Saul of Reheboth is the fifth named king of Edom in the Genesis 36 king-list, reigning from a city whose name means “broad places” or “expanses.” The name Saul (שָׁאוּל) derives from the Hebrew root sha’al—to ask, borrow, or inquire—giving a sense of “one who is asked for” or “the desired one.” The geographic qualifier “of Reheboth” distinguishes this Edomite monarch from the better-known King Saul of Israel.

Position on the Tree of Life

On the Qabalistic Tree, Saul of Reheboth corresponds to Hod (the eighth sephirah), the sphere of splendor, intellect, and communication. Hod sits across from Netzach on the Pillar of Severity and is the sphere where form is given to the energies of the lower sephiroth. In the schema of Liber 777, the Edomite kings occupy the columns as archetypes of pre-ordained rulership; Saul occupies step 8, directly below Samlah of Masrekah (Netzach, step 7) and above Baal-Hannan (Yesod, step 9).

Historical context

The list of Edomite kings in Genesis 36:31–39 is preserved as a record of a monarchy that flourished “before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.” Saul of Reheboth is the fifth entry, inheriting after Samlah of Masrekah. Like the other Edomite kings, his reign is noted without length, wars, or major deeds—the text’s purpose is genealogical and dynastic. Reheboth may refer to Reheboth-by-the-River (possibly on the Euphrates) or a location in Edomite territory near the Arabah; the Hebrew name suggests a settled, prosperous site. In rabbinic tradition (e.g., Genesis Rabbah 83), the Edomite kings are sometimes seen as symbols of the kelipot (husks of impurity) that must be passed through before the establishment of the holy kingdom; Saul of Reheboth thus represents a specific stage in that archetypal procession, linked to the sphere where intellectual clarity and logical structure can become rigid or unbalanced.

777 Context

In Liber 777, Saul of Reheboth appears as the single entry for the Kings of Edom at the 8th step (Hod). He is thus associated with the divine name Elohim Tzabaot, the magical image of a hermaphrodite, and the astrological correspondence of Mercury. The historical king becomes a fixed point in a symbolic sequence: from Jobab of Bozrah (Chesed) through Hadar of Pau (Malkuth), each king anchors a sephirah, and Saul anchors the sphere where inquiry and the asking of questions—the root meaning of his own name—find their crown.