A young Benjaminite, Saul son of Kish, becomes Israel's first king under adverse circumstances. The people's desire for a king “like the nations” displeases the prophet Samuel and arouses in Yhwh feelings of personal rejection. In spite of his initial reluctance to be king, Saul meets his first challenge admirably, delivering Jabesh-gilead from the threat of humiliating Ammonite oppression. But disobedience to the divine command, in ambiguous, if not extenuating, circumstances, soon costs him the throne. After his rejection by Yhwh, Saul views David's success and rising popularity with jealousy and growing apprehension. His attempts to kill his rival are thwarted by his own children, who, out of affection for David, help him escape. Saul's descent into madness and his alienation from those once closest to him, Samuel, David, and Jonathan, are painfully detailed as he carries his single-minded pursuit of David almost – but not quite – to the point of neglecting his duties as king. Abandoned by God, he must seek out preternatural and forbidden means of obtaining an oracle before facing the Philistines in a critical battle, only to receive from Samuel's ghost a scathing denunciation which dashes any hope he may have nourished. His career ends abruptly on the battlefield where, seeing no possibility of escape, he takes his own life.

The account of the rise and fall of King Saul found in 1 Samuel 8– 2 Samuel 1 offers the clearest example of biblical tragedy.