No Crown in Chronicles for King Saul

I Chronicles.8:33

Amichai Lau-Lavie (he/him)

Jun 09, 2025

The tribe of Benjamin had one famous son who became the first king of the tribal confederation. But you would not know it by reading today’s chapter that lists the lineage of this youngest of tribes and one of the strongest.

In yet another long line of lineages that make up this chapter, nestled there in verse 33, without fanfare, are these familiar, famous names:

וְנֵר֙ הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־קִ֔ישׁ וְקִ֖ישׁ הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־שָׁא֑וּל וְשָׁא֗וּל הוֹלִ֤יד אֶת־יְהֽוֹנָתָן֙ וְאֶת־מַלְכִּישׁ֔וּעַ וְאֶת־אֲבִינָדָ֖ב וְאֶת־אֶשְׁבָּֽעַל׃

Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, Saul begot Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal;

I Chronicles.8:33

That’s it. That’s Saul. The first king of Israel. The anointed one by Samuel the Seer. No title, no reign, no triumph or tragedy—just a name on a list.

If you blink, you might miss His Majesty.

And that, it seems, is the point.

Chronicles is doing something intentional here. Unlike the Book of Samuel, where Saul’s story is central—messy, majestic, tragic—Chronicles offers no such depth. Instead - it’s a dismissive mention. Also missing here is the name of his wife, Queen Ahinoam, and their famous daughters, Princesses of Israel. One of them, Michal, would be David’s queen.

As Sarah Japhet explains, the Chronicler is not interested in recounting the northern kingdom’s past glories. His focus is theological and political: the House of David is the chosen house, Jerusalem is the chosen city, and Saul is an inconvenient shadow.

David, by contrast, gets royal treatment.

His many wives and sons are listed in Chapter 3, complete with biographical notes. His reign is dated and geographically situated—Hebron, then Jerusalem. The narrative pauses to honor him.

Saul? Not a word. Unlike the longer narrative in Samuel - even his wives and children are not mentioned here.

Jacob Wright notes that “the Chronicler does not erase Saul entirely but diminishes him into irrelevance”—a subtle strategy of memory management. You can’t delete Saul, but you can demote his dynasty.

This editorial move matters. As we keep seeing, Chronicles is not merely history—it’s curated memory, composed after the exile to offer hope, order, and legitimacy to a fragile, post-trauma community. But also doing so by dismissing other tribal traditions and regal claims to crown and power, leadership and law.

And in that sacred story, Saul—flawed, failed, and from the wrong tribe—is a threat to the tidy theology of divine election. A few chapters ahead Chronicles will devote verses to Saul’s death in battle, blaming him for his own fall. It’s a setup for why David matters more.

And perhaps this is a cautionary tale—not just about Saul, but about us. Who do we choose to remember, and how? What truths do we minimize in the stories we tell about power, failure, and leadership? Who gets the final word about our origin stories?

The Bible teaches us to read between the lines.

Sometimes, the silence speaks loudest. Saul’s story lives on.

Want more Saul and David?

If you have not yet watched the new TV series House of David on Amazon Prime - I invite you to binge the Game of Thrones style homage to this biggest of biblical sagas- with impressive detail and a great cast including Palestinian-Israeli actor Ali Suliman who plays the increasingly psychotic King Saul and Ayelet Zurer as his wise, elegant queen.

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Below the Bible Belt

No Crown in Chronicles for King Saul

I Chronicles.8:33

The tribe of Benjamin had one famous son who became the first king of the tribal confederation. But you would not know it by reading today’s chapter that lists the lineage of this youngest of tribes and one of the strongest.

In yet another long line of lineages that make up this chapter, nestled there in verse 33, without fanfare, are these familiar, famous names:

וְנֵר֙ הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־קִ֔ישׁ וְקִ֖ישׁ הוֹלִ֣יד אֶת־שָׁא֑וּל וְשָׁא֗וּל הוֹלִ֤יד אֶת־יְהֽוֹנָתָן֙ וְאֶת־מַלְכִּישׁ֔וּעַ וְאֶת־אֲבִינָדָ֖ב וְאֶת־אֶשְׁבָּֽעַל׃

Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, Saul begot Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal;

I Chronicles.8:33

That’s it. That’s Saul. The first king of Israel. The anointed one by Samuel the Seer. No title, no reign, no triumph or tragedy—just a name on a list.

If you blink, you might miss His Majesty.

And that, it seems, is the point.

As Sarah Japhet explains, the Chronicler is not interested in recounting the northern kingdom’s past glories. His focus is theological and political: the House of David is the chosen house, Jerusalem is the chosen city, and Saul is an inconvenient shadow.

David, by contrast, gets royal treatment.

His many wives and sons are listed in Chapter 3, complete with biographical notes. His reign is dated and geographically situated—Hebron, then Jerusalem. The narrative pauses to honor him.

Saul? Not a word. Unlike the longer narrative in Samuel - even his wives and children are not mentioned here.

Jacob Wright notes that “the Chronicler does not erase Saul entirely but diminishes him into irrelevance”—a subtle strategy of memory management. You can’t delete Saul, but you can demote his dynasty.

And in that sacred story, Saul—flawed, failed, and from the wrong tribe—is a threat to the tidy theology of divine election. A few chapters ahead Chronicles will devote verses to Saul’s death in battle, blaming him for his own fall. It’s a setup for why David matters more.

And perhaps this is a cautionary tale—not just about Saul, but about us. Who do we choose to remember, and how? What truths do we minimize in the stories we tell about power, failure, and leadership? Who gets the final word about our origin stories?

The Bible teaches us to read between the lines.

Sometimes, the silence speaks loudest. Saul’s story lives on.

Want more Saul and David?

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