1 Samuel 10:6-26

6 Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.
7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.
8 And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."
9 As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day.
10 When they were going from there to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them.
11 When all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12 A man of the place answered, "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
13 When his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went home.
14 Saul's uncle said to him and to the boy, "Where did you go?" And he replied, "To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."
15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."
16 Saul said to his uncle, "He told us that the donkeys had been found." But about the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
17 Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah
18 and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.'
19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, "No! but set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves 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 taken by lot.
21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. 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 So they inquired again of the Lord, "Did the man come here?" and the Lord said, "See, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
23 Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them.
24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
25 Samuel told the people the 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 back to their homes.
26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched.

1 Samuel 10:6-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 10

In this chapter we read of Saul's being anointed king by Samuel, 1Sa 10:1, and of certain signs given as confirming the same, which should come to pass, and did, before Saul got to his father's house, 1Sa 10:2-13, of his arrival at his father's house, and of what passed between him and his uncle there, 1Sa 10:14-16, of Samuel's calling all Israel together at Mizpeh, and of the election of Saul by lot to be king, and of his being declared such, 1Sa 10:17-25, and of his return to his city, being respected by some, and despised by others, 1Sa 10:26,27.

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. Gk: Heb [they came there]
  • [b]. Or [the hill]
  • [c]. Cn: Heb [he came to the shrine]
  • [d]. Heb [to the people of Israel]
  • [e]. Gk: Heb lacks [Finally . . . man by man]
  • [f]. Gk: Heb [Is there yet a man to come here?]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.