1 Then Samuel tooke a viall of oile, and powred it vpon his head, & kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anoynted thee to be captain ouer his inheritance?
2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachels sepulchre in the border of Beniamin, at Zelzah: and they will say vnto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seeke, are found: and loe, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I doe for my sonne?
3 Then shalt thou goe on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plaine of Tabor, and there shall meete thee three men, going vp to God to Bethel, one carying three kids, and another carying three loaues of bread, and another carying a bottle of wine.
4 And they will salute thee, and giue thee two loaues of bread, which thou shalt receiue of their hands.
5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garison of the Philistines: and it shall come to passe when thou art come thither to the citie, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets comming downe from the high place, with a psalterie, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harpe before them, and they shall prophecie.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come vpon thee, and thou shalt prophecie with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
7 And let it be when these signes are come vnto thee, that thou doe as occasion serue thee, for God is with thee.
8 And thou shalt goe downe before me to Gilgal, and behold, I will come downe vnto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seuen dayes shalt thou tarie, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt doe.
9 ¶ And it was so that when he had turned his backe to go from Samuel, God gaue him another heart: and all those signes came to passe that day.
10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of the prophets met him, and the spirit of God came vpon him, and hee prophesied among them.
11 And it came to passe when all that knew him beforetime, saw, that behold, hee prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come vnto the sonne of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
12 And one of the same place answered, and sayd, But who is their father? Therefore it became a prouerbe, Is Saul also among the Prophets?
13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 ¶ And Sauls vncle saide vnto him, and to his seruant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seeke the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.
15 And Sauls vncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said vnto you.
16 And Saul sayd vnto his vncle; He told vs plainely that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdome, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.
17 ¶ And Samuel called the people together vnto the Lord to Mizpeh;
18 And said vnto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought vp Israel out of Egypt, and deliuered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdomes, and of them that oppressed you.
19 And ye haue this day reiected your God, who himselfe saued you out of all your aduersities & your tribulations: and ye haue said vnto him, Nay, but set a king ouer vs. Now therefore present your selues before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.
20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come neere, the tribe of Beniamin was taken.
21 When he had caused the tribe of Beniamin to come neere by their families, the familie of Matri was taken, and Saul the sonne of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.
22 Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither: and the Lord answered, Behold, hee hath hid himselfe among the stuffe.
23 And they ranne, and fetched him thence, and when he stood among the people, he was higher then any of the people, from the shoulders & vpward.
24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whome the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and saide, God saue the King.
25 Then Samuel tolde the people the maner of the kingdome, and wrote it in a booke, and layd it vp before the Lord, and Samuel sent all the people away, euery man to his house.
26 ¶ And Saul also went home to Gibeah, and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
27 But the children of Belial sayd, Howe shall this man saue vs? and they despised him, and brought him no presents: but he held his peace.
Samuel anoints Saul. (1-8) Saul prophesies. (9-16) Saul chosen king. (17-27)1-8 The sacred anointing, then used, pointed at the great Messiah, or Anointed One, the King of the church, and High Priest of our profession, who was anointed with the oil of the Spirit, not by measure, but without measure, and above all the priests and princes of the Jewish church. For Saul's further satisfaction, Samuel gives him some signs which should come to pass the same day. The first place he directs him to, was the sepulchre of one of his ancestors; there he must be reminded of his own mortality, and now that he had a crown before him, must think of his grave, in which all his honour would be laid in the dust. From the time of Samuel there appears to have been schools, or places where pious young men were brought up in the knowledge of Divine things. Saul should find himself strongly moved to join with them, and should be turned into another man from what he had been. The Spirit of God changes men, wonderfully transforms them. Saul, by praising God in the communion of saints, became another man, but it may be questioned if he became a new man.
9-16 The signs Samuel had given Saul, came to pass punctually; he found that God had given him another heart, another disposition of mind. Yet let not an outward show of devotion, and a sudden change for the present, be too much relied on; Saul among the prophets was Saul still. His being anointed was kept private. He leaves it to God to carry on his own work by Samuel, and sits still, to see how the matter will fall.
17-27 Samuel tells the people, Ye have this day rejected your God. So little fond was Saul now of that power, which soon after, when he possessed it, he could not think of parting with, that he hid himself. It is good to be conscious of our unworthiness and insufficiency for the services to which we are called; but men should not go into the contrary extreme, by refusing the employments to which the Lord and the church call them. The greater part of the people treated the matter with indifference. Saul modestly went home to his own house, but was attended by a band of men whose hearts God disposed to support his authority. If the heart bend at any time the right way, it is because He has touched it. One touch is enough when it is Divine. Others despised him. Thus differently are men affected to our exalted Redeemer. There is a remnant who submit to him, and follow him wherever he goes; they are those whose hearts God has touched, whom he has made willing. But there are others who despise him, who ask, How shall this man save us? They are offended in him, and they will be punished.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.