Talut; First King of Bani Isra’il
So God punished them by letting a repressive king named Jalut dominate them. But with the leadership of Talut, they ended the tyranny of Jalut.
Talut was a descendant of Benjamin, the son of Yaqub (AS). Talut lived five centuries after Moses (AS). He lived with his father in a village on the bank of Nile in Egypt. He is said to have been a shepherd or a leather maker or a water seller.
After the death of Moses (AS), Bani Isra’il continued their disobedience and committed many sins. In order to punish them, God let a repressive king dominate them. He refused to comply with the teachings of the Torah. He forced Bani Isra’il out of their land.
After some years, God appointed Sham’un or Ishmu’il as a prophet and sent him to Bani Isra’il. Bani Isra’il asked him to appoint a commander to help them fight Jalut.
Ordered by God, he appointed Talut as the commander. However, Bani Isra’il opposed the appointment for two reasons. First, because Bani Isra’il’s kings and prophets were always a descendant of Lavi and Yahuda, the sons of Yaqub, while Talut was a descendant of Benjamin. And second, they said Talut could not be a good commander because he was not rich. This was while God had chosen Jalut as a commander due to his knowledge and power.
Sham’un told them that Talut was the best choice because he could bring back the “Ark of the Covenant”.
Ultimately, they accepted him as their commander. When Talut and the army of Bani Isra’il went to the battle, he was tasked by God to test the army. He ordered the troops to drink just a handful of water if they are extremely thirsty when they reach a source of water. He told them anyone who drinks more than that would not be allowed to accompany the army. Most of them disobeyed and failed to accompany Talut. Some interpreters have said that only 500 remained with him. Nonetheless, with the grace of God, this small army managed to achieve victory in the battle.
Talut had pledged that if anyone can kill Jalut, he will marry his daughter to him and give him half of his belongings.
Davoud (David) managed to do it. So he received half of Talut’s belongings and became his son-in-law.
It has been said in some sources that towards the end of his life, Talut got envious of Davoud and decided to kill him but then abandoned the idea. In order for his repentance to be accepted, Talut took part in a battle and was killed in that battle. According to some other sources, Talut died a natural death.
Talut’s name and his story are mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holy Quran. The Torah has referred to him as Saul. Some have said that he was the first king of Bani Isra’il and ruled them for 20 or 40 years.
