1 Samuel 13 Footnotes

13:1 How old was Saul when he became king? The Hebrew text indicates that Saul was “one-year-old when he became king,” clearly evidence of a damaged text. A few copies of the Septuagint supply the figure thirty, while some copies omit the verse altogether. Since no other passages in the Bible provide definitive information on Saul’s age at the time he assumed the kingship, it seems best to recognize that the original number dropped out of the text in the process of transmission, perhaps even before the Greek version was produced around 300 BC.

13:8-14 Why was Samuel angry with Saul, since it was Samuel who missed the appointment? Samuel did not miss his appointment; he was supposed to arrive on the seventh day, and he did. Saul apparently panicked because Samuel did not appear at sunrise, when the morning sacrifice could be offered, but a short time later. By this time the impatient king had offered the sacrifices on his own, doing the work reserved for priests. Samuel, a priest as well as a prophet, was understandably angry about this. Saul’s impetuous behavior, and his reckless disregard for God’s order that separated kingship (military leadership) from priesthood (service at the altar), were among the reasons why the rule of Israel passed into the hands of another family, that of David.