1 Samuel 10:2 NIV

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 10:1-16

2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16In chapters 9-11 the writer painted Saul as the ideal man to serve as king from the human viewpoint. This pericope (1 Samuel 9:1 to 1 Samuel 10:16) sets forth his personal conduct. [Note: See the series of three articles on Saul by W. Lee Humphries listed in the bibliography of these notes. Especially helpful is, "The Tragedy of King Saul: A Study of the Structure of 1 Samuel 9-31."] read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1-27

Saul is anointed King by Samuel1. LXX is probably right in reading at the end Of this v. ’and this is the sign that the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain’ (RV ’prince’) ’over his inheritance.’ 2. Rachel’s tomb] was not far from Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19-20).3. Plain] RV ’oak.’5. The hill of God] The word is really ’Gibeah,’ which was Saul’s own home. It is here called ’God’s Gibeah’ because Samuel had established a school of the prophets there. Cp. the common term for a prophet, ’man of God’... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Samuel 10:2

(2) Thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre.—This tomb of the loved wife of the patriarch does not thus appear to have been very far from Ramah, whence Saul started. The words of Jeremiah 31:15, 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... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Samuel 10:1-27

Self-respect and Companionship 1 Samuel 10:12 The popular interpretation of Saul among the prophets is that Saul had taken a step up. The truth is, the text may mean that he had taken one down. It all depends who the prophets were. I. In these prophets of the time of Saul, when we first meet them, we have the type which prophesying had first assumed on Canaanitish soil. They were, in fact, a species of begging friars, and were held by the people in a contempt which they evidently did their... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1-16

CHAPTER XIII.SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL.1 Samuel 10:1-16.THERE is a remarkable minuteness of detail in this and other narratives in Samuel, suggesting the authenticity of the narrative, and the authorship of one who was personally connected with the transactions. The historical style of Scripture is very characteristic; sometimes great periods of time are passed over with hardly a word, and sometimes events of little apparent importance are recorded with what might be thought needless minuteness.... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1-16

2. The Story of Saul and His Anointing CHAPTERS 9:1-10:16 1. Saul the son of Kish and the lost asses (1 Samuel 9:1-10 ) 2. Samuel and Saul (1 Samuel 9:11-24 ) 3. Saul anointed King (1 Samuel 9:25-27 ; 1 Samuel 10:1-16 ) And now the Lord gives them a king according to their choice. “He should possess all the natural attractions and martial qualities which the people could desire in their king; he should reflect their religious standpoint at their best; but he should also represent their... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - 1 Samuel 10:2

10:2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The {b} asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?(b) Samuel confirms him by these signs, that God has appointed him king. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1-27

No one else was present when Samuel anointed Saul. This contrasts with David's anointing in Chapter 16:3, "in the midst of his brethren," then by "the men of Judah" in 2 Samuel 2:4; and later by the elders of Israel in 2 Samuel 5:3. For God could have David publicly anointed because he was God's specific choice, being a type of Christ. On the other hand, Saul was really the people's preference for king, yet behind the scenes God anointed him (by His servant) so that the people could not depose... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1-16

SEEKING ASSES AND FINDING A KINGDOM The drama in this chapter and the next disposes itself into five scenes: We have first the country lad seeking his father’s asses (1 Samuel 9:3-5 ). Like the cattle on our western plains they were allowed to roam at will during the grazing season and were brought home at its close. Secondly, there is the meeting with the prophet (1 Samuel 9:6-21 ). That he should have been consulted on so trifling a matter, and that it should have been thought proper to... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - 1 Samuel 10:1-27

Saul's Kingdom 1Sa 10:24 WE have previously remarked upon the lowly-mindedness of Saul. The proposition which was made to him showed to his own consciousness, as he had never seen it before, how poor and even contemptible was his claim to social supremacy. "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? "It is well when great demands show us our own insufficiency.... read more