SHAUL; SHAULITES

sha'-ul, sha'-ul-its (sha'ul; Saoul):

(1) A king of Edom (Genesis 36:37 ff = 1 Chronicles 1:48 ff).

(2) A son of Simeon (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15; Numbers 26:13; 1 Chronicles 4:24). The clan was of notoriously impure stock, and, therefore, Shaul is called "the son of a Canaanitish woman" (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15); the clan was of mixed Israelite and Canaanitish descent. The patronymic Shaulites is found in Numbers 26:13.

(3) An ancestor of Samuel (1 Chronicles 6:24 (Hebrews 9)); in 1 Chronicles 6:36 he is called "Joel."

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.