Observation

This question was popular among the candidates. The challenge noticed about this question was that some candidates mixed up the storyline and thought it was about the battle between Saul and the Amalekites where God asked Saul to embark on a Holy War and subsequently, Saul’s disobedience. On the average, majority of those who attempted it performed quite well in both parts. The points candidates expected to have written in part a includes;

1. The Philistines fought the Israelites at Mt. Gilboa where Israel suffered defeat as they fled.
2. They overtook Saul and his sons and succeeded in killing them (Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua).
3. As the war got intensified, the Philistines archers hit and wounded Saul badly.
4. Saul requested that his armour bearer kill him so as to avoid being killed by the uncircumcised Philistines.
5. Saul feared the Philistines would make a sport of his body.
6. When the armour bearer refused to kill him, Saul committed suicide by falling on his sword.
7. Seeing Saul dead, the armour bearer also killed himself.
8. The Israelites fled from their cities on hearing the death of Saul and his sons.
9. The next day, the Philistines settled in the abandoned cities of Israel and sent words of victory over Israel to all their men in Philistine.
10. Saul’s head was cut-off and his armour stripped off as trophies of their victim.
11. These were sent into the temple of Ashtaroth to ascribe victory to their gods.