NOTE:
This post has been withdrawn. The post has been published in my book, Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. The approach taken in the book is to compare how different translations have approached difficult texts in the Old Testament. The goal of the book is to invite readers to reread the biblical text in light of the new understanding of the intent of the original writer of the text. You can order the book from Amazon.
Rereading the Biblical Text
Visit my Amazon author’s page to purchase the book (click here).
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
A Note About This Post:
Before “King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes” was withdrawn for publication, “King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes” was read by 2761 readers. “King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes” was also shared 2 times by readers who enjoyed reading the post. You can read “King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes” and other articles on problems in Bible translation by reading my book Rereading the Biblical Text: Searching for Meaning and Understanding. Below is the content of the book:
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments – Page xi
Abbreviations – Page xii
Introduction – Page xv
SECTION 1 — THE PENTATEUCH
Chapter 1. The Creation of Animals in Genesis 2:19 – Page 3
Chapter 2. The Serpent Was Right (Genesis 3) – Page 7
Chapter 3. The Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15) – Page 11
Chapter 4. Were They Really Giants? (Genesis 6:4) – Page 17
Chapter 5. “As Far as Dan” (Gen 14:14) – Page 20
Chapter 6. Abraham and the Promises of God – Page (Genesis 12:7) – Page 23
Chapter 7. The Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:8) – Page 26
Chapter 8. The Rape of Bilhah (Genesis 35:22) – Page 29
Chapter 9. Miriam, a Leader in Israel (Exodus 15:20) – Page 32
Chapter 10. Azazel (Leviticus 16:8-10) – Page 35
Chapter 11. Understanding Numbers 24:24 – Page 38
SECTION 2 — THE HISTORICAL BOOKS
Chapter 12. The Levite and His Concubine (Judges 19:1–30) – Page 43
Chapter 13. The Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 47
Chapter 14. The Fate of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 4750
Chapter 15. The Virginity of Jephthah’s Daughter (Judges 10:6–12:7) – Page 54
Chapter 16. Who Went Back to the City? (Ruth 3:15) – Page 59
Chapter 17. Was Ruth Barren? (Ruth 4:13) – Page 59
Chapter 18. King Saul: Little in His Own Eyes (1 Samuel 15:17) – Page 63
Chapter 19. How Old Was Saul? (1 Samuel 13:1) – Page 64
Chapter 20. David and Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4) – Page 67
Chapter 21. David’s Sons Were Priests ((2 Samuel 8:18) – Page 70
Chapter 22. “Him that Pisseth against the Wall” (1 Samuel 25:22) – Page 72
Chapter 23. Whose Cloak Did Ahijah Tear? (1Kinga 11:4–7) – Page 78
Chapter 24. The Challenges of Parenthood (2 Kinga 21:25–26) – Page 82
SECTION 3 — THE WISDOM AND POETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 25. Psalm 8:5: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 87
Chapter 26. Understanding Psalm 17:14 – Page 90
Chapter 27. Jezebel’s Wedding Song (Psalm 45:1–17) – Page 93
Chapter 28. Psalm 100:3: In Search of a Better Translation – Page 99
Chapter 29. Sons or Children? (Psalm 127:3-5) – Page 103
Chapter 30. Proverbs 29:18 – Page 106
Chapter 31. “Black and Beautiful” or “Black but Beautiful”? (Song of Songs 1:5) – Page 108
SECTION 4 — THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS
Chapter 32. The Use of Gender Inclusive Language (Isaiah 9:1) – Page 115
Chapter 33. “You Have Increased Their Joy” (Isaiah 9:3) – Page 118
Chapter 34. Who Will the Messiah Strike? (Isaiah 11:4) – Page 120
Chapter 35. The Way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3) – Page 122
Chapter 36. “All Their Goodliness” (Isa 40:6) – Page 126
Chapter 37. The Proclaimer of Good News (Isaiah 40:9) – Page 129
Chapter 38. The Problem of Divorce in the Old Testament (Isaiah 50:1) – Page 132
Chapter 39. Beulah Land (Isaiah 62:4) – Page 135
Chapter 40. The Balm of Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22) – Page 138
Chapter 41. The Mother of Seven (Jeremiah 15:9) – Page 142
Chapter 42. The Coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 144
Chapter 43. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel (Daniel 9:25–27) – Page 148
Chapter 44. The Knowledge of God (Hosea 4:1) – Page 152
Chapter 45. The Word “Hesed” in the Book of Hosea (Hosea 4:1) – Page 154
Chapter 46. The Word “Justice” in Amos (Amos 5:24) – Page 157
Chapter 47. “What the Lord Requires” (Micah 6:8) – Page 160
Bibliography – Page 165
Index of Subjects – Page 169
Index of Authors – Page 171
Index of Scriptures and Other Ancient Documents – Page 173
Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
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Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
I agree with you — a call to ministry can only, ultimately, be given by God. Others have to seek God’s guidance in deciding whether a person should be ordained.I can’t swallow, however, that you use Leviticus 18 alone to question whether a homosexual person should be ordained. Do you think that other abominations from Leviticus have been removed while this one has not?
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I’m doing a Bible study on King Saul and King David. I stumbled on your site via google. I found your posting very informative. At times, I feel sorry for Saul….other times, I feel frustrated with him that he had God’s spirit upon him and chose to disobey. Either way, King Saul’s story is an example for us today. It is so easy to fall into the trap of worrying about what others think or worrying about what we look like. What a comfort and a reminder to know that the Lord looks at the inside…..and that we are indeed of great value. Thank you for your posting.
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Dear Friend,Thank you for your nice comments. When one studies Saul’s life, one discovers that he was under a lot of stress and this prompted him to make all kinds of wrong decisions.I am glad my post was of help to you. I write for people like you, people who love studying the Bible.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claude Mariottini
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I am a pastor doing a sermon series on the first 3 kings of Isreal. I found your comments on Saul to be very helpful. Thank you for posting.
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Pastor Ran,You are welcome. All my posts are written to help pastors and seminary students develop a better appreciation for the Old Testament and the Word of God.
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claude Mariottini
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Thanks for the wisdom. I too am a recovering insecure person. I too realize that I need to please the Lord and find my worth in Him and not to fear man.Also Saul was trying to hard to save “money” by keeping the spoils. I do that too. The Lord is rich and I need to just obey, and not worry about financial consequences.
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Dear Friend,The grace of God is sufficient to help us in this situation. We may be insecure in ourselves but we have to remember who we are in Christ. God is our Rock and when we build our lives on this Rock, we know that he will never abandon us.
May the Lord bless you as you trust in the Lord to keep you and provide for you.
Claude Mariottini
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Dear Pastor,
Today I just searched some materials to prepare my sermon. your ideas inspired me a lot of.
Thanks!
fenfen Nanjing, China
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Dear Fenfen,
Thank you for visiting my blog. I am glad to know that my post was helpful to you.If you search some of my posts, you will find good material that can help you with Bible study and sermon preparation.I write my posts for pastors and lay people. Welcome to my blog.
Claude Mariottini
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The script is true about Saul. He made many mistakes due to his low self esteem. I understand that you view point of when he started the feeling could be from when Samuel criticized him, but my question is how was Saul’s upbringing? Most of the time people’s reactions in relationship when they are adults comes way back from childhood.
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Silas,
We don’t know much about Saul’s upbringing. His father was somewhat rich and there is no information about Saul when he was young. Sometimes when a person like Saul becomes a leader, the pressures of the office make an impact on that person. This is what I think happened to Saul.
Claude Mariottini
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