I Samuel 13, Saul Makes a Sacrifice

Saul has become king and the prophet Samuel has given his farewell speech.

I Samuel 13:1-2, Battle with the Philistines

Saul was [thirty] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel [forty-] two years. Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

From the NIV footnotes: There are disagreements in the ancient texts on the first verse. Ancient Hebrew manuscripts don't have the word translated "thirty"; a few late manuscripts of the Septuagint include that word. Similarly, the Masoretic Text does not have the word "forty". Much later, the Christian apostle Paul, speaking at a synagogue in Psidian Antioch (Acts 13: 21), quoting from the Old Testament, says that Saul reigned 40 years. Similarly, in verse 5, below, there are also disagreements from some ancient manuscripts on the number of chariots the Philistines had: three thousand or thirty thousand. The NIV text here follows the Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts.

I Samuel 13:3-7, Battle with the Philistines

Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!" So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines." And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand [38] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.

After a summary of Saul's reign in the first few verses, we are suddenly told of Saul's adult son, Jonathan.  Considerable time has passed since Saul went wandering after some lost donkeys!

Saul and his son Jonathan attack the Philistines. Saul, as Israel's first king, is intent on pushing back the Philistine boundaries. But initially the battle does not go well.

Robert Alter points out some Hebrew wordplay, a certain deliberate rhythm, to "Hebrews crossed": 'ivrim 'avru  and suggests that this rippling rhythm is the reason for the choice of the word Hebrew ('ivrim) here.

I Samuel 13:8-9, Saul makes an offering

He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering.

In I Samuel 10:8, Saul is told to wait for Samuel seven days. Is this event part of that account? There are other examples of kings making sacrifices (2 Samuel 24:15 and 1 Kings 3:15) but Saul is apparently disobeying a direct command from Samuel.

I Samuel 13:10-14, Samuel arrives

Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

"What have you done?" asked Samuel. 

Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,  I thought, `Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command."

Samuel apparently had told Saul to wait.  Samuel is angry and this sacrifice seems to be a serious violation of principle. So quickly the new king has caused trouble!

Robert Alter and Ronald Youngblood, in separate commentaries, think it strange that just as Saul finishes the sacrifice, Samuel appears. They both suggest that Saul has delayed a bit, possibly testing this first king. If so, Saul has failed this test.

I Samuel 13:15-23, Saul prepares to confront Philistine raiders

Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Micmash. Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the desert.

Saul and his son Jonathan prepare to confront the Philistines.

I Samuel 13:19-22, Not a blacksmith in Israel

Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!" So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Note the effect of the Iron Age!  The Philistines, in their occupation of Israel, are keeping tight control over this new technology.

I Samuel 13:23, Philistines approach

Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.

The chapter ends on a cliff-hanger. The entire chapter has been a prelude to a dramatic battle that will occur in the next chapter.

First published August 5, 2023; updated August 5, 2026

I Samuel 12, Samuel's Last Sermon

Saul has defended the people of Jabesh Gilead and has been reaffirmed as king.

I Samuel 12:1-5, Samuel's testimony

Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.

Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."

"You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."

Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." 

"He is witness," they said.

As Samuel prepares to die, he testifies of his concern for Israel and of his integrity. (He also mentions his sons who, previously in 1 Samuel 8:1-3, were described as corrupt.)

I Samuel 12: 6-11, From Egypt through the judges

Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.

"After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

"But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 

They cried out to the LORD and said, `We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.'

Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.

Samuel reminds the people of their heritage and of YHWH's action from Egypt forward.

(NIV footnotes: In verse 11 Jerub-Baal is Gideon; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac manuscripts have "Samson" in place of "Samuel". Both Samson and Samuel would fit naturally into this list of judges.)

I Samuel 12:12-17, Recent victory

"But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, `No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the LORD your God was your king. 

"Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God--good!

"But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."

 

Saul has led the Israelites to victory over the Ammonites. Still, says Samuel, it was evil to ask for a king when you had YHWH already. 

Samuel's complaints about the people's desire for a king may include (says Robert Alter) frustration that the people have rejected his sons and have gone a different direction. 

Robert Alter says that there is Hebrew wordplay in verse 13 with very similar sounds, "Saul" (shaul, שָׁאוּל) and "asked for" (shaal, שָׁאַל). This type of poetic rhythm occurs throughout the Old Testament and is probably a deliberate technique of the authors. (It would certainly make a public reading of the passage entertaining and easy to remember.)

Samuel calls for rain during the wheat harvest. In Israel this would have been an especially dry time in early summer.

I Samuel 12:18-25, Thunderstorm

Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 

"Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.

"As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 

"But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

To prove his point, Samuel calls on YHWH and is answered with thunder and rain. Samuel's final words in this speech are to emphasize that the Israelites are always to remember that YHWH is in charge and that He, YHWH, is to be their real king.

First published August 4, 2023; updated August 4, 2026

I Samuel 11, Saul Defeats Nahash

Saul has been anointed king. Very quickly he will be tested.

1 Samuel 11:1-3, Nahash attacks Jabesh Gilead

Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you." 

But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel."

The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you."

An Israelite city is besieged and in the brutal violence of the day, the people may surrender if they agree that each man will lose an eye!

In the Dead Sea Scrolls are copies of the Samuel scroll. In Cave 4 at Qumran is a scroll 4QSama which inserts, before the first verse of chapter 11, an explanatory paragraph: 

"Now Nahash king of the Ammonites oppressed the Gadites and Reubenites severely. He gouged out all their right eyes and struck terror and dread in Israel. Not a man remained among the Israelites beyond the Jordan whose right eye was not gouged out by Nahash king of the Ammonites, except that seven thousand men fled from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later,"

and then continues with our current text, "Nahash the Ammonite went up...."

The elders of Jabesh ask for a delay in their surrender. Nabash agrees, most likely because he is confident of victory and sees the delay as a chance to more deeply humiliate Israel.

1 Samuel 11:4-7, Appeal to Saul

When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" 

Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said. When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." 

Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.

The men of Jabesh appeal to Saul. Israel desired a king precisely because of brutal raids like this. Saul reacts to this crisis with righteous anger and, as king, immediately calls Israel together. 

Years earlier a woman had been raped and murdered in Gibeah (Judges 19) and her body dismembered and used to rally Israel. Here, in the same town, echoing that past gruesome event, Saul cuts up oxen and rallies Israel.

1 Samuel 11:8-9a, Deliverance promised

When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand. They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, `By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.'" 

Saul gathers an army and assures the people of Jabesh Gilead that they will be delivered before noon of the following day. 

1 Samuel 11:9b-10, Jabesh fakes surrender

When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated.

They said to the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you." 

The people of Jabesh Gilead assure the Ammonites that they will surrender the next day, setting up a surprise attack. 

1 Samuel 11:11, Victory

The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

While the Ammonites wait for Jabesh to surrender, Saul attacks just before dawn, scattering the Ammonites.

1 Samuel 11:12-15, Confirmation of Saul as king

The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, `Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring these men to us and we will put them to death."

But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD has rescued Israel."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship."

So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

Saul has proved his right to be king. In this victory, his supporters see a chance to also punish those Israelites who were opposed to Saul. But Saul gives mercy. No more killing today -- especially of Israelites!

Israel now has a king who is both powerful and compassionate.

First published August 3, 2023; updated August 3, 2026

The Transmission of the Old Testament

The Old Testament writings cover thousands of years of history and were likely written across a number of centuries, possibly a millenium.  During that time the language and writings of the main characters changed, from possibly a proto-Hebrew or Akkadian language of Abraham to a well-developed Hebrew language of Isaiah and Jeremiah and an Aramaic language most likely spoken by Daniel and Esther.  In this Sunday essay, we will lightly explore the transmission of the Old Testament, from ancient Hebrew into modern languages such as English.

Hebrew scrolls

The language of the early Israelites, of Moses, Joshua and David, was Hebrew.  This was a Northwest Semitic language closely related to Akkadian, Aramaic and Ugaritic.  Written Hebrew involved 22 letters, all consonants, no vowels. Core words had three consonants. The text was read from right to left.

In the third or fourth millennium BC, Egyptians took papyrus reeds, grown along the Nile, and pressed them into a soft thick paper-like substance, papyrus, and wrote on sheets of papyrus with dark ink. At the same time the Babylonians wrote on soft clay which, once dried, created permanent clay tablets. Although the Law of Moses was recorded on stone (Exodus 31:18, Joshua 8:32), later copies of Hebrew writings were written on papyrus or animal skin, rolled up into scrolls. Both papyrus and animal skin decayed over times and so these ancient writings were copied again and again, to create new scrolls. These scrolls were an integral part of Jewish worship in the time of Jesus (see Luke 4: 16-21) and are still used today (see this Wikipedia article on the Sefer Torah.)

TaNaKh

Sometime in the Second Temple period, after the return from Babylon, the remnants of Israel living in Palestine organized the scriptures into 24 scrolls. There were three parts to this collection of scripture.  According to F. F. Bruce in The Canon of Scripture, there was 

• the Torah (the "Law", that is, the five Books of Moses), 
• the Nevi'im (the "prophets": Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Exekiel and the Book of the Twelve Prophets) 
• and then the Ketuvim ("writings", including Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles.) 

As many Hebrew words have three consonants, it was common to shorten Torah-Nevi'im-Ketuvim to TaNaKh and so the TaNaKh was the general term for the Jewish scriptures. 

As an aside: it is to this collection of scrolls that Jesus refers in Matthew 23:35 when he attacks the legalism of the Pharisees and accuses them of being responsible for bloodshed, from the first murder, of Abel, to the last murder, of Zechariah. Obviously the murder of Abel was the first murder mentioned in scripture. But what of Zechariah? The murder of the prophet Zechariah is described in 2 Chronicles 24:20-21. At the time of Jesus, the scroll of (1 & 2) Chronicles was the last scroll of the TaNaKh and so the murder of Zechariah was the last murder in the Hebrew scriptures.

Later synagogue collections (says F. F. Bruce) might have counted 22 scrolls, including Ruth as part of  Judges and Lamentations as part of Jeremiah. For example, ancient Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, assumed 22 scrolls.

The Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew script has changed over time. The early Hebrew writings were probably done in a script called paleo-Hebrew. This was likely the alphabet of David and Solomon. After the Babylonian captivity, this script of 22 consonants took on the Aramaic alphabet and eventually developed the "square script" alphabet of Biblical Hebrew. This writing still did not have consonants. (Eventually, there was a distinction between the letters sin and shin and so some versions of biblical Hebrew had 23 letters.)

At some point, in order to carefully preserve these sacred texts, copyists were required to follow precise rules for accurately copying the old texts.  These rules included counting all the letters in the text and noting the center word and letter, as a type of error-checking. These precise copiers, who emphasized careful counting, were called soferim ("counters".) This error-checking assumes that a formal canon of Hebrew scripture had been determined by that time. (Tradition has the priest Ezra as an early sofer; the profession of sofer most likely evolved into the class of men called "scribes" in the New Testament.)

In 2019 a clay bulla with the name of a temple official from the time of the divided kingdom was found in a dig in Jerusalem. The inscription on the seal, in ancient Hebrew script, reads "(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King”. (See 2 Kings 23:11 where Nathan-Melech is mentioned.) The ancient script of that time predates the later scripts showing up in the Masoretic texts.

Conflicts in the text

By about the second or third century BC, Jewish scribes had very rigorous rules for copying texts. Comparisons between the Dead Sea Scrolls (c. 200 BC) and the Masoretic Text (c. 900 AD) show few discrepancies.  However, there are still many places where the ancient texts vary.  In modern translations these differences are usually marked by footnotes.  The differences are almost always minor, often small discrepancies in spellings. These small variants, for one interested in languages, are somewhat enlightening.  I give two examples here, partly to emphasize the serious nature of the copyists and also to show the types of discrepancies that occur.

One example of a textual debate, given by Paul Wegner (in The Journey from Texts to Translations) occurs in Judges 18:30, where some ancient manuscripts replace the name Moses with Manasseh. This change is indicated by inserting the Hebrew letter נַ (nun) into the name of Moses, changing  משֶׁה to   מְנַשֶּׁה. (Remember, we read from right to left!) Because the scribe was copying scripture and making any changes to scripture text is a serious matter, this insertion was not done secretly. The insertion of nun into the name Moses was indicated in ancient texts by suspending the letter nun half a line above the ordinary text, so that the insertion is recognized as an alternative reading. It is possible that this insertion was made because the text describes idolatry in Dan, during the reign of certain priests. Manasseh (here meant to be the seventh century BC king of Judah) is more likely than Moses to have had a son who allowed idolatry. In keeping with that interpretation, we note that the verse describes idolatry occurring until the time of captivity, presumably the Babylonian captivity that occurred shortly after the reign of Manasseh.  Whoever inserted the letter nun believed that the original text had read מְנַשֶּׁה. but that an earlier copyist, accustomed to writing "Moses", had accidentally left out the second character, נַ. We emphasize that the later copyist was not free to make changes without adding marks to indicate the change.

Our second example is not a discrepancy but a place of confusion. In Exodus 25:5 an offering to be given YHWH in the building of the Tabernacle includes precious medals, along with beautifully dyed garments and tehashim (תְּחָשִׁ֖ים). This strange word only occurs five times in the Old Testament, all five times in Exodus, always dealing with gifts to the sanctuary. Translating ancient words is especially difficult when they are rare and this is a classic example. Because the word is applied to skins, various English translations translate this as "dolphin", "badger", "sea cow", or "dugong." One version of the NIV translates the word as "durable leather". But Robert Alter, in his translation of Exodus, argues that this word is most likely an Akkadian loan word for a yellow or orange dye. Alter argues that translating this word as a colorful dye fits into the context of beautifully colored garments.

Careful examination of various ancient texts then raises questions such as:

• Was it Manasseh or Moses who had a son that allowed idolatry? 
• Was the tehashim in Exodus an aquatic animal or the color of a dye? 

Hebrew scholars love to debate things like this (and publish papers on the Hebrew translation) but for  most of us these small disputes are irrelevant. These small disputes emphasize that Old Testament Hebrew was an ancient language with insight into an ancient culture.

Ancient sources for the Old Testament

Since the Hebrew scrolls (whether papyrus or leather) decayed over time, a natural question is "What are our sources, today, for the Old Testament?" To be blunt, "How reliable is our copy of the Old Testament?"  

This question leans on the legitimacy of the oldest scrolls. 

One major source for the ancient Hebrew documents were scrolls created by the Masoretes, a Jewish group of scribes and scholars who copied the scrolls from 500 to 1000 AD. The Masoretes followed very rigid rules for copying the text and used marks over the Hebrew consonants to indicate the missing vowels. Most Old Testament translations rely on the Masoretic text (MT); the NIV footnotes simply call this the "Hebrew" text. There are other ancient manuscripts; some, like the Septuagint, are translations of the ancient Hebrew into other languages. We will look in more detail at these ancient texts in a future Sunday essay.

First published July 2, 2025; updated August 2, 2026

I Samuel 10, Saul Prophesies

Samuel has retained Saul at his home, telling him that there is a message from God for him.

1 Samuel 10:1-4, Anointment

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, `The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"'

"Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

Samuel predicts some events that are to come.  The NIV translation in verse 1 follows ancient Hebrew Masoretic manuscripts. But the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate manuscripts replace the question

"Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?" 

with a longer statement

"Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his people Israel? You will reign over the LORD's people and save them from the power of their enemies round about. And this will be a sign to you that the LORD has anointed you leader over his inheritance."

Samuel attempts to convince Saul that this anointing is divinely planned and so provides events that will occur after Saul heads home. At the "great tree of Tabor", he will meet three men, carrying three goats, three loaves of bread and one wineskin of wine. In addition to the specificity of this prophesy, we might note that once again, in this dry and desert land, a great tree can be a distinctive landmark (unlike east Texas or Michigan!)

1 Samuel 10:5-7, Prophesy

"After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

The next sign Samuel gives Saul will occur at Gibeah, Saul's home.  (Gibeah is the same town where the woman was raped and killed in Judges 19.) In Gibeah, Saul is free to join the prophets and the Holy Spirit will take over him then. When that occurs, Saul is to follow his instincts in his next action.

Commentators point out the three stages of Saul's coronation: 

(1) He is anointed, secretly, by Samuel in the previous chapter. 

(2) He is chosen by lot (later in this chapter) and then 

(3) he is chosen by public proclamation in the next chapter. 

If one wonders why some of this is being done in secrecy, we might note that the Philistines have an outpost in Gibeah and so appear to be currently occupying the region. The Philistine occupiers would not take lightly a decision by Israel to appoint a king.

1 Samuel 10:8, "Wait seven days"

"Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."

 

Samuel gives an important instruction to Saul about waiting seven days after he arrives at Gilgal

I Samuel 10:9-12, "Is Saul among the prophets?"

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

A strange thing happens to Saul as he searches out the prophets -- he, himself, begins to prophesy! (The saying, "Is Saul among the prophets?" is probably asked in awe here. Later it will be a sign of mockery.) Schools of prophets show up a few times in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 2, for example and 2 Kings 4:38-41.  Some schools had a "father" leader, but Saul did not. 

1 Samuel 10:13-16, "Just donkeys"

After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place. Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have you been?" 

"Looking for the donkeys," he said. 

"But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."

Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."

Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

 

Saul is suddenly reticent and does not want his uncle to know what has happened. All of this may be a bit overwhelming!

1 Samuel 10:17-19, Samuel summons Israel

Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, `No, set a king over us.' So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans."

Samuel claims that choosing a king is rejecting YHWH -- but a king will indeed be chosen.

(The Hebrew word eleph at the end of this paragraph is here translated "clans".  Elsewhere in the Old Testament it is often translated "thousands" and the King James Version uses the word "thousands" here, instead of "clans".  The ambiguity of this ancient Hebrew word is discuss in The Problem of Large Numbers in the Old Testament.)

1 Samuel 10:20-23, Among the baggage

When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found.

So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" 

And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others.

 

Suddenly shy Saul hides among the luggage! Saul is not eager to be king and has no ambitions for power at this time.

1 Samuel 10:24-27, "Long live the king!"

Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." 

Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own home.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some troublemakers said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.

Saul is introduced as king and Samuel writes down basic regulations regarding kingship within the covenant of God.  These regulations are written on a scroll (made of papyrus or sheepskin) and most likely placed in the ark.  

Most of the people are exciting and enthusiastic to have a king introduced to them.  But there are always scoffers and trolls.

First published August 2, 2023; updated August 1, 2026

I Samuel 9, Saul, Son of Kish

The people of Israel want a king. YHWH has given a reluctant Samuel approval to seek out a king.

1 Samuel 9:1-5, Saul hunts for donkeys

There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites--a head taller than any of the others.

Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys." So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them. When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."

 

Kish has a long genealogy, showing that his family are true Israelites. The description of Kish as a man of standing echoes the description of Boaz in Ruth 2. Kish is known and respected. His son, Saul, is also impressive, being physically taller than other men.

A search for lost donkeys will take Saul near to Samuel.

1 Samuel 9:6-10, Let's talk to the prophet

But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take." 

Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"

The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take." (Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)

"Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of God was.

The servant suggests visiting Samuel. The servant is willing to use a piece of silver as a gift.

We have a historical comment from the author regarding the terms used in ages past, showing some distance between the author and the time of this event.

1 Samuel 9:11-14, Girls give direction

As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?"

"He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time."

They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.

Some girls in the community tell Saul and his servant how to find Samuel. The town has a "high place", a hilltop where people apparently make sacrifices to YHWH. (This fits the Canaanite culture in that the people worshipe their local god(s) at the top of a hill, at a nearby "high place." Later Israelite worship will move to the tabernacle and then to the temple, but at this time, Israel still seems to have the worship practices we saw in Judges. And meanwhile, the ark still resides in Kiriath Jearim.)

1 Samuel 9:15-17, Samuel alerted

Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."

When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."

 

YHWH has been planning this! Our author provides a flashback to the day before, when Samuel was alerted to look for Saul.

1 Samuel 9:18-21, Samuel greets Saul

Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"

"I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

Samuel greets Saul, tells him the result of his search for donkeys and alerts Saul to something greater. Saul responds with confusion and humility -- how can all Israel be interested in him when his clan is a small clan inside a small tribe. The tribe of Benjamin is small because of many Benjamites were killed after the the rape of the concubine in Gibeah years before (Judges 19.) Saul, himself, is from Gibeah (1 Samuel 20: 26.)

1 Samuel 9:22-24, A leg of meat

Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited--about thirty in number. Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside."

So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. 

Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time I said, `I have invited guests.'" And Saul dined with Samuel that day.

Saul gives Samuel the best of the meat. (The meat set aside by Samuel was likely the priest's portion from the sacrifice.) After this, Samuel will get Saul and his servant to stay the night.

1 Samuel 9:25-27, Stay for a message from God

After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together.

As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us"--and the servant did so--"but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from God."

The next morning, Samuel sends the servant on and tells Saul to stay behind, for a message from God. This important message will be the main event of the next chapter.

First published August 1, 2023; updated July 31, 2026

I Samuel 8, "Give Us a King!"

Samuel has now been judging Israel for some time.

1 Samuel 8:1-3, Samuel's sons are immoral

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

Considerable time has passed. Samuel now has the same problem Eli did -- his sons act corruptly.  Beersheba is some distance south of Samuel's home at Ramah.

One sign of a monarchy is that rule is inherited, passed on to sons. We saw this in Judges 8:29-31 when Gideon, asked to become king, declined the offer but then began, himself, to act like a king. Later, his son Abimeleck ("my father is king") attempted to reign in Israel. Judges 9 describes the short and bloody reign of Abimeleck. Here Samuel has appointed his own sons as "judges", even though they are corrupt. It should not be too surprising that the people want a more formal monarchy, with significant military power to protect them from the Philistines and Ammonites.

1 Samuel 8:4-6, Elders ask for a king

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 

But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

These elders are presumably older, respected men of the various tribes. The Israelites want a king, just like the other nations have! This request displeases Samuel. There are certainly problems with the request (the desire to be like "all the other nations") but Samuel may also be unhappy that his own monarchy is being rejected.

1 Samuel 8:7-9, God gives permission

And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

YHWH says, "They have had me as king, if they wanted. It is not you they are rejecting." This answer is a surprise to Samuel. God seems to be allowing the people to work out a kingship, even if the people's desire is not reasonable.

1 Samuel 8:11-18, The problem with a king

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 

He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

(NIV footnotes: in verse 16, the Septuagint has "young men" in place of "cattle".  A number of translators have pointed out that "young men" does not fit that sentence and may be a misplaced word. The "cattle" of the MT is probably correct.)

Samuel attempts to explain the difference between a monarchy and the relaxed system of government they have been using (a "theocracy" with judges?  a patriarchal tribal system?)  But the monarchy is the more "modern" way to go in the ancient Near East.

Some of this doesn't sound too bad -- I can imagine some of the elders thinking, "My son will be a commander of thousands," and not thinking about their sons simply being drafted into the ranks of the army. But Samuel does end with the mention of slavery.

Robert Alter, in his study of 1 and 2 Samuel, portrays a grumpy rejected Samuel attempting to slow down the march to a monarchy. Youngblood, in his commentary, makes similar comments. The motives of our last judge are not necessarily pure.

1 Samuel 8:19-22, The people insist

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.

The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." 

Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."

The people want a modern system of government! This does make some sense -- it is difficult to compete with organized armies of invaders without a strong central structure.

The people seem to be content to let God and Samuel work out the details! When YHWH says, "give them a king", Samuel dismisses the people.  This process will take time and Samuel is not in a hurry.

First published July 31, 2023; updated July 30, 2026