1 Samuel 10
10
Samuel Anoints Saul
1 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s#tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. head. Samuel#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity. kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you#tn Heb “Is it not that the Lord has anointed you?” The question draws attention to the fact and is a rhetorical way of affirming the Lord’s choice of Saul. The translation reflects the rhetorical force of the question. to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen#tn That is, “anointed.” you as leader over his inheritance.#tc The MT reads simply “Is it not that the Lord has anointed you over his inheritance for a leader?” The translation follows the LXX. The MT apparently suffers from parablepsis, whereby a scribe’s eye jumped from the first occurrence of the expression “the Lord has anointed you” to the second occurrence of this expression at the end of v. 1. This mistake caused the accidental omission of the intervening material in the LXX, which appears to preserve the original Hebrew text here. 2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two!#sn In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul’s father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him. He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
3 “As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel#map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3. will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. 4 They will ask you how you’re doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them. 5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials.#tn Or “sentries.” Some translate “outpost” (NIV) or “garrison” (NAB, NRSV, NLT) here (see 1 Sam 13:3). The noun is plural in the Hebrew text, but the LXX and other ancient witnesses read a singular noun here. When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.
7 “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you.#sn In light of Saul’s commission to be Israel’s deliverer (see v. 1), it is likely that some type of military action against the Philistines (see v.5) is implied. 8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days, until I arrive and tell you what to do.”
Saul Becomes King
9 As Saul#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. turned#tn Heb “turned his shoulder.” to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person.#tn Heb “God turned for him another heart”; NAB, NRSV “gave him another heart”; NIV, NCV “changed Saul’s heart”; TEV “gave Saul a new nature”; CEV “made Saul feel like a different person.” All these signs happened on that very day. 10 When Saul and his servant#tc Two medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta have the singular “he” (in which case the referent would be Saul alone).tn Heb “they”; the referents (Saul and his servant) have been specified in the translation for clarity. arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”
12 A man who was from there replied, “And who is their father?” Therefore this became a proverb: “Is even Saul among the prophets?” 13 When Saul#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost,#tn Heb “And we saw that they were not.” we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”#tc In the LXX and Vulgate the pronoun “you” is singular, referring specifically to Saul. In the MT it is plural, including Saul’s servant as well. 16 Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity. did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
17 Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power#tn Heb “hand” (also later in this verse). of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No!#tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading לֹא (lo’, “not”) rather than the MT לוֹ (lo; “to him”). Some witnesses combine the variants, resulting in a conflated text. For example, a few medieval Hebrew mss have לֹא לוֹ (lo lo’; “to him, ‘No.’”). A few others have לֹא לִי (li lo’; “to me, ‘No.’”). Appoint a king over us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’”
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.”#tn Or “baggage” (so many English versions); KJV “stuff”; TEV “supplies.”
23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work.#tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20). He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some wicked men#tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12). said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it.#tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran ms of Samuel, which has here “about a month.” However, it seems best to stay with the MT here even though it is difficult.
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1 Samuel 10
10
Saul Is Anointed as King
1Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, “Has not#Literally “Is it not that” Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance? 2As you go from with me today,#Literally “the day” you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.’ Now look, your father is no longer concerned about#Literally “has given up the matter of” the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you,#Here the pronoun is plural, referring to Saul and his servant saying, ‘What should I do about my son?’ 3Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who are going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine. 4They will ask how you are doing#Literally “they will ask peace for you” and will give you two loaves, which you will take from their hand. 5After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God,#Or “to Gibeath Elohim,” which means “the hill of God” where there are sentries#Or “garrisons” or “overseers” of the Philistines. Just as you enter#Literally “and will it happen that as you enter” the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying. 6Then the Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you,#Or “will come upon you in power” and you will prophesy with them; and you will turn into a different person.#Literally “another man” 7When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. 8Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to make#Literally “to sacrifice sacrifices of” fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do.” 9Just as he turned#Literally “And it happened as he turned” his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God changed his#Literally “gave for him another” heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.
10When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him,#Or “came upon him in power” and he prophesied among them. 11And when#Literally “and it happened” all who knew him formerly#Literally “three days from yesterday” saw that he prophesied with prophets, the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13When he finished prophesying, he went to the high place. 14Then Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To search for the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel.” 15So Saul’s uncle said to him, “Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?” 16Then Saul said to his uncle, “He told us for certain that the female donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingship of which Samuel had spoken.
17Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah, 18and he said to the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, ‘No, but you must appoint a king over us!’ So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”
20So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. 21Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found. 22So they inquired again of Yahweh, “Did the man come here?” #Literally “Did he come still here a man” And Yahweh said, “Look, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” 23So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. 24Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!” And all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote the rules down on a scroll and laid it before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house. 26And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts#Hebrew “heart” God had touched went with him. 27However, some worthless men#Literally “sons of wickedness” said, “How can this man deliver us?” So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.#The Dead Sea Scrolls contained a nearly complete scroll of 1 and 2 Samuel, the oldest Hebrew manuscript extant. There is a story therein that provides a setting for the acts of Nahash in 1 Samuel 11, which otherwise seems to occur obtrusively. This story may be translated: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, harshly tormented the Gadites and the Reubenites, and he gouged out all their right eyes, and struck terror and dread in Israel. No Israelite beyond the Jordan remained whose right eye was not gouged out by Nahash king of the Ammonites, except for seven thousand men who had fled from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later …” This early text leaves off with 11:1 at this point
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