The New Student's Reference Work/Saul

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Saul, the first king of Israel, was the son of Kish, a wealthy chief of the tribe of Benjamin. Gigantic in frame, noble in mien and commanding in character, he was well-fitted to unite the tribes. His deliverance of Jabesh Gilead and his victories over the Philistines, Ammonites and Amalekites gave unmistakable proof of ability as a soldier. But soon he became possessed of a wild madness which found vent in an insane jealousy of David, his son-in-law and the chief of his bodyguard, and in a fit of rage attempted David's life with his own hand. Saul fell in a disastrous and bloody battle with the Philistines on Mt. Gilboa about B. C. 1020.