1Then SamuEl took a flask of oil and poured it over [Saul’s] head, and kissed him and said: ‘Jehovah is anointing you to be the ruler over His inheritance. 2Then, just as soon as I leave you today, you will find two men near the tomb of Rachel on Mount BenJamin, who will be jumping up and down; for they will tell you that they’ve found the burros you are searching for. However, your father has already stopped worrying about the burros and now he’s worried about you and asking, What should I do about my son? 3‘But when you get there, you must travel on until you reach the oak tree at Tabor, where you’ll find three men going up to [worship] God at BethEl. One will be carrying three goat kids, the second will be carrying three containers of bread, and the third will have a skin of wine. 4They will all wish you peace and offer you two loaves of their first-fruit bread… go ahead and accept them, 5then travel on to the hill of God where there’s a Philistine fort. And when you enter the city, you’ll meet a group of Prophets who will be dancing as they leave the place of worship to the music of a harp, a tambourine, pipes, and a harp, and they will be prophesying. 6Then the Breath of Jehovah will come over you and you should prophesy with them, for you will become another man. 7And when you see these signs happening to you, do everything that you’re moved to do, because God is with you.’ 8‘Thereafter, I want you to come and meet me at GilGal, where I’ll give you [animals] to sacrifice as whole burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then you must stay with me for seven days as I teach you what to do.’ 9Well, just as he turned his shoulder to leave SamuEl, God changed [SamuEl’s] heart, and then all the signs started coming true that day. 10And when he finally reached the hill and saw the group of Prophets dancing directly opposite him, God’s Breath came over him and he started prophesying in their midst. 11So, all the things that he was told would happen to him came true during those three days, and there he was in the midst of the Prophets prophesying, as the people were asking each other, ‘What has happened to the son of Kish? Has Saul become one of the Prophets?’ 12And then one of them asked, ‘So, who is his father?’ Well, because of this, a saying was created, ‘Might Saul be one of the Prophets?’ 13And after he had finished prophesying, he went back down the hill. 14Then his uncle asked [Saul’s] servant, ‘Where have you been?’ And he replied, ‘We’ve been looking for the burros, and when we couldn’t find them we went to see SamuEl.’ 15Then the uncle went to Saul and asked, ‘Tell me, what did SamuEl say to you?’ 16And Saul replied, ‘He told me where to find the burros.’ (However, he didn’t say anything about what SamuEl told him about becoming the king.) 17Then SamuEl summoned all the people of Jehovah and told them to assemble at MizPah. 18And there he told the sons of Israel, ‘This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said: I led Israel out of Egypt and I rescued them from the hand of its Pharaoh and from the hands of all the kingdoms that oppressed them. 19Yet, today you’re treating the God who saved you from all of this badness and oppression with contempt! ‘Now, you’ve all said that you want me to appoint a king over you. So, that’s why you’re all standing here before Jehovah today by tribes, states, and families.’ 20Then SamuEl led each of the tribes of Israel [past Jehovah], and the tribe of BenJamin was chosen. Then he led the tribe of BenJamin [past Jehovah] and the family of Matri was chosen. 21Then they drew lots, and Saul (the son of Kish) was chosen. But when they went to look for him, he couldn’t be found. 22So SamuEl asked Jehovah: ‘Is the man still here?’ And Jehovah replied: ‘Look, he’s hiding in the tool shed.’ 23Then [SamuEl] ran there and 24brought him back, and stood him in the midst of the people. Well, [he was easy to see] because he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. 24Then SamuEl said to the people, ‘Do you see who Jehovah Himself has chosen? There isn’t another man like him among you!’ Well, all the people recognized this and they shouted, ‘Long live the king!’ 25Thereafter, SamuEl explained all the rules of kingship to the people, and then he wrote everything in a scroll and set it before Jehovah. So, he sent the people away and they each returned home. 26And when Saul got home to GibeAh, many powerful men whose hearts had been touched by Jehovah were there to meet with him. 27But the worst of them asked, ‘Just who is he that he should be appointed our savior?’ Well, they said a lot of bad things about him and they didn’t bring him any gifts. However, Saul just 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.
