Protestantism
English
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,1
- reigned one…: Heb. the son of one year in his reigning
Saul was forty years old when he began to reign; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
A son of a year is Saul in his reigning, yea, two years he hath reigned over Israel,
Saul was...years old when he became king; and he reigned two years over Israel.
Saul nowe had beene King one yeere, and he reigned two yeeres ouer Israel.
Saul was … years old when he began to reign. And when he had reigned two years over Israel,
1 Saul’s selected band. 3 He calls the Hebrews to Gilgal against the Philistines, whose garrison Jonathan had smitten. 5 The Philistines’ great host. 6 The distress of the Israelites. 8 Saul weary of staying for Samuel, sacrifices. 11 Samuel reproves him. 17 The three spoiling bands of the Philistines. 19 The policy of the Philistines, to suffer no smith in Israel.
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
Saul was thirty years old1 when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.2
- A few late LXX manuscripts; MT Saul was a son of a year
- Or over Israel forty years (see Acts 13:21); MT over Israel two years
Saul was----1 years old when he began to reign; and two years he reigned over Israel.
- The number is wanting in the Hebrew.
Saul was as a son of one year when [he began] to reign, and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
Saul Rules over Israel
Saul was thirty1 ⌞years old⌟2 at the beginning of his reign, and he reigned forty-two years3 over Israel.
- A few LXX manuscripts have “thirty,” but the number of years is missing from the Masoretic Hebrew text
- Literally “a son of years”
- The Masoretic Hebrew text reads “two years” here, but this number seems far too small; either it is not correct or part of the number is missing (the present translation supplies “forty”); other English versions differ as to Saul’s age at coronation and the total years of his reign
It was one year since Saul became king, then he reigned two more years over Israel.
Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two more years over Israel,
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,1
- reigned one…: Heb. the son of one year in his reigning.
Saul was [thirty] years old when he began to reign; and, when he had reigned two years over Israel,
Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,1
- reigned one...: Heb. the son of one year in his reigning
Catholicism
English
Saul was a child of one year when he began to reign, and he reigned two years over Israel.
The war between Saul and the Philistines. The distress of the Israelites. Saul offers sacrifice before the coming of Samuel: for which he is reproved.
When he began to reign, Saul was the son of1 one year, and he reigned over Israel for two years.23
- 13:1son of Usually, when the age of a person in the Old Testament is stated, the expression ‘son of …’ is not used. Instead, the age is simply stated plainly. The use of ‘son of …’ indicates a figure of speech, not a statement of the number of years from birth. The expression “son of …” is a common idiomatic expression in Hebrew. Examples: son of death, a dead body; son of perdition, one who is lost; sons of adulterers, these ‘sons’ are not the children of persons who have committed adultery, but rather it is the sons themselves who have committed adultery, behaving as if they are sons of adultery personified.(Conte)
- 13:1reigned ... two years Saul was appointed king by the people one year after he was anointed king by Samuel, that is, one year after the Spirit of the Lord came to him, so that he became a new man with a new heart, as explained in chapter ten. That is why Sacred Scripture says figuratively that Saul was the son of one year when his reign began. Then Saul reigned for two years after being appointed king by the people. The foolish claim that the correct numbers have been dropped from the text must be false. God’s providence does not permit even the least truth to drop out of Sacred Scripture, nor to become corrupted, nor the least falsehood to enter into Sacred Scripture. Also, from a human point of view, the Jewish scholars gave great weight to numbers and to their figurative meaning. This is reflected in numerous passages where numbers are used symbolically, and this continued even into the New Testament. For example, the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation is a symbolic number. So the Rabbis would not have lost two numbers, from one verse, pertaining to the first king of Israel. It could not have been lost from the written text, not only because of their scrupulosity, but also because the numbers would have been passed on verbally, in their instruction to each generation. Therefore, these numbers are correct.(Conte)
- 13:1Of one year: That is, he was good and like an innocent child, and for two years continued in that innocency.(Challoner)