# 1 Samuel 10 📖: Saul Anointed King [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-1 Samuel Overview]] | [[1 Samuel 09]] | [[1 Samuel 11]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Samuel Anoints Saul [[#Verse 01.]] Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head. Samuel kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen you as leader over his inheritance.  [[#Verse 02.]] When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two! He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’ [[#Verse 03.]] “As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. [[#Verse 04.]] They will ask you how you’re doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them.  [[#Verse 05.]] Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials. When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.  [[#Verse 06.]] Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. [[#Verse 07.]] “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. [[#Verse 08.]] You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days until I arrive and tell you what to do.” ### Saul Becomes King [[#Verse 09.]] As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. All these signs happened on that very day.  [[#Verse 10.]] When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied among them.  [[#Verse 11.]] When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?” [[#Verse 12.]] A man who was from there replied, “And who is their father?” Therefore this became a proverb: “Is even Saul among the prophets?” [[#Verse 13.]] When Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place. [[#Verse 14.]] Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, we went to Samuel.” [[#Verse 15.]] Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”  [[#Verse 16.]] Saul said to his uncle, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship. [[#Verse 17.]] Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah.  [[#Verse 18.]] He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.  [[#Verse 19.]] But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No! Appoint a king over us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’” [[#Verse 20.]] Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. [[#Verse 21.]] Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.  [[#Verse 22.]] So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.” [[#Verse 23.]] So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all.  [[#Verse 24.]] Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people.” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!” [[#Verse 25.]] Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.  [[#Verse 26.]] Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. [[#Verse 27.]] But some wicked men said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Samuel poured a flask of oil on Saul's head and kissed him (10:1), anointing him privately before the public choosing. 2. Samuel gave Saul three signs: men near Rachel's tomb, three men going to Bethel, and a group of prophets (10:2-5). 3. Rachel's tomb (10:2) was a well-known landmark on the border of Benjamin. 4. The saying "Is Saul also among the prophets?" (10:11-12) became a proverb and appears again in 19:24. 5. Saul did not tell his uncle about being anointed king (10:16). 6. Saul was chosen publicly by lot at Mizpah, narrowing from tribe to clan to family (10:20-21), the same method used to find Achan in Joshua 7:16-18. 7. Saul was found hiding among the supplies (10:22). 8. The shout often translated "Long live the king!" appears here for the first time in the Bible (10:24). 9. Samuel wrote the rights and duties of the kingship in a scroll and placed it before the Lord (10:25). 10. A Dead Sea Scroll of Samuel (4QSam-a) contains an extra paragraph after 10:27 about Nahash the Ammonite, which some modern translations include. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Anointed One on whom the Spirit rests. The Spirit rushed on Saul for a season (10:6, 10), but the Spirit descended and remained on Jesus, God's anointed King (Luke 3:22; 4:18). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. God gave Saul specific signs to confirm His word (10:2-7). How has God confirmed His direction in your life? 2. God changed Saul's heart (10:9). What does it look like when God changes a person from the inside out? 3. Saul hid among the baggage when he was chosen (10:22). What causes us to hide from what God has called us to do? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: Samuel anoints Saul as leader over the Lord's people. - 📖 verse 9: God changes Saul's heart, and all the signs come true that day. - 📖 verse 24: The people shout, "Long live the king!" ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[1 Samuel 16#Verse 13.|1 Samuel 16:13-14]] - The Spirit comes on David and leaves Saul. - 🔗 [[Joshua 07#Verse 16.|Joshua 7:16-18]] - Choosing by lot from tribe to clan to family. - 🔗 [[Ezekiel 36#Verse 26.|Ezekiel 36:26]] - God gives a new heart and a new spirit. - 🔗 [[Luke 03#Verse 21.|Luke 3:21-22]] - The Spirit descends on Jesus. - 🔗 [[Luke 04#Verse 18.|Luke 4:18]] - The Spirit of the Lord is on Me. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[1 Samuel 10 - SOAP|God Knows Your Worth Better Than You]] ## 📂 Internal Notes