1 Samuel 10: Samuel anoints Saul, and Saul is chosen by lot at Mizpah
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What happens?
Samuel pours oil on Saul's head and tells him Yahweh has anointed him leader over his inheritance. He gives Saul signs: two men at Rachel's tomb, three men going up to Bethel, and a group of prophets at the hill of God, where Yahweh's Spirit will come on him; all the signs happen that day, and people ask, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" Samuel calls the people to Mizpah and tells them they have rejected their God by asking for a king. The lot falls on the tribe of Benjamin, then on the family of the Matrites, then on Saul, who is found hiding among the baggage; the people shout, "Long live the king!", but some worthless men despise him.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. God's own words are in 1 of the 27 verses: Yahweh's answer in verse 22, "Look, he has hidden himself among the baggage." The question before it in verse 22 is the one "they" asked of Yahweh, so it is not in gold. Samuel speaks to Saul in verses 1 to 8. In verses 18 and 19 Samuel tells the people what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: these are Samuel's words passing on Yahweh's message, so they are not in gold. The people speak in verses 11 and 12, Saul's uncle and Saul in verses 14 to 16, Samuel and the people in verse 24, and some worthless men in verse 27. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
In plain English: Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on his head. He kissed him and said, "Has not Yahweh anointed you to be leader (this Bible: prince) over his inheritance?
The Hebrew word: "Anointed" is mashach, which the dictionary gives as "to rub with oil, i.e. to anoint; by implication, to consecrate". From it comes mashiach, "anointed", which the dictionary gives as "usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically, the Messiah". Samuel calls Saul Yahweh's mashiach in and : "his anointed".
Good to know: The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has a longer verse: "Has not the Lord anointed thee for a ruler over his people, over Israel? and thou shalt rule among the people of the Lord, and thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies; and this shall be the sign to thee that the Lord has anointed thee for a ruler over his inheritance." The Hebrew has only the question "Hasn't Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?"
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2When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’
In plain English: When you leave me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, 'The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father has stopped thinking about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'
Good to know: Rachel died "on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem)", and Jacob set up a pillar on her grave ( and ). Zelzah is named only here in this Bible, and the text does not say more about where it was.
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3“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.
In plain English: "Then you will go on from there and come to the oak (or: the great tree) of Tabor. Three men going up to 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.
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4They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand.
In plain English: They will greet you (literally: ask you about your peace) and give you two loaves of bread, and you are to take them from their hand.
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5“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.
In plain English: "After that you will come to the hill of God (or: Gibeah of God), where the garrison (or: the officer) of the Philistines is. When you come to the city there, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, with a lute (or: lyre), a tambourine, a pipe and a harp in front of them, and they will be prophesying.
The Hebrew word: "Garrison" is netsiv, which the dictionary gives as "something stationary, i.e. a prefect, a military post, a statue". The same word is in , where Jonathan strikes "the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba".
What changes: Read as "garrison" or "post", there was a Philistine army camp at the hill of God. Read as "officer" or "governor", a Philistine official was stationed there. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has both: "the encampment of the Philistines; there is Nasib the Philistine", taking the word as a man's name.
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6Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.
In plain English: Then Yahweh's Spirit (or: spirit) will rush on you (this Bible: come mightily on you), and you will prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
The Hebrew word: "Come mightily" is tsalach, which the dictionary gives as "to push forward". The same words, Yahweh's Spirit "came mightily on" him, are said of Samson in , and , and of David in . The same word is used of Saul again in verse 10 and in , where it is the Spirit of God, and in , where it is "an evil spirit from God".
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7Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.
In plain English: When these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds to do (this Bible: what is appropriate for the occasion), because God is with you.
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8“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”
In plain English: "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. Look, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do."
Good to know: Samuel's words about waiting seven days at Gilgal come back in : "He stayed seven days, according to the time set by Samuel; but Samuel didn't come to Gilgal".
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9It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day.
In plain English: As Saul turned his back (literally: his shoulder) to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart (literally: God turned for him another heart), and all those signs happened that day.
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10When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.
In plain English: When they came there to the hill (or: to Gibeah), a group of prophets met him. The Spirit (or: spirit) of God rushed on him (this Bible: came mightily on him), and he prophesied among them.
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11When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
In plain English: When all who had known him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
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12One from the same place answered, “Who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
In plain English: A man from there answered, "And who is their father?" That is how the saying (this Bible: proverb) began, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Good to know: The Hebrew has "who is their father?", that is, the father of the prophets. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "And who is his father?", that is, Saul's. The text does not explain the question. The saying "Is Saul also among the prophets?" is told again, with another story, in .
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13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
In plain English: When he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.
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14Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.”
In plain English: Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, "Where did you go?" He said, "To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel."
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15Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”
In plain English: Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."
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16Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.
In plain English: Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom (or: the kingship) that Samuel had spoken of.
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17Samuel called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah;
In plain English: Samuel called the people together to Yahweh at Mizpah,
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18and he said to the children of Israel, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’
In plain English: and he said to the Israelites, "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.'
Good to know: Verses 18 and 19 are Samuel speaking. He begins with "This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says", and passes on Yahweh's message to the people, so the words are not printed in gold. A prophet sent to Israel spoke in much the same words in and : "I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you".
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19But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your thousands.”
In plain English: But today you have rejected your God, who himself saves you from all your troubles (this Bible: calamities) and distresses. You have said to him, 'No, set a king over us!' So now, present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your thousands (or: by your family groups)."
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20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
In plain English: So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot (this Bible: was chosen).
The Hebrew word: "Was chosen" is lakad, which the dictionary gives as "to catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot)". It is the same word used when Achan was picked out tribe by tribe and man by man in to .
What changes: Read as "taken", the tribe, the family and the man were caught out, one after another. Read as "chosen by lot", they were picked. The text does not say how the lot was cast, or what was used.
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21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.
In plain English: He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families (or: clans), and the family of the Matrites was taken. Then Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he could not be found.
Good to know: The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) adds a step: "they bring near the family of Mattari, man by man, and Saul the son of Kis is taken". The Hebrew goes straight from the family of the Matrites to Saul.
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22Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”God speaks
In plain English: So they asked Yahweh again, "Is there yet a man to come here (or: has the man come here yet)?" Yahweh answered, "Look, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
Good to know: The text does not say how they asked Yahweh or who asked. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "Samuel asked yet again of the Lord". "Baggage" is kelim, a word the dictionary gives as "something prepared, i.e. any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon)".
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23They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
In plain English: They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders up.
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24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
In plain English: Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one Yahweh has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
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25Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
In plain English: Then Samuel told the people the rules (this Bible: regulations; or: the rights) of the kingdom (or: kingship). He wrote it in a book (or: scroll) and laid it up before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each man to his own house.
Good to know: "The regulations of the kingdom" uses mishpat, the word explained in the note on , where Yahweh tells Samuel to show the people "the way of the king". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "the manner of the king" here. The text does not say what Samuel wrote in the book.
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26Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched.
In plain English: Saul also went home to Gibeah, and with him went the army (or: the brave men) whose hearts God had touched.
Good to know: "The army" is chayil, the word explained in the note on . Here it can be read as "the army" or as "the brave men".
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27But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.
In plain English: But some worthless men (literally: sons of Belial; this Bible: worthless fellows) said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and brought him no gift (this Bible: tribute). But he kept silent (literally: was like one who keeps silent; this Bible: held his peace).
The Hebrew word: "Worthless" is beliya'al, which the dictionary gives as "without profit, worthlessness; by extension, destruction, wickedness". The same word is used of Eli's sons in , "wicked men".
Good to know: The Hebrew ends the verse "and he was like one who keeps silent". The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has no such words here, and begins the next verse "And it came to pass about a month after this".
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