1Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: Is it not because Jehovah has anointed you ruler over His inheritance. 2When you depart from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased speaking about the donkeys and has become concerned about you, saying, What shall I do about my son? 3Then you shall go on farther and come to the plain of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. 5After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6And the Spirit of Jehovah will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as your hand finds to do; for God is with you. 8You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you shall do. 9And so it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God changed him with another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that behold he prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 12And a man from there answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets? 13And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. 14And Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, Where did you go? And he said, To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we came to Samuel. 15And Saul's uncle said, Please tell me what Samuel has said to you. 16And Saul said to his uncle, He reported to make known to us that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said. 17And Samuel called the people together to Jehovah at Mizpah, 18and said to the children of Israel, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those oppressing you. 19But you have today rejected your God, who Himself delivered you out of all your adversities and your afflictions; and you have said to Him, No, set a king over us! Now therefore, present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes and by your thousands. 20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22Therefore they inquired of Jehovah further, Has the man come here yet? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he is hiding himself among the equipment. 23So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, Long live the king! 25Then Samuel explained to the people the ordinances of the king's office, and wrote it in a book and set it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and mighty men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27But the sons of worthlessness said, How can this man deliver us? So they despised him, and brought him no gifts. But he kept silent.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL, AND CONFIRMS HIM BY THE PREDICTION OF THREE SIGNS. (1Sa. 10:1-27)
Then Samuel took a vial of oil--This was the ancient (
Judg 9:8) ceremony of investiture with the royal office among the Hebrews and other Eastern nations. But there were two unctions to the kingly office; the one in private, by a prophet (
1Sam 16:13), which was meant to be only a prophetic intimation of the person attaining that high dignity--the more public and formal inauguration (
2Sam 2:4;
2Sam 5:3) was performed by the high priest, and perhaps with the holy oil, but that is not certain. The first of a dynasty was thus anointed, but not his heirs, unless the succession was disputed (
1Kgs 1:39;
2Kgs 11:12;
2Kgs 23:30;
2Chr 23:11).
kissed him--This salutation, as explained by the words that accompanied it, was an act of respectful homage, a token of congratulation to the new king (
Ps 2:12).
2 When thou art departed from me to-day--The design of these specific predictions of what should be met with on the way, and the number and minuteness of which would arrest attention, was to confirm Saul's reliance on the prophetic character of Samuel, and lead him to give full credence to what had been revealed to him as the word of God.
Rachel's sepulchre--near Beth-lehem (see on
Gen 35:16).
Zelzah--or Zelah, now Bet-jalah, in the neighborhood of that town.
3 the plain--or, "the oak of Tabor," not the celebrated mount, for that was far distant.
three men going up to God to Beth-el--apparently to offer sacrifices there at a time when the ark and the tabernacle were not in a settled abode, and God had not yet declared the permanent place which He should choose. The kids were for sacrifice, the loaves for the offering, and the wine for the libations.
5 the hill of God--probably Geba (
1Sam 13:3), so called from a school of the prophets being established there. The company of prophets were, doubtless, the pupils at this seminary, which had probably been instituted by Samuel, and in which the chief branches of education taught were a knowledge of the law, and of psalmody with instrumental music, which is called "prophesying" (here and in
1Chr 25:1,
1Chr 25:7).
6 the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee--literally, "rush upon thee," suddenly endowing thee with a capacity and disposition to act in a manner far superior to thy previous character and habits; and instead of the simplicity, ignorance, and sheepishness of a peasant, thou wilt display an energy, wisdom, and magnanimity worthy of a prince.
8 thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal--This, according to JOSEPHUS, was to be a standing rule for the observance of Saul while the prophet and he lived; that in every great crisis, such as a hostile incursion on the country, he should repair to Gilgal, where he was to remain seven days, to afford time for the tribes on both sides Jordan to assemble, and Samuel to reach it.
9 when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart--Influenced by the words of Samuel, as well as by the accomplishment of these signs, Saul's reluctance to undertake the onerous office was overcome. The fulfilment of the two first signs [
1Sam 10:7-8] is passed over, but the third is specially described. The spectacle of a man, though more fit to look after his father's cattle than to take part in the sacred exercises of the young prophets--a man without any previous instruction, or any known taste, entering with ardor into the spirit, and skilfully accompanying the melodies of the sacred band, was so extraordinary a phenomenon, that it gave rise to the proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" (see
1Sam 19:24). The prophetic spirit had come upon him; and to Saul it was as personal and experimental an evidence of the truth of God's word that had been spoken to him, as converts to Christianity have in themselves from the sanctifying power of the Gospel.
12 But who is their father?--The Septuagint reads, "Who is his father?" referring to Saul the son of Kish.
17 Samuel called the people together . . . at Mizpeh--a shaft-like hill near Hebron, five hundred feet in height. The national assemblies of the Israelites were held there. A day having been appointed for the election of a king, Samuel, after having charged the people with a rejection of God's institution and a superseding of it by one of their own, proceeded to the nomination of the new monarch. As it was of the utmost importance that the appointment should be under the divine direction and control, the determination was made by the miraculous lot, tribes, families, and individuals being successively passed until Saul was found. His concealment of himself must have been the result either of innate modesty, or a sudden nervous excitement under the circumstances. When dragged into view, he was seen to possess all those corporeal advantages which a rude people desiderate in their sovereigns; and the exhibition of which gained for the prince the favorable opinion of Samuel also. In the midst of the national enthusiasm, however, the prophet's deep piety and genuine patriotism took care to explain "the manner of the kingdom," that is, the royal rights and privileges, together with the limitations to which they were to be subjected; and in order that the constitution might be ratified with all due solemnity, the charter of this constitutional monarchy was recorded and laid up "before the Lord," that is, deposited in the custody of the priests, along with the most sacred archives of the nation.
26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah--near Geba. This was his place of residence (see
Judg 20:20), about five miles north of Jerusalem.
there went . . . a band of men, whose hearts God had touched--who feared God and regarded allegiance to their king as a conscientious duty. They are opposed to "the children of Belial."
27 the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents--In Eastern countries, the honor of the sovereign and the splendor of the royal household are upheld, not by a fixed rate of taxation, but by presents brought at certain seasons by officials, and men of wealth, from all parts of the kingdom, according to the means of the individual, and of a customary registered value. Such was the tribute which Saul's opponents withheld, and for want of which he was unable to set up a kingly establishment for a while. But "biding his time," he bore the insult with a prudence and magnanimity which were of great use in the beginning of his government.