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Saul; and he said: Behold that which remains! Set it before thee, and eat; for unto this time has it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. And Saul ate with Samuel that day.

And they came down from the high place into the city; 26 and he talked with Saul on the top of the house. And they arose early. And it came to pass about the dawning of the day, that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying: Rise up, and I will send thee on thy way.

And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, on 27 the street. 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); and stand thou still awhile, that I may let thee hear the word of God.

1 AND Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said: Is it not because Jehovah 2 has anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance? When thou goest from me to-day, thou wilt meet two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee: The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and lo, thy father has put aside the care for the asses, and is concerned for you, saying: What shall I do for my son? And thou shalt pass onward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and three men will meet thee going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a 4 bottle of wine. And they will ask thee of thy welfare, and will give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive 5 from their hand. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines. And it shall be, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, 6 and a harp, and they prophesying. And the Spirit of Jeho

V. 24. That which remains; which was "set by" (v. 23) by Samuel's direction for his own use.-V. 1. Kissed him. A token of homage and allegiance. See Ps. 2:12.

vah will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, 7 and shalt be changed into another man. And when these signs are come to thee, do what thy hand shall find; for God 8 is with thee. And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings. Seven days shalt thou wait till I come to thee, and make known to thee what thou shalt do.

9

And it was so, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those 10 signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to Gibeah, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among 11 them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him before saw, and behold, he prophesied among the prophets, that the people said one to another, What is this that has happened 12 to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And one of the same place answered and said: And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among 13 the prophets? And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14

And the uncle of Saul said to him and to his servant: Whither went ye? And he said: To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were no-where [found], we came to 15 Samuel. And the uncle of Saul said: Tell me, I pray thee, 16 what Samuel said to you. And Saul said to his uncle: He plainly told us that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not.

17

And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah at 18 Mizpeh. And he said to the children of Israel: Thus says Jehovah God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out 19 of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and have

V. 12. Who is their father? To whom do they all owe the gift of prophecy? The prophetic spirit is not a privilege of birth.

said to him: Nay, but a king shalt thou set over us. And now present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and 20 by your thousands. And Samuel caused all the tribes of Israel to come near; and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 He caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they sought him, and he 22 could not be found. And they inquired further of Jehovah : Is the man yet come hither? And Jehovah answered: Be23 hold, he has hid himself among the baggage. And they ran and fetched him thence. And he stood among the people ; and he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders 24 and upward. And Samuel said to all the people: See ye him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him. among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said: Long live the king!

25

Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with 27 him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But wicked men said: How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. And he was as though he were deaf.

3

1 AND Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash: 2 Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Nahash the Ammonite said to them: On this condition will I make a covenant with you; that I may dig out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said to him: Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers into all the borders of Israel; and if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. And the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke the words in the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voice and wept. And, behold, Saul came after the

1

oxen out of the field; and Saul said: What ails the people that they weep o? And they related to him the words of the 6 men of Jabesh. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. And he took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying: Whosoever comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came 8 out as one man. And he numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said to the messengers that came: Thus shall ye say to the men of Jabeshgilead: To-morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and made it known to the 10 men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. And the men of Jabesh

9

said: To-morrow we will come out to you; and ye shall do 11 to us all that seems good to you. And it was so on the mor

12

row, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and so it was, that they who remained were scattered, and not two of them were left together.

put to death this day.

And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said, shall Saul reign over us? Give up the men, that we may put 13 them to death. And Saul said: There shall not a man be. For to-day Jehovah has wrought sal14 vation in Israel. And Samuel said to the people: Come, 15 and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. And all the people went to Gilgal, and there made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal, and sacrificed sacrifices of peaceofferings there before Jehovah; and there Saul, and all the men of Israel, rejoiced greatly.

1 AND Samuel said to all Israel: Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king 2 over you. And now, behold, the king walks before you, and

I am old and grayheaded; and my sons, behold, they are with you, and I have walked before you from my childhood 3 unto this day. Behold, here I am; witness against me before Jehovah, and before his Anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received a bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will ✦ restore it to you. And they said: Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, nor hast thou taken aught from any 5 man's hand. And he said to them: Jehovah be witness against you, and his Anointed be witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said: Let them witness.

9

6 And Samuel said to the people: Jehovah, who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of 7 the land of Egypt! And now stand forth, that I may reason with you before Jehovah of all the righteous acts of Jehovah, 8 which he did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob came into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. And they forgot Jehovah their God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought 10 against them. And they cried unto Jehovah, and said: We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your ene12 mies on every side, and ye dwelt safely. And ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you; and ye said to me: Nay, but a king shall reign over 13 us; when Jehovah your God was your king. And now behold the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye demanded;

V. 10. The Baals and the Ashtoreths. See the notes on Judges 2: 11, and 13. For Baal and Ashtoreth, see the writer's note on Genesis 14: 5.