1

days.

at a Solemn Feast.

to this

man," &c., were the silent answer of God to the silent prayer of His old servant.

Shall reign. The word "shall reign," which was whispered by the "Spirit" to the listening heart of the seer, should rather have been translated, "shall control," or "shall restrain." It was a word which-looking on to Saul's future reign-represented it as a stern, severe rule.

(18) In the gate.-The LXX. (Greek Version) here reads, "in the midst of the city." It is not improbable that this is the original reading, it being very possible for a scribe to write the Hebrew word "gate' for "city."

(19) Go up before me unto the high place.The desiring the young stranger to precede him to the public place of sacrifice was a sign of distinguished honour from one of Samuel's rank to a young unknown wayfarer like Saul. These words of courteous respect were addressed to Saul alone: "Go thou up before me." The prophet-judge then speaks to the two, Saul and his servant: "ye shall eat." The verb here is in the plural, and invites both to the sacrificial banquet; and then again Samuel confines his words to Saul: "I will tell thee all "-" all that is in thine heart." The seer informs him that on the morrow he proposes to make strange disclosures to this young man, who, all unknowing what lay before him, had just come up and accosted him, the aged judge and seer. Yes, he would on the morrow show this young Benjamite that he, Samuel, was indeed a seer; he would tell him all his secret thoughts and aspirations; as for those asses for whose fate he was so anxious, let him dismiss these from his thoughts altogether. They were already found. Far graver thoughts than the everyday weal and woe of a farm on Mount Ephraim had to be discussed on the

morrow.

All the desire of Israel.-"All the desire of Israel," or, as the Vulg. renders it, "optima quæque Israel," "the best in Israel" (Luther). The words do not signify the desire of Israel all that it desires-but all that it possesses of what is precious or worth desiring. The obscure dark words of the seer on this, the occasion of his first meeting with Saul, were intended to draw him away from thinking about the asses and the little matters which hitherto had filled his life, and to lift him up to higher thoughts and aspirations. The old seer's words were vague and indefinite, certainly, but coming as they did from the lips of one so high in dignity, known to be the possessor of many a strange secret of futurity

hid from the knowledge of mortal men, and holding out a prospect of undreamed of future glory for Saul, amazed the young man; and he, full of wonderment and awe, replied, "Speakest thou of such glories to me, a member of an unimportant family of the smallest of the tribes of Israel ?"

(22) And Samuel took Saul.-The seer gave Saul no answer to this question, in which the young man's wonderment was expressed that one so insignificant should be chosen for so high a destiny. Samuel merely wished, in the first instance, to awaken new and grander thoughts and aspirations in this young heart, and without reply he proceeded to conduct his guests to the scene of the sacrifice on the high place. In the guest-chamber, where thirty of the most distinguished persons present at the solemn sacrifice were assembled, Samuel places Saul and his companion, no doubt to their great surprise, in the principal seats. "The parlour" is an unfortunate rendering of the Hebrew word here, which signifies the "cell," or "chamber attached to the building on the high place, for such purposes as the present. These solemn sacrificial meals were the usual adjuncts of a solemn sacrifice.

Not only was Saul thus highly honoured in public as the future king, but his servant also. If, as tradition tells us, this servant was Doeg the Edomite, he, too, on this occasion had a foretaste of his future position, an earnest of the rank and power which he would receive when one of Saul's great officers of state.

(23) And Samuel said unto the cook.-The meaning of this statement is simply this-all that took place in the meeting of the prophet and Saul at the sacrificial feast, and subsequently in Samuel's house, was arranged for beforehand; every event was foreseen and provided for, even the trivial details-all was symbolical in this preparation for the great change in the constitution of Israel, which, under God's providence, was fraught with such important consequences. The very piece of meat set before Samuel at the Ramah banquet was no chance piece, but one which, owing, no doubt, to its being considered the choicest, had been carefully set aside for him when the sacrificial feast was being prepared.

(2) And Samuel said.-There is an error here in the English translation which requires correction. Although the matter is not one of great moment, yet it is important and deeply interesting to notice the little details that the inspired historian has thought it right to preserve in connection with this whole transaction. There was, no doubt, a very early

and authentic tradition of the circumstance of this anointing of the first king, which was, of course, often rehearsed in the sacred assemblies of Israel. "Samuel's name is not given in the Hebrew, and though inserted by the LXX. and Vulg., it is so only by a manifest error. The Syriac and Chaldee, like the Hebrew, make the cook the speaker. The right translation is, And the cook lifted up the shoulder, with that which was upon it, and set it before Saul, and said, Behold that which hath been reserved is set (a participle, and not the imperative) before thee; eat, for it hath been kept for thee unto the appointed time, of which he (ie., Samuel) spake, saying, I have invited the people. The word translated in the Authorised Version," since I said," is one which means saying, and nothing else; and as what goes before contains no verb to which saying can refer, it is plain that there is an ellipse. But if the cook be the speaker, the meaning is plain, as follows:-When, on the previous day, the revelation was made to Samuel that Israel's future king would present himself on the morrow, the prophet at once made preparations to receive him with due solemnity, and for this purpose arranged a sacrifice, and invited thirty of the chief citizens of Ramah to assemble at the high place, and sit at the banquet with him. And then it was, when telling the cook of his invitation, that he gave orders that the portion of honour should be carefully reserved, to be set at the fitting time before the stranger. The chat of the cook is entirely after the manner of ancient times, and would show Saul how completely his coming had been foreseen and provided for."-Dean Payne Smith, in Pulpit Comm.

(25) And when they were come down,— After the public sacrificial meal at which such signal honours had been shown to the Benjamite stranger and his servant, the prophet-judge detained Saul from continuing his journey homewards, and persuaded him to remain as his guest that night at Ramah. He conducted him to the flat roof of his house, often the favourite locality in the East for quiet conversation or rest, and where frequently the honoured guest was lodged for the night: there the prophet had a long interview with his young guest. The conversation that evening probably did not turn upon the royal dignity, so soon to be conferred on Saul; of that Samuel spoke at length, we know, on the following morning. The solemn words of the old man that evening on the house-top in Ramah of the Watchers" referred, no doubt, to the sad religious and political decline of the people of God, from which he (Samuel) had laboured, not unsuccessfully, to rescue them," to the opposition of the heathen nations, the causes of the impotency of Israel to oppose their enemies, the necessity of a religious change in the people, and of a leader thoroughly obedient to the Lord."-Otto von Gerlach, quoted in Lange. It has been suggested that this conversation

Saul and Samuel.

the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.

(27) And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.

was the connecting link between that on the height (verses 19, 20) and the communication which Samuel made to Saul the following morning. The LXX. reads here, instead of "communed with Saul on the top of the house,' they strewed a couch for Saul on the top of the house, and he lay down." But the Chaldee and Syriac Versions agree with the Hebrew text. The strange LXX. variation is apparently a correction. These Greek translators could not understand a conversation of the prophet and Saul taking place in the evening, when the announcement of the crown was made so formally on the following morning. Why did Samuel not tell Saul of God's intention during that evening spent together?

(26) And they arose early.—The English translation of this verse is misleading. It should run thus: "And they arose early, namely, when the morning dawned. Samuel called for Saul upon the roof, Get up, that I may send thee, &c." The English rendering seems to suppose that they rose first, and afterwards, about the spring of the day (the morning dawn), Samuel called Saul-the fact being that, as is frequent in Hebrew narration, the second clause simply related the same event as the first clause had already done, only with greater detail. The sense then is obvious. Saul, evidently weary after the exciting scene and revelations of the day before, slept soundly, probably heavily, on his couch spread on the roof of the prophet's house. From this roof-top Samuel calls Saul in the early morning, wishing to conduct him himself out of the city, as he had a yet more important communication to make to his amazed and awe-struck visitor.

(27) That I may shew thee the word of God. -The wonderment of Saul at the strange honour and distinction shown to him, a comparatively unknown Benjamite, by the famous prophet-judge, was, no doubt, increased by this proposal of Samuel to accompany him a little way on his journey homeward. The meaning of all that had happened to him on the day before was, however, now to be revealed: the gracious welcome as a distinguished guest evidently looked for, the courteous hospitality in the judge's house; and, more than all, the long private instructions Samuel had given him in the evening on the state of Israel. The prophet now directs that the servant should be sent on alone, that he might in all solemn confidence impart to Saul "the word of God," that is, all that the God of Israel had revealed to him, the seer, concerning Saul's appointment. It would have been interesting to have learned something of Saul's state of mind when this startling revelation of the choice of God was first made to him.

The writer here is silent, but in the next chapter (verse 6) we read that the Spirit of the Lord was specially promised to this chosen one. When new duties are imposed by God, He never forgets to bestow the gift of new powers.

X.

over the Lord's Inheritance.

ness.

(1—27) Saul is anointed King by Samuel. The Divine Signs given to him. The Election of King Saul.

(1) Then Samuel took a vial of oil. The vial was a narrow-necked vessel, from which the oil flowed in drops. It was, of course, no common oil which the prophet used on this momentous occasion, but the oil of holy ointment, the sacred anointing oil which was used at the consecration of the priests, and also of the Tabernacle and the sacred vessels. (See Exod. xxix. 7, xxx. 23-33, &c.) The solemn anointing took place in the ceremony of consecration in the case of some, but not of all, the Hebrew sovereigns. We hear of it at the accession of David, Absalom, Solomon, Joash, Jehoahaz, and Jehu. In cases of regular succession the anointing was supposed to continue its effect—that is, the regular succession needed no new anointing. Hence it is that only the above named kings are mentioned as having been anointed, all founders of dynasties or irregularly advanced to the throne. (See Erdman in Lange here.)

And kissed him.-Rather as a customary sign of reverential homage than as a mark of affection, which at that early date of their acquaintance it was hardly possible to assume that the old man felt for the younger. (Compare Ps. ii. 12: "Kiss the son, lest he be angry": that is, "Do homage, O ye kings of the earth, to Him who is your anointed King.")

The Lord hath anointed thee.-Samuel replies to the look and gesture of extreme astonishment with which the young Saul received the anointing and the kiss with these words: "Do you mutely ask me why I pay you this formal homage? why I salute you with such deep respect? Is it not because you are the chosen of the Eternal? Are you still incredulous respecting your high destiny? See now, as you go on your way home, you will meet with three signs; they will prove to you that what I do, I do not of myself, but in obedience to a higher power."

(2) When thou art departed from me to day, then...-Here follows Samuel's careful description of the three signs which should meet the future king as he went from Ramah to his father's home in Benjamin. Each of these tokens, which were to strengthen the young Saul's faith, contained a solemn lesson, the deep meaning of which, as his life went on, the future sovereign would be able to ponder over. Each of the three signs from heaven met him at one of the sacred spots which were so plentifully dotted over these southern districts of Canaan, memorable for the life-stories, first of Abraham and the patriarchs, and then of the warriorchieftains of the Israel of the conquest. The selection of localities famous as homes of prayer, or sacred as the resting-place of the illustrious dead, taught the eternal truth that help comes from the holy place." At the sepulchre of Rachel, the loved ancestress of the warlike tribe of Benjamin, to which the new king belonged, men should meet him on his homeward journey with the news that the lost asses which he had gone to seek

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were found again. This showed him that henceforth in his new life he was to dismiss all lower cares, and give himself up alone to higher and more important matters. A king must take counsel and thought for the weal of a whole people; he must put aside now and for ever all consideration for himself and his family, all anxiety for the mere ordinary prosperity of life. God, who had chosen him, would provide for these things, as He had now done in the case of the lost asses. Further on in his journey, when he reached the terebinth-tree of Tabor, three men on a pilgrimage to the great Beth-el sanctuary would meet him, and would offer him some of the loaves which they proposed offering at Beth-el. The signification of this peculiar gift was that some portion of the products of the soil, which had hitherto been appropriated exclusively to the service and support of the sanctuary, in future should be devoted to the maintenance of the anointed of the Lord. The third sign which he should perceive would meet him as he approached his home, which was situated near a famous holy place of prayer, known as the "Gibeah," or Hill of God." A number of prophets belonging to one of the "schools" of the prophets founded by Samuel, coming from the altar on the "hill of God," where sacrifice had just been offered, would meet him. They would be plunged in prophetic raptures, he would hear them chanting hymns to the Eternal, accompanied by the music of their instruments. A new and mighty influence, Samuel told the astonished Saul, would, as he met this company of singers, come upon him, and involuntarily he who evidently had never joined before in any of these solemn choruses would sing his part with the rest. The new influence, said the old seer, which would then come upon him would be the Spirit of the Lord, and from that moment he would be a changed man. Never in his after days of glory and might was the king to forget how, in a moment, the Divine power had swept down and given him-the ignorant shepherd, the humble vine-dresser, the heir to a few asses and sheep, to some fields of corn or vineyards-wisdom, power, and a mighty kingdom. He must remember that in a moment the same Divine power might wing away from him its solemn flight; that was the lesson of the third sign which was to meet him on his homeward journey.

The LXX. and Vulg. have a somewhat long addition to verse 1. It is, however, manifestly an explanatory gloss, and is made up from verses 16 and 17 of chap. ix.

(2) Thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre. This tomb of the loved wife of th patriarch does not thus appear to have been very far from Ramah, whence Saul started. The words of Jeremiah xxxi. 15, which speak of the future massacre of the Bethlehem innocents by Herod, connects Ramah and Rachel's tomb : A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel weeping for her children."

At Zelzah.-This locality has never been identified. Some have supposed it was the same as Zela in Benjamin, the place where the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were eventually buried. The LXX. curiously render it as

The Signs given by

you, saying, What shall I do for my son? (3) Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three

Samuel to Saul.

loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. (5) After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall

carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: (4) and they will salute thee, and give thee two

peace.

though it were a verb, "dancing (lit. springing) vehemently," or, as Ewald would translate the Greek words, "in great haste," of course, with reference to the two men who brought Saul the news of the recovered asses.

(3) Thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor.The accurate translation of the Hebrew is "to the terebinth or oak of Tabor." There was evidently a history, now lost, connected with the "terebinth of Tabor." Ewald suggests that "Tabor " is a different form for Deborah, and that this historic tree was the oak beneath which Deborah, the nurse of Rachel, was buried (Gen. xxxv. 8).

Going up to God to Beth-el.-This since the old patriarchal days had been a sacred spot. Samuel used to visit it as judge, and hold his court there annually, no doubt on account of the number of pilgrims who were in the habit of visiting it. These men were evidently on a pilgrimage to the old famous shrine.

(5) After that thou shalt come to the hill of God. These words should be rendered to the Gibeah of God. The writer here is alluding to Saul's own city, afterwards known as "Gibeah of Saul." The name of Gibeah, or Hill of God, was given to it on account of a well-known high place or sacrificial height in or hard by the town. We know that this sacred place was chosen by Samuel as the site of one of his schools of the prophets."

Where is the garrison of the Philistines.These warlike Phoenician tribes seem gradually, after their great defeat at Mizpeh, to have again established themselves in various stations of the land, whence they harried the Israelites. A parallel to these marauding soldiers, so long the plague of Israel, might be found in the countless freebooters' strongholds which, in the Middle Ages, were the curse especially of Germany, the terror of the peaceful trading folk of the rich countries of Central Europe.

These

A company of prophets.-These evidently belonged to one of those seminaries termed "schools of the prophets," founded by Samuel for the training of young men. The foundation of these schools in different parts of the country was one of the greatest of the works of this noble and patriotic man. schools seem to have flourished during the whole period of the monarchy, and in no small measure contributed to the moral and mental development of the people. Some of the youth of Israel who received in these schools their training became public preachers of the Word; for after all, this, rather than foretelling future events, was the grand duty of the prophet's calling.

It is a grave mistake to conclude that all, or even the greater part, of these young men trained in the "schools of the prophets" were inspired in the usual sense of the word. The aim of these institutions, beside high mental culture, seems to have been to train the youth of Israel to love, and then live, noble pure lives. Dean

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;

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Payne Smith calls attention to the remarkable fact that at David's court all posts which required literary skill were held by "prophets." He considers that it was owing to these great educational institutions which Samuel founded that the Israelites became a highly trained and literary people. Prophets," in the awful sense of the word as used by us-men who, as compared with their fellows, stood in a different relation to the Most High, who heard things which other men heard not, and saw visions unseen by any save themselves-men before whose eyes the veil which hid the dark future now and again was raised-were, after all, even among the people of God, very rare. In the course of a generation, one or two, or perhaps three, appeared, and were listened to, and their words in many cases, we know, preserved. These, for the most part, we may assume, received their early training in the "schools of the prophets," but these famous institutions were never, as has often been popularly supposed, established in the hope of training up and developing such men, but were founded and supported with the intention of fostering what we should call the higher education in Israel; and in this, we know from the outset, these schools were eminently successful.

Dr. Erdmann, in Lange's Commentary, accounts for this especial mention of the music which we know. from this and other passages, was carefully cultivated in these seminaries of the sons of the prophets, by suggesting that in these societies religious feeling was nourished and heightened by sacred music. It would be a mistake to attribute to this carefully cultivated music and singing that condition of ecstatic inspiration into which some of these companies appear to have at times fallen. We understand and know, however, very little respecting this state of ecstasy-what produced it, and how it affected those who had fallen into this strange condition. The object of the musical teaching of the schools of the prophets was, no doubt, to enable those who had studied in the seminaries to guide and direct the religious gatherings of the people, into which-as we know from the subsequent Temple service, the model of all popular sacred gatherings for worship-music and psalmody entered so largely.

With a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them.-The four instruments here mentioned indicate that even in this-which is often termed a semi-barbarous age-music had been long and carefully studied. The psaltery (nevel) was a species of lyre with ten strings, in shape like an inverted delta v, and was played with the fingers. The tabret (toph) was a hand-drum-a tambourine. Miriam (Exod. xv. 20) is represented as using it to accompany her triumph song. The pipe (chalil) was a flute of reed, wood, or horn, and seems to have been ever a favourite instrument among the children of Israel. The harp (cinnor) was a stringed instrument, like the psaltery, only apparently larger, and was played

Samuel to Saul.

Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. (7) And 1let it be, when these signs are come

& C.

cinnor

usually with a plectrum. David, however, is represented in several psalms as playing on the with his fingers. And they shall prophesy.-In this case the company from the "School of the Prophets" were, no doubt, singing some hymns or psalms in praise of the Eternal to the accompaniment of their musical instruments. Saul, as he drew near his home at Gibeah, would meet these men coming down from sacrificing on the high place of God, and as he listened to the sweet pure sounds he would be sensible of a something indescribable taking possession of his whole being; new thoughts-high grand thoughts-would chase away the aspirations and hopes of the past. Through his heart (see verse 9) would flash the memory of what Samuel had told him when alone on the house-top at Ramah of the glory and future of Israel; a conviction would steal over him that he was the man of the future chosen by the Eternal to work His will among His people. The Saul of the vineyards and the corn-fields of the farm on the Ephraim hills would die, and a new hero-Saul would be born; and although quite untrained and untaught in the elaborate music of the choirs of the sons of the prophets, the really inspired Saul would lift up his voice in the choruses singing before him, and join with a new strange power in their glorious hymn to the Eternal-would pour out his whole heart and soul in thanksgiving to his God. Thus would the Spirit of the Lord come upon him.

(7) When these signs are come unto thee.When these varied circumstances have happened to thee, then be sure that the splendid and glorious life which I have foretold as thy lot will assuredly lie before thee in the immediate future. I will give thee no imperious directions by which thou art to shape thy course. Go bravely on; do well and truly whatever thy hand findeth to do, being confident that God will be with thee, and that His glorious Arm shall be thy guide along that road of honour and of peril which thou art destined to travel.

(8) And shew thee what thou shalt do.-Considerable doubt exists among expositors as to the exact meaning and reference of these words of Samuel. In chap. xiii., verses 8 and following, a well-known and most important event in Saul's life and reign is related, in which the circumstances strangely fit in with the words of the warning of Samuel. Only between this first meeting of the seer and the future king and the Gilgal meeting, described in chap. xiii., two yearsperhaps even a much longer period-elapsed (the dates of this age are most uncertain); besides which, that famous meeting at Gilgal was not by any means the first meeting of Samuel and Saul at that place. Yet, in spite of these difficulties, it seems best to refer to this meeting between the prophet and king at Gilgal, related in chap. xiii., as the trial of faith especially looked on to by Samuel here. The solemn warning here given was, doubtless, repeated in a much more detailed form by the prophet some time before the appointed Gilgal meeting. So much for the reference; the signification of the warning is best explained in the following way :-Samuel had bidden the future king

to advance along the paths of glory and difficulty which lay before him in all confidence and trust, acting in each emergency according to the dictates of his own heart-only in one thing he must be ever on his guard. In his future great work for the regeneration and advancement of Israel, he must, for the sake of the faith of Israel, be on his guard against infringing the sacred privileges of the religion of the Eternal. In the plenitude of his kingly power, the day would come when the temptation would assault him to disregard the ancient sanctity of the sacrifice, and to assume as king, functions which belonged alone to men like Samuel set apart for the sacred office, and thus publicly to dishonour the commandments of God, and by his reckless example of unbelief in revelation to weaken the faith of the people.

Such a temptation presented itself to Saul, we believe, some two or more years from this time, when, as related in chap. xiii., a solemn assembly of the people was summoned to Gilgal, before the commencement of the war of independence. This great enterprise for the people of the Lord must necessarily be begun with solemn religious rites and sacrifices. These the king was forbidden to officiate at without the presence of the Divinely appointed seer. We shall see how King Saul acted under the temptation to set himself and his royal power above the prophet of the Lord and the direct command of God. Whether or no King Saul with his own hand offered the Gilgal sacrifice is uncertain; at all events, the great sin he seemed to have been guilty of having committed, is to have declined to wait for the presence of the prophet of the Lord, although publicly required by the word of the Lord to do so. (See Notes on chap. xiii.)

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The 'heart is mentioned as changed by God, because, according to the conception of the Divine writings, the heart is represented as the centre of the whole mental and physical life-of will, desire, thought, perception, and feeling. It was one thing for Samuel the seer to put before the young Benjamite the brilliant destiny which lay before him, but it was another and different thing to transform one like Saul, brought up to merely agricultural pursuits, into a fit and worthy recipient of such honours and powers. We know how utterly incapable are all such things as wealth and rank and power in themselves of inspiring the heart with any noble patriotic aspirations, or with any high religious longings, or lofty patriotic aims; a higher influence is needed to awaken the heart, or to rouse it from merely earthly and sordid contemplations.

This is the work which God worked in the heart of the young Saul as, in the early morning, he left "Ramah of the Watchers," his ears tingling with the burning words of the great seer all through that day and many succeeding days. In quiet humility, and, no doubt, with many a silent prayer, he watched and waited; when he returned home there was no sign of exultation visible in the man, no mark of impatience. His lips were sealed; he seems to have whispered to no one what the prophet had told him; he made no sign even when events came crowding