The Biblical parallels: Saul and David


When reading the story of Rand Al'Thor and trying to fit him with one of the figures from the Bible, one figure stands out: King Saul, first king of Israel.

Many compared him to Jesus but as the series progresses we see more and more of the flaws that grow in Rand's character that disavow this notion and of course we have his actions in his previous life when he murdered his family in a fit of madness.

Saul on the other hand fits like a glove.

So lets review the life of Saul:

We meet him searching for lost donkeys, classic job of a herder. There he meet the prophet Samuel who anoints him to become king after the people have demanded from him to give them a king in their times of trouble. He becomes a king and succeeds in repelling the enemies of the Land. But, as time goes by he grows distant from Samuel and his teaching.

Most noticeably when ordered to annihilate the Pkies utterly he doesn't kill their livestock and spares their king. In general he is accused of pursuing personal glory too much despite his many good qualities.

He becomes jealous of a new rising star: the musician and military leader David who at first he liked. David appear to surpass Saul's accomplishment whatever he does and steals the love and admiration of the people onto himself.

In the end, when preparing to fight the biggest enemies of the kingdom, the Philistines, he goes to consult the Witch of Endor who raises for him the spirit of Samuel from among the dead to answer his questions. Samuel's spirit tells him that he will lose the battle and die.

Despite that Samuel goes to battle and loses. His sons die in the battle. To escape the ignominy of being captured he falls on his sword and dies. None of his descendants survive.

His story is the story of a tragic hero. He is gifted and very sympathetic but for sins of pride suffer a tragic end.


Like Saul, Rand too begins as a herder. He is met by Moiraine who takes him from his home and crowns him as the Dragon, the leader of humanity in this time of need. she herself is propelled in this by the prophecies of her people. We see in the tales of the False Dragons and their followers that there is a censured demand for a Dragon to lead them among the people of the Westlands, just as in the story of Saul.

Moiraine is a parallel to Samuel also in her affiliation to the White Tower. The Aes Sedai are the closest thing in this story to the Prophets and religious leaders of the Bible. They wield the power of the Creator, the One Power, some give prophecies and are "The servants of All" and not kings.

Like Saul, after initial successes Rand rebels against Moiraine and other Aes Sedai who try to control him and sets out on his own path. After initial successes against the Shadow and Seanchan he concentrates more and more on building his own power base and gradually losses the allegiance of his supporters.

He receives a personal prophecy from shady sources that he must die in the Final Battle just as Saul did and just like Saul did he still intends to go there. In his previous life he has committed suicide after he caused the death of his children (Just as Saul did after knowingly leading his sons to their deaths)

Also like Saul, Rand is exceptionally tall


And who is David in the story. I think the answer is obvious. After growing distant from Rand Al'Thor the Aes Sedai embrace Egwene as their leader. Egwene who began from moderate beginnings (like David) is multi-talented and succeeds in whatever she does. She does not play music but we see her talent in making new complex weaves from scratch. And like David she display tactical genius in her war against the tower using travelling to make a surprise entrance to the Tower environs and Cuendillar conversion techniques to cut Tar Valon from supplies. Not to mention her secret war to grasp the actual power of the Amyrlin Seat from the Aes Sedai leaders.

Unlike Saul who was given his kingship, David gradually builds his power. First by being recognized by Samuel as the future king (Moiraine taking of Egwene as her apprentice), then residing in Saul's court and gaining strength and popularity there (as Egwene follows Rand on his journeys to the Eye, Falme, Tear, the Waste and Cairihien) and then striking out on his own building an army and winning victories on the field at times even with Saul's enemies (As Egwene does since she left Rand and became Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai.)

Egwene affiliates herself with the Green Ajah, the Battle ajah.

While Rand deteriotes Egwene rises, and as some predict, is destined to replace Rand as the true hero of the tale.



Edit to add: I haven't yet read tGS so please warn of spoilers if you mention them or avoid them altogether if you can.