Saul was an ancient Israelite king who ruled parts of the southern Levant around the time of the late 11th-early 10th century BC. He was the first king of Israel, who managed to unite the majority of the Israelite people under his centralized authority, and fought wars with surrounding peoples, most notably the Philistines. Saul is very well known from the biblical texts; in particular, the first book of Samuel, which contains extensive narratives regarding his kingship and personal life.

What, though, was the exact territory that King Saul ruled? What were the borders of his territory? I will explore this question in this post.

Certain biblical texts can be useful in reconstructing the territory of King Saul in history. If a text can be demonstrated to most likely preserve authentic historical memories from the time of King Saul, then it can be used for historical reconstruction. I will primarily be focusing on the biblical texts in this post, and will leave the specific archaeological data on King Saul for a later post.

One biblical text that can be useful in the reconstruction of the borders of Saulide Israel in the territorial list found in 2 Samuel 2:8-9. This list records the territories that were in the dominion of Eshbaal, Saul’s son and regnal successor.

Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.  He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.

This list is widely taken as having preserved authentic memories of the borders of the Saulide state (Finkelstein 2006, p. 178-179; Grabbe 2016, p. 90; Edelman 1992, p. 996). This is because the unique list does not correspond to any other later territorial reality in the history of Israel. It correctly places core Israel’s core centers of power in the central hill country. Furthermore, given Eshbaal’s short reign in the biblical text, it is unlikely that the borders and administration of the Israelite state changed much since the reign of Saul, and so this list can used to reconstruct Israel’s borders under King Saul, as well.

It has been noted that the Hebrew text of 2 Samuel 2:9 uses different propositions when referring to the different divisions of Saulide Israel. The text uses the proposition ‘al (“over”) when referring to the territories of Benjamin and Ephraim, and uses the proposition ‘el (“to”) when referring to the territories of Gilead, the Ashurites, and Jezreel. As Diana Edelman suggests, Eshbaal’s becoming king “over” the territories of Benjamin and Ephraim probably refers to the territories that were directly ruled by the king and constituted his core territory, whereas the other territories where “to” is used – Gilead, the Ashurites, and Jezreel – were areas where Saul’s (and later, Eshbaal’s) authority would have been recognized, but which were not directly administered by the state (Edelman 1992, Ibid; see also Finkelstein 2006, p. 179).

Let’s look at each of the administrative divisions in Israel under Saul.

Benjamin

The territory of Benjamin is one of the territories mentioned in the list of 2 Samuel 2:9. The Saulide territorial district of Benjamin would have corresponded to the territory of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin. This district would have been located north of the Jerusalem hill country, comprising of the hill country to the south of Wadi Suweinit and north of Jerusalem, its plains to its west that bordered Philistine territory, and the hills to the east of the plains (Edelman 1992, p. 998).

The Benjaminite district was Israel’s center of power under King Saul. Saul himself was a Benjaminite, and many sites that play a prominent role in the history of Saul given in the biblical narratives – sites like Mishmash, Ramah, Geba, Mizpah, Gilgal, Nob, etc. – are all located around this area. Saul’s capital was in Gibeah, a site in Benjaminite territory (1 Samuel 11:4; 15:34; 22:6).

Ephraim

The territorial district of Ephraim is also mentioned in the list of 2 Samuel 2:9. It – like Benjamin to its south – would have been considered a part of “core Israel” under King Saul. This district would have been located in the hill country north of Benjamin, south of the Northern Valleys, and west of the Sharon Plain; its northwestern and northeastern borders may have been the Dothan Valley and Wadi al Far’a respectively (Edelman 1992, p. 997). Clans from the Israelite tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Issachar (cf. Judges 10:1) would have been settled in this territory.

Gilead

The next territorial district to be discussed is the district of Gilead, which is mentioned in the 2 Samuel 2:9 list. This was territory that Saul was only king “to”, meaning that it would not have been considered as core Saulide territory.

The district of Gilead would have corresponded to the Israelite territory located to the east of the Jordan River, which was occupied by clans from the tribes of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben. Mahanaim would have been a main center in this region (2 Samuel 2:8). It is questionable as to whether Jabesh-gilead would have been a part of Saul’s territory. When negotiating with the Jabesh-gileadites in 2 Samuel 2:4-7, David uses a Hebrew treaty term translated “to do goodness”, which indicates that, rather than being directly a part of Saul’s kingdom, Jabesh-gilead was probably a vassal city to Israel during Saul’s reign by treaty relations (Edelman 1984, p. 202-203; 1992, p. 993).

“The Ashurites“

“The Ashurites” are mentioned as another territorial unit within Saul’s Israel in 2 Samuel 2:9, which was not a part of the core of the kingdom of Israel during Saul’s reign.

The location of this territorial unit is somewhat confusing. One may think that it corresponds to the territory of the tribe of Asher, who were settled in the coastal plains of the Galilee region in northern Israel, near Phoenicia (Joshua 19:24-31). However, this is very unlikely, for two reasons. Firstly, Galilee as a whole does not appear in the 2 Samuel 2:9 list, and so was probably not a part of Saul’s territory. Secondly, the coastal plains were probably not populated by Israelites at all during this time period; the Bible claims that the Israelites failed to drive the Canaanites out of this region (Judges 1:27-36), and v. 31 of Judges 1 explicitly mentions the tribe of Asher as having failed to drive the Canaanites out of their allotted territory. Archaeological evidence seems to also indicate that the coastal plains were populated by non-Israelite peoples at this time and that this territory only became Israelite in later periods (Lee-Sak 2023).

Diana Edelman has proposed that the Ashurites of Saul’s kingdom can be identified with an enclave of clans from the tribe of Asher who settled in the central hill country of Ephraim. She argues the following,

In addition to the traditional tribe of Asher which was located north-west of the Sea of Galilee, bordering the Phoenician coast (Joshua 19:24-31), the Ashurites in v. 9 could refer to an Asherite enclave which apparently broke off from the northern Galilean ‘tribe’ and moved south, settling west of Benjamin and Ephraim in central Palestine. A group of scholars has pointed out that the Asherite clans of Beriah, Serah, Heber, and Shomer/Shemer also appear in the Benjaminite genealogies. In addition, the Asherite Japhlet has been equated with the Japhletites in Joshua 16:3, and Shelesh/Shalishah and Shual in the Saulide narratives. To the latter group, I would add the possible equation of Zophah (1 Chron. 7:35) with the land of Zuph (1 Sam. 1:1; 9:5). Textual details locate former Asherite clans at Aijalon, Upper and Lower Beth Horon, ‘Uzzen-she’erah, Lod, Ono, the area north of Lower Beth Horon, Bir Zeit, and perhaps at Timnath-serah.

Edelman 1985, p. 86.

This view has been criticized by Nadav Na’aman, who argues that, “originally the genealogy of 1 Chr 7:31b-39 has nothing to do with the Asherite geneaology in vv. 30-1 . Its affiliation with Asher is the work of the Chronicler who identified Heber, the son of Beriah and grandson of Asher (Gen 46 :17; Num 26:44- 45}, with Heber, the founder of the genealogy in 1 Chr 7:32-39, thus assigning the latter genealogy to the Galilean tribe of Asher. There is no basis for the assurrption of an Asherite enclave situated in the region west of Benjamin and Ephraim.” (Na’aman 1990, p. 35). Na’aman reconstructs the toponym rendered “the Ashurites” as “to the boundary of the Geshurites”, suggesting that Saul’s Transjordanian borders reached as far as the Aramean kingdom of Geshur (cf. 2 Samuel 13:37).

In any case, the ambiguity of the location of the “Ashurites” or “Geshurites” does not affect the reconstruction of Saulide borders in much of a meaningful way. Both interpretations lead to similar borders for the Saulide state.

Jezreel

The final territorial division from the 2 Samuel 2:9 list that will be discussed is that of Jezreel. This territory, too, (if it is to be interpreted that way) was not a part of Saul’s core kingdom.

This territory, too, is somewhat ambiguous, because archaeological research has shown that the Jezreel Valley was not Israelite in this period (Arie 2023). The biblical data support this notion (Judges 1:27). It is likely that Saul did not rule over the Jezreel Valley, but rather, it would have been the northern boundary of his territory. Diana Edelman suggests that the Jezreel toponym in the list refers to the territory in northern Manasseh, around the territory of Mt. Gilboa where Saul was reportedly killed (Edelman 2012, p. 997). On the other hand, Nadav Na’aman reconstructs the 2 Samuel 2:9 record as reporting that Saul’s borders extended “up to” the Valley of Jezreel and the territory of the Geshurites (Na’aman 1990, p. 36-37). Regardless, the territorial reconstruction is the same; Saul ruled as far north as the territories of northern Manasseh just south of the Jezreel Valley.

According to 1 Samuel 31, Saul and multiple of his sons were killed in a military engagement with the Philistines in the area of Mt. Gilboa. If this narrative preserves historical memories, then it may indicate that Saul tried to expand his territory into the Jezreel Valley, and failed, losing his life in the process.

Territories Not Ruled by Saul

Saul did not rule over the Galilee region or the coastal plains region of Canaan. Neither of these regions are mentioned in the 2 Samuel 2:9 list, and they were probably – by and large – not Israelite in this period.

One big question that one may ask is whether Saul ruled over the territory south of Benjamin; that is, Judah. A good amount of scholars do not believe that Judah was a part of Saul’s territory (Grabbe 2016, p. 103; Edelman 2012, p. 998). Judah is not mentioned in the 2 Samuel 2:9 list, though one can perhaps explain this on the basis of the lists’ describing Israelite territory after David established a rival monarchy in the Judean highlands (cf. 2 Samuel 2:4). It is also worth noting that, in the narratives of 1 Samuel, David is portrayed as having fled from Saul down into Judah and conducted ‘apriu-like activities, which seems to imply that Judah was on the fringe of Saul’s kingdom rather than being a part of it. This is bolstered by the fact that Saul planned to besiege the Judean city of Keilah (2 Samuel 23:8) in the Shephelah.

However, it also seems that Saul did have significant influence in Judah. Saul engaged in a conflict with the Philistines in the Valley of Elah in Judah (1 Samuel 17), and was also able to move forces through Judean territory in search of David. Other biblical texts indicate that Saul had political influence with the Judeans (1 Samuel 16:18-23; 23:19; 26:1).

It seems that Saul probably had significant political influence in Judah and controlled parts of the Judean highlands south of Benjamin. However, this was the fringe of Saul’s state, and much of Judah was probably also controlled by the Philistines and by independent polities in the region. Perhaps a part of Saul’s foreign policy was territorial expansion south into the Judean hill country and the Shephelah.

Conclusion

King Saul ruled over an Israelite polity that was in its early stage of development when compared to the later Northern Kingdom of the late 10th-8th centuries B.C. We can accurately approximate the territory that he ruled over from our available historical sources that seem to preserve accurate historical memories.

Saul ruled over the entire central hill country (“core Israel”) – up to the valley of Jezreel -, with the center of his polity in the territory of Benjamin. Saul also ruled over parts of Gilead in the Transjordan, and likely also controlled parts of Judah, a region where he had significant political influence. Territories that were out of Saul’s control included other parts of Judah and the Negev (probably most, if not all, of the territory south of the Judean hill country), the coastal plains, the northern valleys, the Galilee, and other parts of Gilead.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arie, Eran. “Canaanites in a Changing World: The Jezreel Valley in the

Edelman, Diana. “Saul’s Rescue of Jabesh-Gilead (I Sam 11 1-11): Sorting Story from History.” (1984): 195-209.

Edelman, Diana. “The ‘Ashurites’ of Eshbaal’s State (2 Sam. 2.9).” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 117.2 (1985): 85-91.

Edelman, Diana. “Saul.” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary vol. 5, ed, David N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday (2012): 989–99.

Finkelstein, Israel. “The last Labayu: king Saul and the expansion of the first north israelite territorial entity.” AMIT, Y.; BEN ZVI, E.; FINKELSTEIN, I (2006): 171-187.

Finkelstein, Israel. The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel. Society of Biblical Literature, 2013.

Grabbe, Lester L. “The Mighty Men of Israel: 1-2 Samuel and Historicity.” The books of Samuel (2016): 83-104.

Lee-Sak, Yitzhak. “The Solomonic Districts and the Nimshide Dynasty Administrative System in the Southern Levant.” Religions 14.5 (2023): 598.

Naʾaman, Nadav. “The kingdom of Ishbaal.” Biblische Notizen54 (1990): 33-37.