1 Samuel 10

Then Samuel took a small flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. He kissed him and said, "The LORD has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance, his own people. Has he not?"

1Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

NoteAnointing meant pouring perfumed olive oil on a person's head. It was the formal public act that installed someone in an office, especially king or priest; the Hebrew word for one so treated is 'messiah,' simply 'anointed one.' 'His inheritance' is a standard phrase for Israel as the people and land that belong to the LORD as his own share.

2"When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you, 'The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is now worried about you. He keeps asking, "What should I do about my son?"'"

2When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

NoteRachel was Jacob's wife and the mother of Benjamin, ancestor of Saul's tribe; her tomb was a well-known roadside landmark. Zelzah is otherwise unknown. 'The border of Benjamin' means the edge of the territory allotted to that tribe, tribal land divisions were the basic map of the country.

3"Then you will go on from there until you come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there, on their way up to worship God at Bethel. One will be carrying three young goats, one three loaves of bread, and one a skin of wine."

3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

Note'Going up to God at Bethel' means traveling to worship at the shrine there; 'going up' is the standard expression for a journey to a place of worship, regardless of the actual slope. The goats, bread and wine are the materials of an offering, being carried for sacrifice and the meal that went with it. A 'skin' of wine is a container made from a whole animal hide, sewn shut.

4"They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, and you are to take them from their hands."

4And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

NoteThe two loaves are part of what the men are carrying to the shrine, so handing them over is more than ordinary politeness: they give away goods already set aside for the offering.

5"After that you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have an army post. As you come to the town, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place of worship. Ahead of them will be a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and the prophets will be prophesying."

5After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

NoteThe Philistines were a people settled in the cities of the coastal plain to the southwest; at this period they dominated Israel militarily and kept armed posts inside Israelite territory, which is what the 'garrison' or outpost is. A 'high place' was an open-air hilltop shrine with an altar, the usual site of local worship. A 'company of prophets' was an organized band who lived and traveled together; their 'prophesying' here is ecstatic, music-driven behavior, loud inspired utterance and movement, rather than the foretelling of events. The four instruments are stringed instruments, a hand drum, and a reed pipe.

6"Then the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully on you, and you will prophesy along with them. You will be changed into a different man."

6And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

NoteThe Hebrew verb translated 'come powerfully on' describes a sudden, forcible rush. In this book it marks a temporary seizure that gives a person capacity for a particular task, and it is used of Israel's earlier warrior-leaders. 'A different man' refers to a change in what he is able to do and how he behaves, not to a change of identity.

7"When these signs have happened to you, do whatever the moment calls for, because God is with you."

7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

NoteThe instruction is deliberately open: 'do whatever the moment calls for' is as unspecific in Hebrew as in English, and no particular act is named.

8"Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you there to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what to do."

8And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

NoteGilgal was a long-established gathering and sacrifice site in the Jordan valley near Jericho. A burnt offering was an animal burned whole on the altar; a peace offering was an animal of which only certain parts were burned, the rest eaten as a shared meal by the worshipers.

9And so it happened. As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him a different heart, and all these signs took place that same day.

9And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

NoteIn Hebrew the 'heart' is the seat of thought, will and decision, closer to what English calls the mind, not the emotions in particular.

10When Saul and his servant came to the hill, a group of prophets met him. The Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.

10And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11Everyone who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets. They said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

11And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

NotePeople were commonly identified by their father's name; 'the son of Kish' simply means Saul. The onlookers' question expresses astonishment, and possibly mockery, that a man of Saul's family and standing should be found behaving this way.

12A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" That is how it became a common saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

NoteThe point of the retort is unclear and was probably meant to be sharp rather than plain. 'Who is their father?' may mean that prophetic bands are not a matter of family descent, so Saul's ancestry proves nothing; or it may be asking who the leader of this particular company is. The ambiguity is in the Hebrew itself.

13When Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place of worship.

13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" Saul said, "To look for the donkeys. When we saw they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel."

14And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

15Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

15And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

16Saul told his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him what Samuel had said about the kingship.

16And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17Then Samuel called the people together before the LORD at Mizpah.

17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

NoteMizpah was a town a few miles north of Jerusalem regularly used for national assemblies.

18He said to the people of Israel, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt. I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms that crushed you.'"

18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19"But today you have rejected your God, the one who saves you out of all your troubles and hardships. You have said to him, 'No, give us a king instead.' So now come and stand before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans."

19And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

Note'Clans' (King James 'thousands') are the subdivisions of a tribe, a group of related families, also functioning as a military unit of a nominal thousand men. 'Stand before the LORD' means line up in these groupings for the selection that follows.

20So Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was picked out.

20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

Note'Picked out' translates a word meaning 'taken' or 'caught' by lot. The people are sorted by casting sacred lots, narrowing the field step by step, tribe, then clan, then family, then individual. The outcome was understood as the LORD's choice rather than chance.

21Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its families, and the family of Matri was picked out. Then Saul son of Kish was picked out. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

22So they asked the LORD again, "Has the man come here yet?" The LORD answered, "He is hiding among the baggage."

22Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

NoteTo 'ask the LORD' in this setting means putting a question that can be answered yes or no through the sacred lot handled by a priest. The 'baggage' is the gear, packs and supplies of the assembled crowd, piled at the edge of the gathering.

23They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of them from the shoulders up.

23And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

NotePhysical size counted as a mark of fitness to lead an army, so Saul's height is presented as part of his qualification, not just a detail of description.

24Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

Note'Long live the king' (King James 'God save the king') is the fixed acclamation shouted when a king was installed.

25Then Samuel explained to the people the rules and rights of the kingship. He wrote them in a book and placed it before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house.

25Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

Note'The rules and rights of the kingship' means the terms of the office, what the king may claim and what is required of him. Writing it down and laying it 'before the LORD' means depositing the scroll at the sanctuary, the way a permanent legal document was kept on record.

26Saul also went home to Gibeah, and brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him.

26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

NoteGibeah was Saul's home town, a few miles north of Jerusalem. The Hebrew behind 'brave men' can mean fighting men, or men of substance and standing in the community; both senses are possible here.

27But some worthless men said, "How can this man save us?" They looked down on him and brought him no gifts. But Saul said nothing about it.

27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Note'Worthless men' renders the Hebrew idiom 'sons of Belial,' meaning good-for-nothings or troublemakers; Belial is not a name here but a word for worthlessness. Bringing gifts to a new ruler was the recognized way of acknowledging his authority, so withholding them was a public refusal to accept him. Some ancient copies read, instead of 'but Saul said nothing about it,' words meaning 'about a month later,' joining this verse to the events of the next chapter.