1 Samuel 10
10
Saul Anointed King
1 # ch. 9:16; 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4; 1 Kgs. 1:34, 39; 2 Kgs. 9:1, 3, 6 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head #[Ps. 2:12] and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince#10:1 Or leader over #Deut. 32:9; Ps. 78:71his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince#10:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall . . . . to be prince over his heritage. 2When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by #Gen. 35:19, 20 Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, #ch. 9:3, 4 ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now #ch. 9:5your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the #Gen. 13:18 oak of Tabor. Three men #[Judg. 20:31] going up #Gen. 28:22; 35:1, 3, 7to God at Bethel will meet you there, 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 accept from their hand. 5After that you shall come to #ver. 10 Gibeath-elohim,#10:5 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God #ch. 13:3, 4 where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down #[ch. 9:12]from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6#ver. 10; ch. 11:6; 16:13; [Num. 11:25; Judg. 3:10; 14:6, 19] Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, #ver. 10; ch. 19:23, 24and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7Now when #Ex. 4:8; Judg. 6:17; Luke 2:12 these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, #Josh. 1:5; Judg. 6:12for God is with you. 8Then go down before me #ch. 11:14, 15; 13:4 to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and #ch. 11:15 to sacrifice peace offerings. #ch. 13:8Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
9When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10When they came to #ver. 5 Gibeah,#10:10 Gibeah means the hill behold, a group of prophets met him, #[See ver. 6 above]and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? #ch. 19:24; [Matt. 13:54, 55; John 7:15]Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12And a man of the place answered, #[Isa. 54:13; John 6:45] “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, #[See ver. 11 above]“Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 # ch. 14:50 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, #See ch. 9:4-6“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16And Saul said to his uncle, #ch. 9:20“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Saul Proclaimed King
17Now Samuel called the people together #[ch. 11:15] to the Lord #ch. 7:5, 6at Mizpah. 18And he said to the people of Israel, #Judg. 6:8, 9; [ch. 12:8]“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19#ch. 8:7, 19; 12:12 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore #Josh. 24:1present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20Then Samuel #Josh. 7:14, 16, 17brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;#10:21 Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22#See ch. 22:10So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, #ch. 9:2he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him #2 Sam. 21:6 whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, #2 Sam. 16:16; 1 Kgs. 1:25, 39; 2 Kgs. 11:12; 2 Chr. 23:11“Long live the king!”
25Then Samuel told the people #See ch. 8:11-18; Deut. 17:14-20the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26Saul also went to his home #ch. 11:4at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27But some #ch. 2:12; Deut. 13:13worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 10
10
1Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying: “The Lord anoints you ruler over his people Israel. You are the one who will govern the Lord’s people and save them from the power of their enemies all around them.#1 Sm 9:16–17; 16:13; 24:7; Jgs 9:9; 1 Kgs 1:39; Acts 13:21.
The Signs Foretold. “This will be the sign#The sign: the role of the new ruler is confirmed by specific signs; cf. Ex 7:9. for you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage: 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb#Here, as in Jer 31:15, Rachel’s tomb is placed at Ramah, north of Jerusalem. Later tradition understood Ephrath (Gn 35:19–20) as Bethlehem and placed the tomb farther south (Mt 2:16–18). at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father is no longer worried about the donkeys, but is anxious about you and says: What shall I do about my son?’#Jer 31:15; Mk 14:13. 3Farther on, when you arrive at the oak of Tabor,#Oak of Tabor: or terebinth. Such a tree often indicates a shrine. three men will meet you as they go up to God at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and the third a skin of wine. 4They will greet you and offer you two elevated offerings of bread, which you should accept from them. 5#1 Sm 13:3; 16:13; 19:20–21. After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, where the Philistine garrison#The Philistine garrison: the Hebrew word for “garrison” has been explained alternatively to mean a stele established to mark the Philistine occupation, or an inspector or officer for the collection of taxes. Prophetic ecstasy: a condition of religious enthusiasm often induced by communal rituals of music and dancing. is located. As you enter that city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place. They will be preceded by lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps, and will be in prophetic ecstasy. 6The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will join them in their prophetic ecstasy and will become a changed man.#1 Sm 11:6; 16:13; Jgs 14:6, 19; 15:14; 2 Kgs 3:15. 7When these signs have come to pass, do whatever lies to hand, because God is with you. 8#1 Sm 13:8; Lv 3:1. Now go down ahead of me to Gilgal, for I shall come down to you, to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice communion offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you; I shall then tell you what you must do.”#By inserting this verse, with its seven days, an editor has named in the very context of Saul’s anointing the condition which in a later narrative will be the grounds for the rejection of the dynastic character of Saul’s kingship (13:8–15).
The Signs Come to Pass. 9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart. That very day all these signs came to pass…. 10#An editor has abridged a longer version of this story by omitting mention of the first two signs Samuel has given (vv. 2–4). From there they arrived at Gibeah, where a band of prophets met Saul, and the spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he joined them in their prophetic ecstasy.#1 Sm 19:20–24; Nm 11:25. 11When all who had known him previously saw him in a prophetic state among the prophets, they said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”#1 Sm 19:24. 12And someone from that district responded, “And who is their father?” Thus the saying arose, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13When he came out of the prophetic ecstasy, he went home.
Silence About the Kingship. 14Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?” Saul replied, “Looking for the donkeys. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel.” 15Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me, then, what Samuel said to you.” 16Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul told him nothing about what Samuel had said about the kingship.
Saul Chosen King. 17Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah#1 Sm 7:5. 18and addressed the Israelites: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: It was I who brought Israel up from Egypt and delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.#Ex 20:2; Lv 11:45; 25:38; Nm 15:41; Dt 5:6; Jgs 6:8–9. 19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your evils and calamities, by saying, ‘No! You must appoint a king over us.’ Now, therefore, take your stand before the Lord according to your tribes and families.”#1 Sm 8:19. 20So Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.#Was chosen: probably by casting lots; cf. 14:40–42; Jos 7:14, 17. 21Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by clans, and the clan of Matri was chosen, and finally Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they went to look for him, he was nowhere to be found. 22#1 Sm 30:24. Again they consulted the Lord, “Is there still someone else to come forward?” The Lord answered: He is hiding among the baggage. 23They ran to bring him from there; when he took his place among the people, he stood head and shoulders above all the people.#1 Sm 9:2; 16:7. 24Then Samuel addressed all the people, “Do you see the man whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people!” Then all the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”#2 Sm 16:16; 1 Kgs 1:25; 2 Kgs 11:12.
25Samuel next explained to the people the rules of the monarchy,#Rules of the monarchy: a charter describing the relationship between the king and the people. wrote them in a book, and placed them before the presence of the Lord. Samuel then sent the people back to their own homes.#1 Sm 8:11; Dt 17:14–20. 26Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by warriors whose hearts the Lord had touched. 27But some worthless people said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no tribute.#Tribute: a gift to honor a new ruler as a pledge of one’s loyalty; see Gn 32:14; Jgs 3:15; 2 Sm 8:2. #1 Sm 11:12.
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