The Biblical tradition devoted to the beginnings of the Hebrew monarchy consists of no less than three stories. The first, anti-monarchical story (1 Sam 8; 1 Sam 10:17-27; 1 Sam 12), has surely no historical value, as written many centuries after the Saul’s reign, and full of later theocratic theological concepts. The second, promonarchical story (1 Sam 9:1–10:7.9-12; 1 Sam 13:2–14:46) appears to be very old, however its propaganda character is clear. It severely limits the credibility of the text. The third story about Saul fighting against Ammonites (1 Sam 11) seems to describe the real events, and its credibility can not be denied. On that basis it is possible to conclude that the minimalists’ thesis excluding the existence of Saul’s monarchy, as well as the traditionalists’ thesis fully accepting the historicity of the Biblical traditions, should be rejected.
