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1 Samuel 10

KJV · Chapter 10/31

1Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

2When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth–el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

4And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

5After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

6And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

8And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

10And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

15And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

16And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh;

18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.

20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

22Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

23And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

25Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Samuel privately anoints Saul as king over Israel, giving him confirming signs that come to pass exactly as foretold. Publicly, by lot, Saul is chosen before all the people, though he is found hiding among the baggage.

Explanation

Saul's private anointing by Samuel, followed by specific, verifiable signs (meeting certain men, receiving loaves of bread, prophesying with a group of prophets), served to confirm to Saul, in a personal and unmistakable way, that his choice was genuinely from God, not merely political. The fact that Saul hid 'among the baggage' at the moment he was to be publicly proclaimed king suggests a genuine hesitation or shyness in the face of the enormous responsibility, a trait of humble reluctance that contrasts with the pride he would develop later in his reign. The expression that became proverbial, 'Is Saul also among the prophets?', shows how Saul's sudden transformation surprised even those who had known him since childhood.

Fun facts

  • The 'hill of God' mentioned (v.5) probably refers to Gibeah, Saul's hometown, which had a Philistine garrison—showing that even before becoming king, Saul lived under partial foreign occupation.
  • The expression 'Is Saul also among the prophets?' would become a recurring proverb in Israel, repeated again later in chapter 19 under very different and more desperate circumstances.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 10:1Pouring oil on someone’s head was the formal rite that made a person anointed — hence the very title messiah (anointed one) that would later apply to David’s royal descendants and, in Christian tradition, to Jesus.
  2. 1 Samuel 10:2Samuel gives Saul a first verifiable, short-term sign — two specific men, in a specific place, saying something specific — so that he can gradually confirm that everything Samuel said is trustworthy.
  3. 1 Samuel 10:3The second sign is also very detailed: three men, with specific items, heading to Bethel for a sacrifice — another concrete confirmation before the final and most dramatic sign.
  4. 1 Samuel 10:4Receiving bread from strangers, though a small gesture, was also part of the agreed sign — each detail that came true reinforced Saul’s confidence in Samuel’s word.
  5. 1 Samuel 10:5Having a Philistine garrison inside Israel’s own territory shows how far foreign oppression had advanced — it is there, under enemy control, that Saul will receive the most striking sign.
  6. 1 Samuel 10:6Bands of prophets who came down playing instruments and fell into prophetic ecstasy were a known phenomenon in the ancient Near East; here the Spirit of the Lord takes hold of Saul in a similar way, visibly changing his behavior in front of everyone.
  7. 1 Samuel 10:7After confirming the signs, Samuel gives Saul freedom to act — “do as occasion serve thee” is a way of saying he can act on his own initiative, knowing God will be with him.
  8. 1 Samuel 10:8This instruction to wait at Gilgal seems secondary here, but it becomes crucial again, and the cause of a serious mistake by Saul, in chapter 13.
  9. 1 Samuel 10:9“God gave him another heart” describes a real inner transformation, not just a passing behavior — Saul leaves that meeting with Samuel a literally different man.
  10. 1 Samuel 10:10The first of the signs Samuel announced comes true exactly as promised — Saul falls into prophetic ecstasy in front of everyone, public and visible proof of the change God worked in him.
  11. 1 Samuel 10:11The people’s astonished question shows how shocking this change was to anyone who knew Saul before — no one expected this kind of behavior from him.
  12. 1 Samuel 10:12The people’s astonishment at seeing Saul seized by the same trance as the prophets became a popular saying about being “among the prophets” — it comes up again later, in chapter 19, when the same scene happens a second time.
  13. 1 Samuel 10:13After the prophetic episode, Saul returns to the normal road, going up to the sacrifice site, as if nothing unusual had happened that day.
  14. 1 Samuel 10:14Saul tells his uncle only the part of the story about the lost donkeys — deliberately leaving out, as the next verse confirms, the most important part of the conversation.
  15. 1 Samuel 10:15Saul’s uncle’s curiosity about the visit to Samuel shows that this kind of consultation with a recognized seer was seen as noteworthy news within the family.
  16. 1 Samuel 10:16Keeping the anointing secret, even from a close relative, shows Saul’s discretion — or perhaps his uncertainty about how to reveal something so momentous before the right time.
  17. 1 Samuel 10:17After the private anointing in the previous chapter, Samuel now organizes a public ceremony at Mizpeh to officially reveal who has been chosen as king.
  18. 1 Samuel 10:18Samuel opens the ceremony by recalling God’s history of delivering Israel without needing a human king — an introduction that already sets up the criticism in the next verse.
  19. 1 Samuel 10:19Even after already granting the request, Samuel still makes sure to state publicly that asking for a king was, at its core, a way of rejecting God as direct ruler.
  20. 1 Samuel 10:20The selection process uses lot casting, probably by Urim and Thummim, narrowing from tribe to family and then to person — a method seen as a direct revelation of God’s will.
  21. 1 Samuel 10:21Ironically, at the decisive moment of the public selection, the very man chosen is missing — without knowing it, Saul hides himself right as the lot falls on his name.
  22. 1 Samuel 10:22Consulting God again, now about Saul’s whereabouts, shows the selection process kept being guided by direct revelation, step by step, until the hidden chosen one was found.
  23. 1 Samuel 10:23Saul’s height, already mentioned in his introduction in chapter 9, is highlighted again here as the first thing the people saw when they found him hiding among the baggage.
  24. 1 Samuel 10:24“God save the king” is the first time this acclamation appears in the Hebrew Bible — a shout that would become the standard formula for popular recognition of kings from then on.
  25. 1 Samuel 10:25Recording in writing “the manner of the kingdom” and laying it up before the Lord suggests a formal document establishing the limits and duties of the new monarchy — a contract between king and God, not unchecked power.
  26. 1 Samuel 10:26Not everyone accepts the choice right away — only “a band of men whose hearts God had touched” go with Saul, a voluntary and still small group of supporters at the very start of the reign.
  27. 1 Samuel 10:27Bringing a gift to the new king was a sign of loyalty — refusing to do so was a deliberate insult. Saul’s response, pretending not to hear rather than reacting with violence, shows restraint right at the start of his reign.

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