Saul

American  

[sawl] / sɔl /

noun

1. the first king of Israel. 1 Samuel 9.

2. Also called Saul of Tarsus.  the original name of the apostle Paul. Acts 9:1–30; 22:3.

3. a male given name.

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Saul British  

/ sɔːl /

noun

1. Old Testament the first king of Israel (?1020–1000 _bc ). He led Israel successfully against the Philistines, but was in continual conflict with the high priest Samuel. He became afflicted with madness and died by his own hand; succeeded by David

2. New Testament the name borne by Paul prior to his conversion (Acts 9: 1–30)

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Saul Cultural  

1. The first king of Israel, who battled repeatedly with the Philistines. He often felt great despair, which was soothed by David playing his harp. Saul later became jealous of David and tried to have him killed in battle. After a prophesied defeat by the Philistines, Saul killed himself.

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Saul was also the Apostle Paul's original name.

Etymology

Origin of Saul

From Late Latin Saul, from Greek Saoúl, from Hebrew Shāʾūl “asked for (from God)”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Saul

This calls to mind Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Saul Geiser, a UC Berkeley professor and a top expert on this issue, says the task force report was flawed because it failed to account for factors including family income and parent education.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The discovery that the universe's expansion is accelerating was originally made by Riess, Schmidt, and American astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026

Prof Saul Faust, who performed some of the trials at the University of Southampton, said the AI design "definitely has potential" and was "really exciting".

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

David offered himself to Saul to fight Goliath, the Philistine challenger.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli