Endnote 4 – Saul as Sacrifice

In the biblical text, sacrifice is often a barometer of social well-being. In Judges, for example, a society in disarray is represented by grotesque parodies of sacrifice: the killing of the fat king Eglon (Judges 3:15–23), the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:29–39) and the dismemberment of the Levite’s concubine (Judges 19:27–29). Social renewal or restoration, similarly, is signified by correctly performed sacrifices, as in the revivals under Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29) and Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:1–19).