1 Samuel 10

Saul among Prophets

1 Then 1Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, 2kissed him and said, "Has not 3the LORD anointed you a ruler over 4His inheritance?
2 "When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to 5Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, '6The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'
3 "Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the 7oak of Tabor, and there three men going up 8to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine;
4 and they will greet * you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand.
5 "Afterward * you will come to 9the hill of God where * the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet 10a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and 11they will be prophesying.
6 "Then 12the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and 13you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
7 "It shall be when these signs come to you, 14do for yourself what the occasion requires, for 15God is with you.
8 "And 16you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and 17sacrifice peace offerings. 18You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do."
9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave * * Samuel, God 19changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.
10 20When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.
11 It came about, when all who knew him previously#st8032 saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? 21Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12 A man there * said, "Now, who is their father?" Therefore * it became a proverb: "22Is Saul also among the prophets?"
13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 Now 23Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "24To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel."
15 Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."
16 So Saul said to his uncle, "25He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

Saul Publicly Chosen King

17 Thereafter Samuel called the 26people together to the LORD at Mizpah;
18 and he said to the sons of Israel, "27Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.'
19 "But you 28have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, 'No, but set a king over us!' Now therefore, 29present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans."
20 Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.
21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.
22 Therefore 30they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" So the LORD said, "Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage."
23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, 31he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him 32whom the LORD has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people." So all the people shouted and said, "33Long live the king!"
25 Then Samuel told the people 34the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and 35placed it before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.
26 Saul also went 36to his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
27 But certain 37worthless men said, "How can this one deliver us?" And they despised him and 38did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.

Cross References 38

  • 1. Exodus 30:23-33; 1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Kings 9:3, 6
  • 2. Psalms 2:12
  • 3. 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Samuel 26:9; 2 Samuel 1:14
  • 4. Deuteronomy 32:9; Psalms 78:71
  • 5. Genesis 35:16-20; Genesis 48:7
  • 6. 1 Samuel 9:3-5
  • 7. Genesis 35:8
  • 8. Genesis 28:19; Genesis 35:1, 3, 7
  • 9. 1 Samuel 13:2, 3
  • 10. 1 Samuel 19:20; 2 Kin 2:3, 5, 15
  • 11. 2 Kings 3:15; 1 Chronicles 25:1-6; 1 Corinthians 14:1
  • 12. Numbers 11:25, 29; Judges 14:6
  • 13. 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 19:23, 24
  • 14. Ecclesiastes 9:10
  • 15. Joshua 1:5; Judges 6:12; Hebrews 13:5
  • 16. 1 Samuel 11:14; 1 Samuel 13:8
  • 17. 1 Samuel 11:15
  • 18. 1 Samuel 13:8
  • 19. 1 Samuel 10:6
  • 20. 1 Samuel 10:5, 6; 1 Samuel 19:20
  • 21. 1 Samuel 19:24; Amos 7:14, 15; Matthew 13:54-57; John 7:15
  • 22. 1 Samuel 19:23, 24
  • 23. 1 Samuel 14:50
  • 24. 1 Samuel 9:3-6
  • 25. 1 Samuel 9:20
  • 26. Judges 20:1; 1 Samuel 7:5
  • 27. Judges 6:8, 9
  • 28. 1 Samuel 8:6, 7; 1 Samuel 12:12
  • 29. Joshua 7:14-18; Joshua 24:1; Proverbs 16:33
  • 30. 1 Samuel 23:2, 4
  • 31. 1 Samuel 9:2
  • 32. Deuteronomy 17:15; 2 Samuel 21:6
  • 33. 1 Kin 1:25, 34, 39
  • 34. Deuteronomy 17:14-20; 1 Samuel 8:11-18
  • 35. Deuteronomy 31:26
  • 36. 1 Samuel 11:4; 1 Samuel 15:34
  • 37. Deuteronomy 13:13; 1 Samuel 25:17
  • 38. 1 Kings 10:25; 2 Chronicles 17:5

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Lit "abandoned the matter of"
  • [b]. Or "terebinth"
  • [c]. Or "Gibeath-haelohim"
  • [d]. Lit "your hand finds"
  • [e]. Lit "for him another heart"
  • [f]. Or "Gibeath"
  • [g]. Lit "hand"
  • [h]. So with several mss and versions; M.T. "said to Him"
  • [i]. Lit "May the king live"
  • [j]. Lit "sons of Belial," cf 2 Cor 6:15

1 Samuel 10 Commentaries

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