been spelled out against the fire. The swords and the sound of metal go on, with muffled tones of men’s voices shouting, battles and raids. "A", "U" and then "L".

SCENE5:

Initially more flames, but now a yellow rather then a deep red. It is bright daylight. The view draws back. The flame is on a white stone alter.

VOICES: (Of a great crowd.) Samuel!!

(There is a loud "thunk" and blood runs down the altar. The view draws farther back. Samuel, now an old man himself, has just sacrificed a black bull. He is about the age of Eli in the earlier scene, but his eye is clear, his bones heavy, his hand is sure. His curly white hair is matted down on his head like spring fleece. Eli’s hair was wispy by comparison.)

SAMUEL: What is it that the people want?

VOICES: We want a king, Samuel.

SAMUEL: (As he talks, his assistants start to divide the bull.) How many times must I tell you? This is the manner of king that shall reign over you. He will take your sons to be his horseman, and some shall run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over thousands and captains over fifties. He will set them to reap his harvests and make his instruments of war. He will take your daughters to be his cooks. He will take your fields, your olive groves and vineyards, the best of them, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed, a tenth of your sheep. And ye shall cry out on that day because of your king.

Now send forward the elders of the tribes.

FIRST ELDER: (Each elder comes forward in turn and speaks as he receives a portion of the sacrificed bull.) We will have a king so we may be like all other nations.

SECOND ELDER: We will have a king to judge us.

THIRD ELDER: We will have a king to go out before us to fight our battles.

FOURTH ELDER: Thy sons Joel and Abiah do not walk in thy ways take bribes and pervert judgement.

FIFTH ELDER: For twenty years, the Ark of the Covenant was in Kirjathearim among the Philistines, and no one would lead us against the Philistines to get the ark back.

SIXTH ELDER: The sons of Eli before you, Hophni and Phinehus, were sons of Belial and knew not the Lord.

SEVENTH ELDER: And before that, the daughters of Shiloh were taken by force by the men of the tribe of Benjamin. There was no king to prevent or punish this.

EIGHTH ELDER: And before that, the tribe of Benjamin was almost destroyed by the tribes of Israel. No king would have permitted that.

NINTH ELDER: Before that, the tribe of Benjamin would not give up some of there sons to justice. There was no king to demand it.

TENTH ELDER: Before that, when the tribe of Dan took the land of Micah, that was called Laish, they kept the idol that had been made by Micah and worshiped that idol. Above all else, a king must keep us pure, untarnished by foreign gods.

ELEVENTH ELDER: Before that, Samson died a prisoner among the Philistines because there was no king to save him.

TWELFTH ELDER: And before that, Jephthah made a human sacrifice of his own daughter because of an oath he made before a battle with the Ammonites. A king, who was a professional warrior, would do no such thing.

SAMUEL: Proud and foolish people. You are not pleased with my guidance. It is not I you reject, but the Lord. You speak of a king to keep you away from idolatry and filthiness. You would trust a king to keep you from the sacrificing of innocent children, which is the custom of the followers of Baal. But in forsaking the one God, you are already serving the other gods, who will lead you into those very customs you most hate. Now go ye, every man to his own city. I ask the Lord to show me this man who will be your king.

SCENE6:

Half way down the side of a steep, narrow chasm a tiny lamb is perched precariously. Saul is leaning down toward the lamb, reaching out with his open hand.

SAUL: (At first it is the voice of command.) Don’t be afraid. (Now his voice pleads; he just touches the lamb.) Don’t be afraid. (Now his voice is a caress. He strokes the top of the head.) Don’t be afraid.

(He gathers the lamb up and holds it against his chest. He makes his way slowly up the side of the chasm with the help of his shepherds crook. At the top, he straightens up. He is a big man, head and shoulders above anyone else. He is wearing the simple white clothes of a shepherd. The lamb’s mother comes and looks up eagerly.)

SAUL: (Gently to the ewe.) Yes, you can have your lamb back just as soon as we get farther north from the valley. And you, (to the lamb) I’m glad you trusted me. Had you moved back, it was another eighty cubits straight down to the bottom.

SCENE7:

For a few minutes, there is a stroll through the landscape of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey. The fields are with the passage of the breeze. There is a clear pool with light trees like young willows along the margin. Where the wheat is not, there is a deep green clover. Only here and there among the rolling meadows is a harsh outcropping of rock, harbinger of the harsh desert this land will one day become. Saul lingers as he goes.

VOICE: (From the distance.) Saul!

SAUL: (Smiling as he sets the lamb gently down.) Coming, father!

(He sets out on an easy lope.)

SCENE8:

Before the tent of Kish. The tent is striped. The fabric is new enough and well kept. There are people and animals moving quietly about. Everything is orderly and relaxed. Everyone is well fed. Kish himself is solidly built, very broad and powerful. Like Saul, he is fair and reddish haired.

SAUL: Father.

KISH: Saul, my son. (They hug each other.)

SAUL: I took a lamb out of the Valley of the Shadow.

KISH: And now I have more cattle for you to look for. The asses have gotten themselves lost. Take one of the servants with you, and go seek them. (Saul beckons to one of the men, and they set out.)

SCENE9:

The road. The landscape is harsher. The road is more heavily traveled. The people seem a little less pleasant. Saul and the servant have evidently been walking for some time.

SAUL: Well, we have crossed Mount Ephraim and the land of Shalisha. We have gone through the land of Shalim, and here we are in the land of Benjamin.

SERVANT: We will never find them this way. Your father, Kish, would not have done it like this.

SAUL: We are making a great circle. Sooner or later we will find them or find someone who has heard of them.

SERVANT: But without your father Kish here, will they tell us?

SAUL: Of course,....wait. (Notices a woman dressed in black. She is spinning thread from a distaff onto a spindle.) Look. (He runs over and picks her up.) Caught you, you bandit.

WOMAN: (She is a tiny creature with sun ravaged skin.) Put me down Saul. Put me down right now. (She gathers her work and beats him harmlessly over the head with it.)

SAUL: (Still holding her up. Laughing.) Not until I get my asses back.

WOMAN: Now put me down. Remember what the law says. Honor thy father and thy mother.

SAUL: And that I do, all the days of my life. But law doesn’t say a thing about my adorable little grandmother. (Kisses her on the top of the head.)

WOMAN: O pooh. (Hits him again. Saul perches her on a nearby stone ledge.) Grandmother indeed. What would your mother think? Now really, what brings you into the land of Benjamin?

SAUL: My father’s asses have strayed.

WOMAN: Saul, Saul. Always more cattle to take care of. Always more to worry about. Here, maybe this will help you find your cattle. (Takes a little stone on a string and hangs it around his neck.)

SAUL: I know we’ll find them now. There’s no idolatry in this, is there?

WOMAN: Tell me. What is on man’s idolatry but another man’s devotion?

SAUL: (Soberly. It is a hard question. He does not do well with hard questions.) Anyway, I must take care of my father’s asses. (He goes back to his servant.)

WOMAN: (Looking after him. Whispers.) Take care of yourself, Saul.

SCENE10:

The land of Zuph. Crowded. Dusty. The people seem to squint out of the corners of their eyes a lot. Saul and his servant now look like country bumpkins by comparison candidly staring about at the bustling throng.

SAUL: I don’t think this amulet is doing any more good than we are. Come let us return, or my father will leave off caring for the asses and start to worry about us.

SERVANT: Talk about your father. Your father wouldn’t be running around the country with a good luck amulet on. It is probably some god of the Philistines.

SAUL: Well there can’t be any harm in it. We haven’t found the asses.

SERVANT: Now look. In this city there is a man of the god of Israel. He is a good seer. All that he says surely comes to pass. He will find your cattle, and that will prove that the god of Israel is better than all those other gods.

SAUL: We ought to give him something.

SERVANT: I have a silver quarter I will give him to show us the way.

SAUL: Well said. Let’s go.

(They go up a hill to the city. They meet a bevy of girls going out to draw water from the well. The girls giggle and shy away from Saul.)

SAUL: Is the seer here?

GIRL: (After a quick consultation with her friends. From their looks, they are more interested in Saul than in the question.) Yes, but hurry. Just today he came to the city, because there is a sacrifice of the people in the high place. Go right into the city and catch him before he goes up to make the sacrifice.

SCENE11:

The city, just within gates. The streets are narrow, unpaved, crowded. Humans and animals. Noise and confusion. Samuel is Making his way toward the high place. Saul and his servant enter. Samuel sees them, head and shoulders over the others.

VOICE: (To no one but Samuel.) Behold the man whom I spoke of! This same shall rule my people.

SAUL: (Drawing up to Samuel.) Tell me, I pray thee, where is the seers house is.

SAMUEL: I am he. Go up with me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me today. Tomorrow I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. As for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not they mind on them, for they are found. And on whom is the desire of all Israel? Is it not on thee?

SAUL: (Soberly, another hard question.) Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the lowest of all the families of the tribe? Wherefore speakest thou so?

SCENE12:

The high place. There is a partly sheltered table with about thirty sitting behind the altar above the multitude. Samuel puts Saul on a raised chair in the center.

SAMUEL: (To the cook.) Bring the choice piece of shoulder I had thee set aside. (The cook places the piece before Saul.) Behold the portion that has been kept for thee.

SAUL: (Rolls his eyes about dubiously. He begins to eat. Then he leans toward Samuel.) Why?

SAMUEL: Later.

SCENE13:

After the sacrifice and meal, Saul and Samuel come down from the high place and go to the top of Samuel’s house. They stand and talk under the open sky until late in the evening.

SAMUEL: So the people will have a king. What think you?

SAUL: O there is probably no harm in it. People enjoy being ordered around.

SAMUEL: And what is the first duty of a king?

SAUL: Why that king should guide and protect his people.

SAMUEL: Protect them from what?

SAUL: Each other, I suppose. And from their enemies.

SAMUEL: And from foreigners?

SAUL: If they attack, why yes.

SAMUEL: And if they come in peace?

SAUL: (Frowns. Hard questions again.) For instance...

SAMUEL: Israel is an island in a sea of the gentiles. On all sides there is unfaithfulness. On all sides there is idolatry. On all sides there are customs that you would abhor. What if they come in peace, but bring their customs with them?

SAUL: (Thoughtfully.) Then the best I could do would be to seek the council of the Lord and uphold the law of the Lord.

SAMUEL: (Voice fading as darkness closes in.) Worse than that, the land is infested with witches. Day and night they practice their foul craft, poisoning babies, calling up familiar spirits...

SCENE14:

It is morning on the road outside the city; Saul and the servant are dressed for a long walk. Samuel is wearing indoor clothes. They are about where they met the girls the day before.

SAMUEL: Send your servant on, but stand still a while that I may show thee the word of God.

SAUL: (Still does not expect what is to come. He and Samuel have talked about kingship, but not about the fact that Saul is to be king.) Go on ahead a little.

SAMUEL: (He takes a vial of oil and pours it over Saul’s head. Then he kneels and kisses Saul’s hand.) The Lord has anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance. (He now stands and puts his hands on Saul’s shoulders. He begins to prophesy in a great voice. As he speaks the scene changes to illustrate his words.)

Today they shall find two men at Zelzah; they will say unto thee, the asses which thou wentest to seek are found. Thy father hath left the care of the asses and sorroweth for you. At the plain of Tabor, thou shall meet three men of God, one carrying three kids, another three loaves of bread and another carrying a bottle of wine. They will give thee two loaves of bread. When thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines, thou shalt meet a company of prophets, with psaltery, tabret, with pipe and harp, and they shall prophesy. And the spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shall prophesy with them and shalt be turned into another man. God is with thee. But thou shalt tarry for me at Gilgal, and I will come down and offer burnt offerings and show thee what thou shalt do.

SCENE15:

Samuel, true to his word, has called the people together at Mizpeh. Samuel stands at the high place and speaks to the people in his powerful voice.

SAMUEL: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I have brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the land of the Egyptians and all kingdoms that oppressed you. Ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and tribulations. Ye have said unto him, nay, but set a king over us. Now, therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. First the tribe of Reuben. (The tribe of Reuben, led by the first elder, all stand. Samuel then goes through the twelve tribes. The biggest by far is the tribe of Judah. At last he gets to ...) The tribe of Benjamin.

EIGHTH ELDER: The tribe of Benjamin is here, what there is of us.

SAMUEL: Which is that family standing there?

EIGHTH ELDER: That is the family a and kindred of Matri.

SAMUEL: And who is that?

EIGHTH ELDER: That is Kish, our best man.

SAMUEL: Has he a son?

EIGHTH ELDER: Why yes, he ought to be around somewhere. Saul? Has anyone seen Saul?

VOICES ALL AROUND: Saul! Ahoy! Where is Saul?

VOICE: (To Samuel.) You will find your king hiding among the baggage. With the animals.

SAMUEL: Search the baggage.

SCENE16:

Saul, alas, is hiding among the animals. He has crawled into a pile of hay under a cloth. Sheep are munching happily nearby. Saul looks a little sheepish himself. He speaks to a nearby ewe.

SAUL: I really don’t want to go out there, you know. Me, king?

VOICES: (A crowd enters searching.) Where is he? He’s got to be in here somewhere. Come out, Saul. We know your in there. (They find him. Eager hands pull him out of hiding, stand him up and brush the hay off him.) There you are. All right, we’ve got him. Tell them we’re coming right away.

(They push him forward. As usual, Saul looms head and shoulders above the crowd.)

SAMUEL: (As soon as Saul has been brought to him at the high place.) See him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people.

VOICES: God save the king!

SAMUEL: Go home now, every man to his own place.

VOICES: God save the king!

SAUL: (Quietly to himself.) I went to seek my father’s cattle to care for them. And now I have a whole nation to care for as if they were cattle. (Raising his voice.) Those who wish to be in my personal guard, meet me below.

VOICES: (Cheers. Then...) God save the king!

SCENE17:

The field below the high place. In the background shelters are coming down. Families and small herds are moving out. The assembly is breaking up. Saul addresses a group of two or three hundred. They are eager young men, irregularly armed, dressed only for the sacrifice, but they move with spirit and confidence.

MEN: Lead us King Saul. Build your army around us.

SAUL: All right, if you want to be soldiers, let me tell you a little about it. That way, if you don’t like it, you can still rejoin your families. Let’s have two groups. You, you, you and you, over here. You, too, you and you. Big fellow, over here, you, too. All right, each one choose another. That’s right. Okay, now do it again. No, not that one, that one. Hey, you, over here. All right, now let’s divide it through here. You can be on that side. Any one want to change sides? You’ll do. (He has ,put together two teams.)

Now look at you standing together like oxen. If I slung a rock into you, I could not miss hitting someone, and he’d land on someone else. Let’s have two lines. Facing each other. That’s better. Now what ever you do, don’t hurt each other. Just look what happens when someone turns a flank. Move that line toward this end a little. That’s good. Now wrap around the end here. Fine. How does it feel in there? Crowded enough? They’ve just turned your flank. Never let this happen.

(Time passes. The departing crowd continues to thin out.) ...and if your line curves inward in the center, you have a longer line

to defend. Always try to bulge out in the center. That gives you the interior line. It’s easier to get messages and reinforcements around. You also have a shorter line to cover. Other things equal, you may have enough men to turn both your enemy’s flanks at once if you have a good interior line.

(More time passes.) All right, let’s start the march to Gibeah. Each one of you take ten men and line them up. All right. Let’s walk. Step. Step. Step. Don’t be so rigid. The whole point of this is so you don’t walk into each other.

(They move off.) It’s all right to turn your heads. If there is anything out there, let’s hope you see them soon after they see you. Step. Step. Step.

(As they leave, a group of men stand and watch them with cold cynicism. The men are dressed differently from the others. Not badly dressed, just a different choice of colors and cuts from the rest of Israel we have seen.

FIRST MAN: By Belial, how shall this man save us?

SECOND MAN: (Mockingly.) Hiding with the baggage?

THIRD MAN: I think I will spare him the burden of having to receive any gifts or taxes from me.

SCENE18:

Saul is approaching the tent of his father, driving along a herd of sheep. As usual, he is speaking gently to them. The young men whom he led away are practicing with their weapons or drilling in small groups. Others are, going about the business of the camp. A yoke of oxen is browsing nearby. Two messengers come limping down the road, moving fast but much the worse for wear.

FIRST MESSENGER: Woe is upon us.

SECONG MESSENGER: The Ammonite has come up against Gilead!

(Howls of woe on all sides.)

FIRST MESSENGER: Gilead is beset on all sides.

SECOND MESSENGER: Nahash shows no mercy.

(General lament. The young men begin to gather from where they have been drilling.)

SAUL: (Now reaching the center of things.) What is this?

FIRST MESSENGER: The King of the Ammonites, the vile monster.

SAUL: Yes. King Nahash. I know him.

SECOND MESSENGER: He has camped around Jabesh.

SAUL: Yes. Our town in Gilead. I know it.

FIRST MESSENGER: He has made war against the town.

SAUL: One town against all the Ammonites? Did they not offer to make peace with Nahash?

SECOND MESSENGERL: His terms were unacceptable.

SAUL: What terms?

FIRST MESSENGER: That he should gouge out the right eye of everyone in Jabesh.

SAUL: (Gives a snort as if of laughter. Then looks incredulous. Then his face darkens with anger. Then he becomes terribly calm.) Why?

SECOND MESSENGER: As a humiliation to all of Israel. To show how he despises us all. To show how he would rub our faces in the dirt.

SAUL: Men! Slaughter this yoke of oxen. Hew them in pieces and take them throughout all the coasts of Israel. Each of you knows his way. Say, whoever comes not to Saul and Samuel, this shall be done to his oxen also.

SCENE19:

Saul’s camp against the Ammonites. Saul is before his tent, going over plans with his officers. The messengers are from Jabesh are there. One of Saul’s young men enters.

YOUNG MAN: They are here, King Saul. There are all here.

Saul: How many?

MAN: Of Israel, there are three hundred thousand. And of Judah there are thirty thousand men.

SAUL: All of Israel and Judah come at my call. It is well. (To the messengers.) Go down to your city Jabesh. Tell them to say to Nahash the Ammonite that you have no help, and that tomorrow before the sun is hot, all the people will come out of the town, and he can put out your eyes if he wishes to. (To his officers.) You will divide into three companies. As Nahash lines up to face the town, he will approach from the east, so the sun is behind him. Your company will attack him in the center of the back.

Your company will then come down from the hills to the north and yours from the south.

SCENE20:

After the victory. The field is marred with smoke and littered with the dead and with broken weapons. The dead are mostly in the uniform of the Ammonites. The victors are irregularly dressed but formidable to look at. Saul and Samuel are conferring.

SOLDIERS: (Chanting.) Israel! Saul! Judah! Saul! Israel! Saul! Judah! Saul!

A group of soldiers comes to Samuel leading the three men, who had scorned Saul.

SOLDIER: Samuel. These are the men who said, Saul shall not reign over us. Let us put them to death.

SAUL: No. There shall not be a man put to death today. For today is the day of the Lord’s salvation of Israel. I should be a poor shepherd to put them to death for no more than that. Let there be peace in the land.

SCENE21:

Mount Bethel. It is a green hill with a grove of trees. Saul’s army is camped down the hill side. The army looks more professional now. The clothes are not exactly uniform, but there is at least a sort of sameness. The tents are laid out in straight lines. The soldiers move with purpose, but without haste. Saul, his officers and Jonathan are conferring. Saul looks a littler older. Rather less gentle.

SAUL: Abner, my uncle, there is peace in the land. It is time to send the men home.

ABNER: King Saul. Let us not make haste to disband the army. As long as we are together, our enemies dare make no move aginst us. If you send the men home, you may find it hard to get them back again.

SAUL: It has been years since our last battle. The men have homes and families to go to. They have their lives to lead. I will not keep them any longer.

ABNER: At least keep a remnant, a nucleus around which we can rebuild.

SAUL: I will keep three thousand. Two thousand will stay with me here. One thousand will go to Gibeah. You will take them there.

ABNER: Without you? Whom shall I answer to?

SAUL: Jonathan?

JONATHAN: Yes, father.

SAUL: If I send you with Abner, my uncle and a thousand soldiers, do you think you can keep the peace?

JONATHAN: Yes, father. I will protect Israel.

SAUL: I trust you will. Go with this man, and take his advice. And remember Israel is better protected by peace than by war.

JONATHAN: Yes, father. (Saul and Jonathan embrace.)

SAUL: Well, son, line your men up and take them to Gibeah. You will be nearer your mother there.

JONATHAN: (To the first officer.) Take a thousand men and get them ready for the march.

ABNER: At once.

SCENE22:

Night in Saul’s tent. Saul sits alone. Sound of alarm without. Shouting. Fear. Saul looks up and waits until the messenger comes. At last one of two soldiers announces.

SOLDIER: Messenger for King Saul.

SAUL: Enter.

FIRST MESSENGER: (Drops to his knees.) Alas, King Saul, the enemy is upon us. They go through the country killing and burning. The people have fled to caves and hide among the rocks and hills.

SAUL: What enemy is this?

SOLDIER: Messenger for the King.

SAUL: Enter.

SECOND MESSENGER: Tidings from Samuel. He says he will come to you in seven days. He says he will call the people together and make a burnt offering.

SAUL: Seven days? Who knows where we will be in seven days?

SOLDIER: Messenger for the King.

SAUL: Enter.

THIRD MESSENGER: Alas, the Philistines are upon us. They have gathered in their thousands. Thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and people like the sand on the sea shore, and they are coming here, toward Michmash. The people flee before them.

SAUL: The Philistines. But there has been no quarrel with the Philistines for many years.

SOLDIER: Messenger for the King.

SAUL: Enter.

FOURTH MESSENGER: Tidings from Jonathan.

SAUL: What of my son Jonathan?

FOURTH MESSENGER: My master bids you rejoice for there has been a victory. Seven days ago at Geba, he and his thousand men attacked the garrison of the Philistines. They struck the uncircumcised by surprise and destroyed the garrison. Victory is ours.

FIRST MESSENGER: A victory that has brought the Philistines down on us like a flood. A victory that has scattered our people into thickets and pits.

THIRD MESSENGER: Jonathan attacks with his thousand and the Philistines reply with there tens of thousands.

SECOND MESSENGER: Jonathan should be put to death for such a victory.

SAUL: Silence. He is my son. And whatever the cause, we are now at war. Let us try to win it. And nothing helps winning like a victory. You and you. Take trumpets and announce to the people throughout the land what Jonathan has done. And tell them that this is my beloved son, in whom I am much pleased. Make sure the Philistines hear of it well. You and you, go about the land and announce that tomorrow I will sacrifice before the Lord and make a burnt offering so that the people will not scatter from me.

SECOND MESSENGER: Samuel will not be pleased.

SCENE23:

Saul’s camp at Gibeah. Saul and his officers are coming through the camp. The tents are all in disarray. Many of the men are wounded. They are sitting on the ground half clothed or poking at cook fires. The air is full of smoke. They reach Saul’s tent, the same one he was using in the last scene, but now almost in ruins; there are tears and burns in the fabric, and it has not been pitched straight. Saul drops into his chair and finds it has been damaged so that it hardly supports him.

SAUL: Report.

OFFICER: The camp is secure. The perimeter has been established. We have fresh water.

SAUL: How many of us are left?

OFFICER: Of the three thousand in the two companies, there are six hundred left who carry the sword.

ABNER: How did it happen?

OFFICER: While the King was sacrificing before the people at Michmash, the Philistines gathered around the hill and rushed upon us on all sides. There were not two of us left standing together. Michmash. A place well named. The Philistines now hold it.

SAUL: (To Abner.) You were here with Jonathan. What happened here?

ABNER: Our first attack on the Philistines, your son was most insistent. He seems to long for combat. We defeated them, but they came back in the thousands upon thousands.

SAUL: Will others join us here?

ABNER: We cannot raise an army. Those that have not fled or been put to the sword have either gone over to the Philistines, or the Philistines have taken their weapons. There is not a blacksmith left among Israel or Judah. Even to have a plow sharpened, the people must take it to the Philistines.

SAUL: They do their work well, these Philistines. Have the men enough to eat?

OFFICER: Not enough. We have not had enough since this started. The men are faint with hunger.

ABNER: My men as well.

SAUL: See what you can find. Ah, here comes Samuel, right in the midst of war. Leave us a while.

SAMUEL: (Enters. Walking slowly. He seems much older but no less resolute. The fire is still in his eyes.) Why did you offer the burnt sacrifice at Michmash?

SAUL: Time was short. The Philistines were at our gate. You were not there.

SAMUEL: I would have been there soon. Why did you offer the sacrifice?

SAUL: Our need was great. There were great numbers against us. Many of my men were deserting. I needed to make the sacrifice in order to encourage them.

SAMUEL: (Explodes furiously.) You fool! The sacrifice of the Lord is for the Lord it is not for you. You do not offer the sacrifice in order to encourage your men, but to worship God. You have used holy things to serve your own ends. That is sacrilege!

SAUL: I had my people to care for.

SAMUEL: They are not your people. They are God’s people. Why was the Philistine coming up against you?

SAUL: Jonathan, we, attacked their camp at Geba.

SAMUEL: So it was you, not they, who started the war. You are in a wrongful quarrel. Why do you not make peace.

SAUL: You know the answer to that. For peace, they would demand the life of the man who is responsible for the attack on Geba. And that is my son Jonathan.

SAMUEL: And so to save your son, you will now lose your kingdom, which the Lord would have established forever. (Stalks off.)

OFFICER: (Enters running.) Saul! Saul!

Saul: What is it?

OFFICER: The earth is trembling and the smoke goes up from the Philistine camp.

Saul: (Calling.) What do you see?

ABNER: (Calls back.) There is a fight in the Philistine camp. I count twenty laid low already.

SAUL: Are they fighting among themselves? Who of us is missing?

OFFICER: I have already asked. It is your son Jonathan and his armor bearer. Only those two.

SAUL: Call out the troops. We will fall on them while they are still discomfited and do not know what has attacked them. My son and his armor bearer have attacked the Philistine camp alone!

SCENE24:

The battle field. Sounds of battle. There is an ox tethered nearby. Beyond the ox is a large low rock. Philistines begin to arrive singly and in two’s. The Philistines are better fed and armed, but obviously badly battered and exhausted. As they enter, they drop to the ground and slouch against each other.

FIRST PHILISTINE: We are routed. What happened to us?

SECOND PHILISTINE: Two men came up and attacked our camp. The made such trouble we thought we were attacked and line up to face them. Then their whole army swept down on us from the side like a whirlwind.

FIRST PHILISTINE: Is Jonathan behind this, then?

SECOND PHILISTINE: No one doubts it.

THIRD PHILISTINE: By Dagon, we have been hurt enough by Jonathan.

SECOND PHILISTINE: He fights like a lion.

FIRST PHILISTINE: Don’t they all, these Jews and Israelites.

FOURTH PHILISTINE: Not the ones who sided with us, by Dagon. They are going back over to there own side by the hundreds.

FIRST PHILISTINE: Then they start to fight like lions.

FIFTH PHILISTINE: Half breeds always fight the best, Dagon knows.

SECOND PHILISTINE: They are not half breeds.

FIFTH PHILISTINE: They are Jews and Israelites, aren’t they?

SECOND PHILISTINE: They say there are twelve tribes.

FIFTH PHILISTINE: And the all intermarry.

SECOND PHILISTINE: The tribes are supposed to be brothers.

FIRST PHILISTINE: If the tribes can be brothers, then all tribes must be brothers, and we shouldn’t spend our time killing each other.

THIRD PHILISTINE: Tell Jonathan that.

FOURTH PHILISTINE: If half breeds are the best fighters, what about quarter breeds?

THIRD PHILISTINE: There aren’t any. The half breeds are too busy fighting to breed.

SIXTH PHILISTINE: What is this? By Dagon, a squad of men standing around on the battle field chatting.

SECOND PHILISTINE: Good. Another. We have enough to make a line.

(They get up, pull themselves into a passable formation with their backs to the ox.)

FIRST PHILISTINE: Well this is better, but I would still exchange even you all to be back in Moab.

SIXTH PHILISTINE: (Ironically.) Silence in the ranks.

FIRST PHILISTINE: That was from the rank behind me.

SECOND PHILISTINE: You are from Moab, then?

FIRST PHILISTINE: Yes. And what I would not give to go home to Moab and kiss my wife and children, to go out to the field with the flocks and come back late and hungry.

THIRD PHILISTINE: And after about two days, Jonathan would come and kill you and make a burnt sacrifice of your flocks and family.

SECOND PHILISTINE: Jonathan. Here’s Jonathan now!

(Jonathan and about ten other men come running single file, Jonathan is in the lead. Before the Philistines can react, the file is going across one flank like a rip saw. Jonathan runs by out of reach. The second in line strikes the end Philistine just enough to make him raise his guard. The third knocks him off balance. The fourth knocks him down. The fifth tramples him and hits the second Philistine. The sixth knocks him down. The seventh finishes him off. The next Philistine is dealt with the same way. There are four left standing. Jonathan is leading his file in a curve for another pass.)

THIRD PHILISTINE: Dagon!

FIRST PHILISTINE: I’ll stand. You scatter.

THIRD PHILISTINE: I’ll stand with you. Maybe I’ll get a chance at Jonathan.

(The two get up on the rock and put their shoulders together while the others run away. As the file circles around them, they put their backs together. It does not take long. The third Philistine does not get his chance at Jonathan. As soon as the last Philistine is down, Jonathan and his men collapse gasping.)

JONATHAN: Well done, men. Now we only need run after them again.

ONE OF HIS MEN: I am so hungry I cannot stand.

JONATHAN: I also. The uncircumcised are getting away only because we are faint from not eating.

ANOTHER MAN: Had we but time to prepare that ox.

JONATHAN: We have time. (He leads the ox up onto the rock. With his sword, already soiled by war, he kills the ox and carves portions for his men.) Eat. When you are through we will pursue the enemy again.

YET ANOTHER MAN: But the meat has blood in it. We cannot eat meat with blood. It is unclean.

JONATHAN: Eat.

SCENE25:

Dusk. The same scene. Saul enters and enormous crowd.

SAUL: It is a great day of victory!

CROWD: (Cheers.)

SAUL: Are there complaints from the people?

CROWD: No. No complaints.

SAUL: (To one of them men that had been with Jonathan.) What is your complaint?

JONATHAN’S MAN: Alas, my King. I fear for my life if I speak.

SAUL: Speak the truth and your life will be spared.

MAN: My King, there is a sin upon the people and upon your son. While we pursued the Philistine, we were faint with hunger. In order that we might go on, your son did... We... We all did...

SAUL: Jonathan. What is this you have done? Did you eat while you were in pursuit?

JONATHAN: I gave the men meat to eat while we were in pursuit. The meat still had the blood in it.

SAUL: (Shocked. Quietly to himself.) That is a mortal sin. The punishment is death.

JONATHAN: It was only a little.

SAUL: (Badly shaken. He stumbles up onto a rock and addresses the people.) My son Jonathan has committed a sin in eating the meat with the blood in it. The punishment is death.

CROWD: No! Shall Jonathan die, who has done these great things in Israel? No. Jonathan shall not die!

SAUL: (Tears of relief running down his face.) God forgive Jonathan and God forgive us all. We will build an altar to the Lord on this rock. And when there is peace in the land and the ark does not dwell any longer in a tent, I will return to this place and build a temple to the Lord. And the ark shall be in it. And it will be the dwelling place of our nation for all generations. And if there is no peace in my lifetime, my sons who come after me will build the temple. I do swear it.

SCENE26:

Saul’s tent. Years have passed. Jonathan is now his full height. Saul himself looks haggard. Abner and the officer are present. A soldier speaks from the door of the tent.

SOLDIER: The prophet Samuel to see the King.

SAUL: Send him in.

SAMUEL: (Enters. His eyes are harsh and intense. He is not so straight as when we last saw him.) Is this the king who would still build a temple instead of following the enemies of the Lord?

SAUL: I pursue the enemies of Israel.

SAMUEL: You do not.

SAUL: Abner, my uncle. How many enemies have we fought?

ABNER: We have fought the Moab. And against Ammon. Against Edom and the kings of Zobah. And always and again, the Philistines.

SAMUEL: But you spare the Amalekites?

SAUL: The Amalekites are not our enemy. They leave us in peace.

SAMUEL: But when the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt, the Amalekites fought with Israel and Rephidim. Now go smite the Amalekite. Kill. Kill every man, women and suckling child. Kill their sheep and oxen and every camel and ass.

SAUL: Abner, how many can we attack the Amalekite with?

ABNER: My King, we will be able to raise two hundred thousand of Israel and ten thousand of Judah.

SAUL: It is more than enough. Let it be done. But my heart is not in it.

SCENE27:

Saul’s camp in the valley of Teliam. The troops are gathered in their hundreds of thousands. Saul receives an envoy from the Kenites in his tent.

SOLDIER: The elders of the Kenite for King Saul.

SAUL: Send them in.

FIRST ELDER: (And they are very old elders indeed.) Woe is it to the Kenite.

SECOND ELDER: Alas I should live to see this day.

SAUL: Why do ye lament?

FIRST ELDER: The tents of Israel and Judah are like clouds. They go on forever. And now this great army is encamped against us. We are ruined.

SAUL: We have no quarrel with ye. But by this time tomorrow we will have killed every man and all your cattle.

SECOND ELDER: Why?

SAUL: Only because you are living among the Amalekites. Depart, then, from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them.

FIRST ELDER: At once, O great King.

SAUL: (As the Kenites leave.) Give them enough time to get clear of the town then bring our troops up against the gates.

ABNER: Their king Agag has already drawn his battle line up in front of the city. It will do him no good.

SAUL: He knows we intend to put them all to the sword. By getting all the fighting men out of the city, he hopes we will spare the others. It is a hard thing to go into a defenseless town and destroy it.

SCENE28:

After the battle. Before the gates of the city. Agag, the Amalekite king, is kneeling, his hands are bound. He is a very fat man. His face is flushed and sweating and he is blubbering. Saul

Looms over him like a mountain of doom. Saul’s face is terrible to see, and his sword, caked with blood in different stages of drying out, dangles in his huge hand. His men and officers stand about.

SAUL: Give me one reason I should not kill you, Agag, once king of the nation of Amalekites, whom we have destroyed today.

AGAG: No, reason, great King, but hear me.

SAUL: (Prodding him.) Speak more; weep less.

AGAG: We were living in peace. The land was good. Our allies the Kenites had settled with us. And then, for no reason, you come with an army larger than I have ever seen and kill us ruthlessly in the field. And now you say you will go into the town, burn it, and kill the women and children and cattle. You are not human; you are monsters.

SAUL: This is no way to beg for mercy. You have lost on the field of battle. Why should I not slay you?

AGAG: My men did the best they could. No, there is no reason not to kill me. Kill me. Burn the town. Slaughter the animals. But spare, I pray you, the women and children. My people were my cattle. My loved possessions. Let my people live. You have destroyed the army. Kill me. Spare my sheep.

SAUL: I will spare those people. Not for your sake, but for the sake of mercy itself.

AGAG: (Overcome.) O great King. (Throws himself flat on the ground and starts kissing Saul’s none-too-clean-just-now feet.) O worthy King. Blessings on you. You may kill me now. The bitterness of death is past. I will die happy, knowing my people are in the hands of a noble lord who will protect them and care for them. I can never lose this joy, not death itself, not...

SAUL: Will somebody drag this thing away. And see you spare him, but guard him well. (Two soldiers take Agag away.) And the rest of you. Turn the people and the cattle out of the town. Then burn the town to ashes. Let no one loot the town, for this was the Lord’s quarrel and not ours. I will have no one make himself rich with the destruction of people who never came against us. (The men start turning the women and children out of the town. They file past Saul looking at him with hate, fear, disbelief, admiration, gratitude and bewilderment. As they go by Samuel appears.) Samuel, blessed be of the Lord. Behold I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

SAMUEL: What meaneth the bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen I hear?

SAUL: We have saved the cattle.

SAMUEL: Most of those cattle have two legs.

SAUL: The best we spare. The rest we destroy.

SAMUEL: I will tell thee what the Lord hath said.

SAUL: Say on.

SAMUEL: When thou was little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites.

SAUL: And I have.

SAMUEL: But thou hast spared these women and children. And now they will live among ye and bring with them idolatry and witchcraft.

SAUL: They are but poor frightened things. They are herded like sheep. Surely you can have pity on them.

SAMUEL: They will live with thy people. They will lead thy people into witchcraft. They will lie with the sons of thy people and lead them into idolatry.

SAUL: Surely there is some middle ground. Surely there is some place between saying, I will slay thee to the last soul and saying, I will love thee and share thy children.

SAMUEL: There is no middle ground. Either you must shut them out, either thou must kill them, or thou shalt worship their gods.

SAUL: I have transgressed. I listened to the people. I have sinned. Therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me that I may worship the Lord.

SAMUEL: Thou hast rejected the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being King over Israel. (Samuel starts away. Saul grabs his garment and it tears off his shoulders.) As the garment is rent, so the Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee. Do not ask the Lord to forgive thee. The strength of Israel is not a man that he should repent.

SAUL: Is there nothing that I can do?

SAMUEL: This king Agag. Him, thou doest not consider him cattle.

SAUL: He is in your hands. Guards!

(The soldiers bring Agag back. The ex-king is beaming.)

AGAG: How may I please the King:

SAUL: I send you with this man. May he spare your life.

AGAG: And if he does not, you have already spared what I treasure more.

SCENE29:

Saul’s tent that night. The tent is splendid compared with earlier times. The fabric is new. The frame is true. Saul’s bed roll lies undisturbed on the floor. The King is sprawled on a folding chair his huge face glaring into the space in front of him. On either side, flames from a tripod illuminate the scene. The King’s features are in shadow so that he looks like a monster.

SAUL: It wasn’t the wrong thing to do. I still say it wasn’t the wrong thing. I can protect the people from witchcraft and not put innocent women and children to death. (Suddenly a reasonable tone.) And what is idolatry? What is witchcraft? It is only another person’s devotion. (Leaps to his feet and paces nervously about.) And what do witches do but lie, cheat, rob from the credulous? Terrify the weak. Do I not do as much? And idolatry? (Low growl.) Give them a chance and they will put prostitutes in the holy places and be doing human sacrifices. (Whispers.) All right. All right. So there is right conduct and wrong. And harlotry and child killing is wrong. So they must be stopped. Does that mean killing all witches? All foreigners just in case? (Shouts.) There has to be a way. (Pounding the tent frame.) There has to be a middle ground....(Suddenly leaps back to his chair.) COME IN!

ABNER: My King. I did not mean to disturb your rest.

SAUL: What is it?

ABNER: The men have returned who were guarding Agag.

SAUL: (Suddenly rigid.) Escaped?

ABNER: Dead.

SAUL: How?

ABNER: Samuel has made a sacrifice of him before the Lord.

SAUL: Sacrifice? A human sacrifice? That.. that’s....

ABNER: Do not way idolatry and draw wrath upon yourself.

SAUL: (Nods. He was about to say, "Idolatry.") And how did Agag go to his doom?

ABNER: Screaming and crying.

SAUL: This is not the courage with which he left me.

ABNER: While he was stretched out on the altar, the prophet Samuel taunted him. Told him how his mother would wail over his death. Mocked him. Told him how his children would grow up alone. His wife pine for him. Told him how they were still alive and longing for him.

SAUL: And so broke his spirit?

ABNER: And as he begged, hacked him apart.

SAUL: Leave me alone. (Abner ducks out.) Nowhere in the law does it call for human sacrifice. When Abraham went to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord forbid it. Samuel spoke of witchcraft, but it is closer than he knows. It is in the heart. There is none left but me to protect the people.

SCENE30:

Cave. It is full of women dressed in black. They are from all the nations around, bust mostly survivors from the Amalekites. At the back of the cave, there is a large stone idol. Before the idol is a stone altar. A basket lies on the altar. Priestesses standing at the altar raise their arms. The arms look skinny and white. One holds a knife.

FIRST PRIESTESS: (It is a long, keening cry.) Baal! (It rhymes with "canal" without the "n".)

CROWD: (Low but intense.) Baal!

SECOND PRIESTESS: (A despairing scream.) Baal!

CROWD: Baal!

THIRD PRIESTESS: (Joyous shout.) Baal!

CROWD: Baal!

FIRST PRIESTESS: (On the last syllable her voice dropping a minor third.) Sacrifice of thanks giving for the mercy of Saul.

CROWD: (Picking up the last note an octave lower and dropping a major third.) Baal!

SECOND PRIESTESS: (On the last syllable her voice dropping a major third.) Sacrifice of lamentation for the death of Agag.

CROWD: (Picking up the last note an octave lower and dropping a minor third.) Baal!

THIRD PRIESTESS: (Same tune as the first priestess.) Supplication for strength and courage for our defender Saul.

CROWD: (Picking up the last note an octave lower and dropping a major third again.) Baal!

FIRST PRIESTESS: Baaa...

SECOND PRIESTESS: (A half step lower.) Aaaaa...

THIRD PRIESTESS: (A third lower.) Aaaal!

(The three repeat the notes in sequence, holding them longer and longer until it becomes an unintelligible swirling wail. In the center of the crowd someone produces a flame. The women light torches and move in a procession then starts as a double column moving away from the altar. The columns then diverge, arc back toward the altar and reform moving toward the altar to form a heart shape. As the pass the altar, they throw their torches in front of the idol, soon making a brisk bonfire. While this is going on, they chant. It starts low and gets louder and louder.

CROWD: Saul. Saul. Saul. Saul.

Saul! Saul! Saul! Saul!

SAUL! SAUL! SAUL! SAUL!

SAUL!! SAUL! SUAL!! SAUL!!

(As the chant reaches a climax and the lines of torches are growing shorter, the fire higher, the priestess with the knife stands over the basket, the knife in both hands over her head. The fire glints over the blade. Suddenly there is a blast of trumpets. Saul and a squad of soldiers fill the mouth of the cave.)

SAUL: Take them away.

(General pandemonium. Screams. Shrieks of "Saul!" Some retreat down a back entrance, but are soon cut off by the soldiers, who start to drag them away. The noise decreases as they are taken out, until there is only one left. Her words ring in the suddenly emptied cave. It is the woman Saul called "grandmother" so many years before.)

WOMAN: Saul! Saul! Why persecutest thou me?

SAUL: (In the silence.) Abner. That basket. Look in the basket. Open it. See what they were about to sacrifice.

ABNER: (Looking into the basket.) Yes, my King it is in here.

SAUL: Is it an infant?

ABNER: It is a small dog.

(Saul turns his face to the all of the cave.)

SCENE31:

Saul’s tent again. It is day time. The tent looks splendid. Saul does not. He is unshaven, gaunt, tremulous. He looks about suspiciously. His lips move as he whispers.

SAUL: They say I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. They just think I’m crazy. If a man can’t talk to anybody else, he is crazy if he doesn’t talk to himself. Not too loud though. Wouldn’t do to let anybody hear. Let them know what I’m thinking. They can put up with a crazy King, but they won’t stand listening to what they don’t want to hear.

God isn’t angry with me. It’s Samuel who is angry. But Samuel says God is angry. Does God say one thing to one person and another thing to another? If so, how can God sometimes say things some other god might say, like Baal? Does it make a difference? Does which person make more difference than which god?

(Cudgeling his brows.) But there IS a difference. Good is different from evil, and you can know the difference. And it is possible to live with people who worship a different god and continue to worship the true One. There is a place between killing idolaters and becoming one. Between sending your children to slaughter foreigners and sending them to marry foreigners.

OFFICER: (From the tent door.) King Saul.

SAUL: Yes. Come in.

OFFICER: (Enters with David.) This is David son of Jesse. He is from Bethlehem. There is none finer at playing the harp. We thought his music might sooth...entertain you.

DAVID: (An adolescent. Compared with Saul and the other veterans, he seems more than a little effeminate.) Whatever might please you, my King.

SAUL: (Standing to his full height, walks over and puts his hands on David’s shoulders. He looks down and sees, not the pretty faced boy in front of him, but himself, years ago, at the same age, fresh from watching the sheep.) Well, my fine fellow. And what might you do for a king?

DAVID: Play my harp, if it pleases you. And carry your armor for you.

SAUL: That you shall. Officer. Send word to Jesse that his son shall stay here with me. And now, my lad. Let us hear the music that you are so expert with.

(David begins to plays the harp. He is, indeed, an expert. A smile creeps over Saul’s face like a dawn between rain squalls.)

SCENE32:

Saul’s camp at the valley of Elah. It is a cool autumnal day. Heavily overcast. The walls of the valley are littered with damp grey stones. Nothing grows. Everything has been uprooted or burned during the endless wars. Saul, grizzled himself, is walking along the lines of men with Abner. The two armies face each other across the brook. The hill sides are wide enough to deploy ranks and devoid of shelter, so that each side has a considerable advantage if it stays on the defensive.

SAUL: Is the giant still there?

ABNER: Almost forty days now.

SAUL: At least that is forty days of peace. There he comes now.

(Saul glares wide eyed as Goliath comes down close to the brook. It is evident even through the mist that the Philistine is enormous. It is also evident to Saul’s practiced eye that he is no threat.)

SAUL: Lame and half blind. I doubt he could walk this far with all that armor.

ABNER: Loud voice, though.

SAUL: It isn’t the giant talking. The man holding the shield is talking for him.

GOLIATH: (He is grossly acromegalic. His brow and jaw jut. His hands are tremendous. He keeps turning his head because his pituitary tumor has destroyed his peripheral vision. The shield bearer, who is just the opposite, a stubby little man of great physical vitality, does the talking while the giant moves his mouth in synch. We suspect that the whole scam is the shield bearer’s idea.) Hear O Israel and Judah. Why are ye come out set in your battle array? Am not I a Philistine and ye servants to Saul? Choose a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he is able to kill me, then we shall be your servants; if I prevail and kill him, ye shall be our servants and serve us.

ABNER: What are we going to do?

SAUL: Just what I would do if there were no Goliath: abide here in safety until the Philistines go away or are foolish enough to try to cross the brook.

(They reach Saul’s test. Saul enters and sits alone. He speaks to himself.)

SAUL: So I have my wish. The killing has stopped. And it is all because of this poor giant. He has persuaded the other Philistines that they do not have to fight. Of course, it would be dangerous to go up against him. He can probably throw that spear very well. Our man would have to contend with the hill and the shield bearer. And that is assuming that they do not simply rush our champion with their army. Well, let the giant stay there. He has done what I could not. He has ended the fighting.

SOLDIER: Armor bearer for the King.

SAUL: Send him in.

DAVID: (Enters exited.) There is a giant in the valley who has challenged all of Israel and Judah.

SAUL: Yes, I know. So you are here to visit your brothers again. And how is your father, Jesse?

DAVID: Very well, O King. This giant.

SAUL: The giant will do very well to stay on that side of the brook. No one wants to go fight him, and I don’t blame them. Let us have some harp music.

DAVID: I will go and fight the Philistine.

SAUL: You? Your only a boy. He is a trained professional.

DAVID: When I kept my father’s sheep and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock and I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth and when he arose against me I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him and thy servant slew both the lion and the bear and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them...

SAUL: That’s quite a story. Look, suppose you try on some armor. (He puts his own helmet on David. It covers his eyes.) That’s not all. Put on this. (Soon David is immobilized under the weight of armor for a very big man.) Now the sword. (He girds his own sword around David. It is too big for David to draw.)

DAVID: (Looking quite foolish.) I can’t fight like this.

SAUL: I don’t think so either. (Removes the armor.)

DAVID: I am better off like I am. (Starts toward the door.)

SAUL: Go, and the Lord be with thee.

SCENE33:

The brook. David, dressed in his shepherd’s tunic, has made his way through the Israelites ranks. As he reaches the brook, he undoes the sling from around his waist. He stoops and carefully selects a few stones from the brook, slipping them into a little bag at his waist. He then moves toward Goliath and the armor bearer.

DAVID: Which of you am I to fight?

GOLIATH: (This time speaking for himself.) By Ashtaroth, a boy. Get out of here, you little brat.

DAVID: Are you so afraid of me there have to be two of you?

GOLIATH: We are waiting for Saul to come out.

DAVID: So you can fall on him with your whole army. But do you need your whole army to fight me?

GOLIATH: (To the armor bearer.) What now?

SCENE34:

Saul’s camp again. A shout has gone up from the army. Saul comes out of his tent.

SAUL: What is it Abner?

ABNER: A champion from our side is going to meet Goliath.

SAUL: Who is it? (Looking intently.) Is that David, Jesse’s son?

ABNER: I don’t have the slightest idea.

SAUL: Find out. (Goes back into his tent. Speaks to himself again.) David. I know it is David. Now I have sent an innocent boy to his death. I didn’t think he would do it. But Goliath will not kill him. Why should he? Only a boy. Goliath will not kill a boy.

SCENE35:

The brook again. Goliath and the shield bearer are still talking.

SHIELD BEARER: They should have sent Saul. Then we could fall on him with the hidden men.

GOLIATH: If the boy comes up this far, he will see the trap.

SHIELD BEARER: He’s only a boy. Maybe you can just scare him away. Besides, when they see the two of you together you will look even bigger.

GOLIATH: It’s worth a try. Grrrrrr! (He goes down the slope as best he can with a sore leg.)

(David puts a stone in his sling and lets fly. He catches Goliath in one eye. The giant drops his sword and falls with his hands over his face. David sprints up the slope and grabs the sword.)

SCENE36:

Saul’s tent again. Despite the tremendous commotion outside, Saul keeps to his chair.

SAUL: (Whispering.) He will not kill the boy. (Goes to the door of the tent. Jonathan and Abner are looking down into the valley.) How goes the fight?

ABNER: He did it!

JONATHAN: Goliath is down!

ABNER: Lead out the troops!

JONATHAN: After them!

SCENE37:

The tent again. Later. Saul and Jonathan sit. Officers stand about relaxed. The have come back from pursuit of the Philistines. There is evidence of the spoils of the Philistine camp.

SOLDIER: Abner. The commander of the army.

SAUL: (Solemnly.) Bid him enter.

ABNER: David, son of Jesse of Bethlehem.

(David enters, holding Goliath’s head. General cheering, but Saul is shocked. He stares at the ground. It is Jonathan who takes over.)

JONATHAN: Mt father offered you his coat of mail, but I offer you my robe. (Takes off his robe and puts it on David. General cheering again.)

SCENE38:

A procession in the city. No chariots. The men all walk. Saul and Abner walk in the lead. Jonathan leads one company of men; David leads another. The cheering is about the same for both. Women are dancing and playing little drums like tambourines.

SAUL: They are cheering for David more than for me or Jonathan.

ABNER: Indeed, great King, the cheering is for all.

WOMEN: Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands.

SAUL: They ascribe ten thousands unto David and thousands unto me. What will this man of Bethlehem want next, if not the kingdom?

ABNER: It is only the music.

(Saul brings his hand across his brow. The procession reaches his house. He enters. Inside, a table is already waiting. The crowd is less, although the notables are all present. They wash and eat.)

SAUL: David. I see my daughter, Michal, has eyes for you. (The girl, who has been waiting very studiously for David turns scarlet.) If you wish it, my blessings. But if you can tear yourself away from her, let us have some music.

DAVID: (Making himself comfortable with his harp.) This is one I learned from my grandmother.

SAUL: (His heavy melancholy is lifting a little.) Your grandmother? (He looks far away.) Let us hear this song of your grandmother.

DAVID: (The song is plaintive, sweet, wistful. Rather like a Swedish folk song.)

O Moab you lovely wonderful land.

You lily of Palestine’s glory.

If a woman of Moab should give me her hand,

I know I should never be sorry.

SAUL: Get out! (Suddenly furious, he takes a spear that is by his side and hurls it. He throws it sideways, but as it hits one side of David’s harp, it flips around and the head impales the other side of the harp and almost impales David. David drops the harp and runs. The others silently get up and go until there is no one but Jonathan.)

JONATHAN: Father, do not sin against David. He has not sinned against thee, and his works have been very good. He slew the Philistines and thou sawest it and didst rejoice. Why wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without cause.

SAUL: These last months, while he has lived among us, he has taken care to make himself popular. Don’t you see what a danger he is to you? To your hope of the throne? I have watched the two of you. You are never apart. At peace or at war, it is always David and Jonathan, Jonathan and David.

JONATHAN: And for this you would kill him?

SAUL: (Downcast at his son’s words.) No, I shall not kill him. I swear it.

JONATHAN: Thank you, father. (Leaves.)

SAUL: Why do I suspect him so? Why do I see him as a threat to the kingdom? Victory after victory he leads us to, along with my son Jonathan. The people love him. I had thought he would be killed in battle, but he is too swift. The hand of God seems to guide him. After every victory, I am more jealous and afraid. Afraid because we cannot fight forever. Well, if he stays here where I can watch him, I can live with it. If he returns to Bethlehem to raise an army against me, at least I shall know where we stand.

Would that these wars should cease. There was little enough hope of that with only Jonathan. But now David, too, goes out and stirs up trouble with the Philistines. Only last month he brought me one hundred foreskins of Philistines he had slain. That is not the way to make peace.

SCENE39:

A field. Jonathan is practicing with bow and arrow. Shouts to the lad who is fetching arrows for him.

JONATHAN: Farther back. The arrow is beyond you. All right, come here. Take these things and run back to the town. (Hands the boy the bow and a quiver full of arrows. The boy goes.)

DAVID: (Emerging from hiding.) Is the King still angry?

JONATHAN: Since he threw the spear at you, his moods have been up and down. Sometimes he is reasonable and swears you no harm. Other times the evil spirit is upon him and none can approach. It was only your harp that could soothe him in such times, and now you are gone.

DAVID: What did he say when I did not come to sit with the King at meat?

JONATHAN: He was furious. He asked where you had gone. As you told me to, I told him you had gone to Bethlehem. He said that proved you to be a traitor. He said you had gone to live in the caves about Bethlehem and draw your kindred and all the criminals and everyone who is discontented and made yourself captain over them to strike against him.

DAVID: I cannot go back.

JONATHAN: No. Your life is not safe.

SCENE40:

Gath. The throne room of king Achish. It is a large room, obviously ver old. A herald hushes the throng.

HERALD: Silence. King Achish of Gath now sits in the mercy seat. Come all who demand a boon and seek it.

DAVID: Great King!

FIRST SERVANT: That’s David, isn’t it?

SECOND SERVANT: Isn’t he the one that they say killed ten thousands of us?

THIRD SERVANT: It is not he who killed Goliath?

HERALD: Silence.

ACHISH: What is your name?

DAVID: Ahhhh.... (He starts to speak, but is overcome by an anxiety attack. His jaw stiffens. He hyperventilates. His knees tremble. He drops to all fours drooling and scrabbling with his fingers.)

ACHISH: This is a madman. You have brought a madman into my court. Get him out of here.

(David is escorted quickly out of the court and out to the road. Alone in the dark, he speaks.)

DAVID: There is nowhere I can turn. All Israel and Judah are after me because of Saul. And there is not another land who does not know of me because of the wars. I’ll go back to Bethlehem.

SCENE41:

Saul and his army are on the march. They stop under a tree.

SAUL: Are you all against me? Why doesn’t anybody tell me where David is? Why didn’t anybody tell me he had a covenant with my son Jonathan?

ABNER: We should have him soon. While we were coming around this side of the mountain, our scouts say David and his men went around the other side. If we hurry we can catch him.

SAUL: Traitors. The land is full of traitors. They feed him the sacred bread from the altar. They give him weapons. No one takes pity on me.

ABNER: Why all this effort for one criminal? We have spent months going after him. We put a whole town to the sword. But he is only one man with a few hundred desperate fellows with him.

SAUL: If it is not important, why can’t we find him?

MESSENGER: Message for King Saul.

SAUL: Report.

MESSENGER: The Philistines have invaded.

SAUL: We will go after them. Look, we already have the whole army on the march.

A cave. Saul lies on the ground. Abner sits beside him, eyes wide. A soldier comes to the mouth of the cave with breakfast. Abner raises his hand abruptly for silence. The soldier freezes in his tracks.

SAUL: I am awake. (Sits up.) I slept well for the first time since I can remember.

(Breakfast is laid. Saul and Abner eat.)

SAUL: How long on the march this time?

ABNER: Three weeks since the last battle with the Philistines.

SAUL: He is smart, this David. When the Philistines come into this part of Judah, David fights them with his own men so that we do not come.

ABNER: It is always war. Now against the Philistines, now against David.

SAUL: But we cannot let bandits and traitors loose in the land.

(They finish and leave the cave. When they are several yards below, David suddenly appears on a rock above them.)

DAVID: Saul!

SAUL: David!

DAVID: Do not believe those that tell you I am a traitor. I would never hurt you. If I meant you harm, I would have done it last night. Look, I can prove it. (He holds up a strip of cloth.) I cut it from your robe as you slept last night.

SAUL: (Looks at his robe, and finds a piece missing.) you could have killed me in my sleep.

DAVID: The Lord delivered you into my hands. Some of my men said to kill you, but I spared you. The Lord judge me. My hand is not against the King. What are you chasing? A dog. No, a flea. I am nothing for you to worry about.

SAUL: (Weeping.) O David, David. You reward me with good when I have offered you evil. You are right. It is too long since you were with me.

DAVID: Farewell, Saul.

SAUL: Farewell. Spare my son, Jonathan.

DAVID: I swear.

SAUL: Abner. Martial the men. We march for home.

SCENE42:

Saul’s tent at Gilboa. The sun is setting. Saul and Abner stand at the door of the tent and watch the sun go down. They look at the camp of the Philistines.

ABNER: The Philistines are many this time.

SAUL: I have never seen so many.

ABNER: The Lord be with us again.

SAUL: I have received no word from the Lord. No dream and no word from the prophets.

ABNER: There has not been another prophet like Samuel.

SAUL: Samuel. Would that I could see Samuel.

ABNER: He has been dead these years. The only way to see Samuel is by witchcraft, and you have put away all the witches and wizards out of the land.

SAUL: (His hand goes to the little stone on a string around his neck.) There may still be witches in secret. Find one.

SCENE43:

The house of the witch of Endor. It is raining outside. The witch is burning a powder over a lamp. The place is littered with odd looking devices. There is a pounding at the door. The witch takes the lamp and opens the door. Three cloaked men stand in the rain. Saul is disguised.

SAUL: Divine for me, bring me up him whom I name

WITCH: Saul has driven all witches from the land. You are setting a trap from me. A snare for my life.

SAUL: I swear there shall be no punishment for you.

(The men come in. Saul sits near the table, the two men lean against the wall.)

WITCH: Whom shall I bring up unto thee?

SAUL: Bring me up Samuel.

(The witch stoops and stares for a long time. She looks at the ground. Presently, the room seems to grow darker. There is a moaning, but whether it is from the witch or from the ground where she is staring is not clear.)

WITCH: (With a scream of terror.) Thou art Saul. Thou hast deceived me. I shall die. Why?

SAUL: (Voice of sure command for the first time in a long time.) Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. What do you see?

WITCH: I saw the earth open to the pit of hell. I saw devils swirling in and out of the earth.

SAUL: What do you see?

WITCH: I see an old man coming up. He has a mantle over his head. His eyes are terrible.

(The face of Samuel is visible in the dirt floor of the house.)

SAMUEL: Why hath thou disquieted me, to bring me up out of my place?

SAUL: I am sore distressed. The Philistines make war against me, God has departed from me and I do not know what I shall do.

SAMUEL: Why speak to men, seeing the Lord is thine enemy? The Lord has rent the kingdom from thee and given it to David. Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel and thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me in the pit.

(The face vanishes. Saul collapses.)

WITCH: (Kneeling beside him.) I have put my life in my hand and hearkened unto thy words. Hearken thou unto thy handmaid. Let me set a morsel of bread before thee, that thou mayest have strength. Thou hast not eaten all day and all night.

SAUL: No. Why eat?

FIRST SERVANT: So we don’t have to force it down you, O King.

SAUL: So be it.

(They eat simply and then start out from the house. The rain has stopped.)

FIRST SERVANT: There is no strength in witchcraft.

SECOND SERVANT: These devils can do nothing but lie.

FIRST SERVANT: I understand a devil cannot tell the truth even if it is for an evil purpose.

SECOND SERVANT: Much less a good purpose.

SAUL: (Removing the stone from around his neck.) At least you speak the truth.)

SCENE44:

The last battle at Gilboa. There is a long saddle shaped ridge. Saul has lined his army along the ridge top. The steeper side of the ridge is behind them. The valley before them is shallow. The Philistines are already between the river and the ridge. Abner and Saul inspect the ranks.

ABNER: The ridge is just a little to long for us. It stretches us out.

SAUL: Would that David were here with his men.

ABNER: Would we have not a cliff at our back. It would be impossible to move reinforcements.

SAUL: We have none.

ABNER: Here they come.

(As the battle unfolds, the Philistines advance in a mass up the middle. Jonathan leads his men done in a flanking maneuver, but it leaves a gap in the line. Philistines pour through the gap and start rolling the Israelite line back off the ridge. Abner leads a flank down in a desperate charge to turn the other flank, but the attack withers under the Philistine archery. The Israelite line breaks in a half dozen circles. Abner’s circle collapses quickly. Saul breaks through the encircling line and into an adjacent circle, where he finds his sons Abinadab and Melchishua slain. The circle breaks up and he is alone again. Roaring and bristling with arrows, he breaks into the last remaining circle. Jonathan is dying of a spear wound.)

SAUL: Jonathan!

JONATHAN: Father. I’m sorry.

(The last circle breaks up. The Philistines close in on Saul. He looks up and howls.)

SAUL: My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me?

SCENE45:

Suddenly it is very quiet. The scene is still visible, but very bright and except for the center, blank white. It is silent except for a voice that continues:

VOICE: Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night I am not silent. Our fathers trusted in thee and thou did deliver them. But I am a worm, a reproach and despised of the people. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth into my jaws.

PHILISTINE VOICE: (Heard at a great distance through the hush.) We got Saul.

SECOND PHILISTINE VOICE: Let’s nail him to the wall.

(Through the white haze, Saul’s body is seen being taken to Bethshan, the city of the Philistines, where they fasten it to the wall, arms spread.)

VOICE: The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. They part my garments among them and cast lots for my vesture.

SCENE46:

The scene clears. The voice belongs to David, now an old man, sitting on a stool before the tent. He is playing the harp with gnarled old fingers. Seated on a cloth on the ground beside him is Abishag. She is a beautiful young woman. The psalm is making her very sad.

DAVID: (Goes on.) But be not thou far from me. O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver me from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lions mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn. (Pauses.)

ABISHAG: It is such a sad song, King David. Is it about Saul?

DAVID: Yes it is, Abishag.

ABISHAG: Why do you sing about that wicked old king?

DAVID: (Looking away with filmed eyes.) He wasn’t wicked. He was the best. He never led a life of sin. Anger, but not sin. If he had a fault, it was being too merciful. Or expecting God to forgive him when he asked for it; he knew he made mistakes. Or expecting God to speak to him when he asked. He was the first king to rule over all Israel and Judah. My son, Solomon, will be the last to rule over all Israel and Judah, the last until the end of time. Saul was a good king. He was a good man.

ABISHAG: You loved him, didn’t you?

DAVID: Yes. I love him still.

ABISHAG: Make your next song a happy one, please.

(David strums his harp. The scene fades to Saul as a young man working with his sheep near his father’s tent.)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.