1 Samuel 10:1 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1-8

Samuel is here executing the office of a prophet, giving Saul full assurance from God that he should be king, as he was afterwards, according to these prophecies which went before of him. I. He anointed him and kissed him, 1 Sam. 10:1. This was not done in a solemn assembly, but it was done by divine appointment, which made up the want of all external solemnities, nor was it ever the less valid for its being done in private, under a hedge, or, as the Jews say, by a fountain. God's institutions... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1

Then Samuel took a vial of oil ,.... Out of his pocket very probably, which he brought along with him on purpose for the use he made of it: this, as the Jews F25 T. Bab. Horayot, fol. 11. 2. & 12. 1. say, was not the anointing oil that was in the tabernacle, which was at another and distant place, and with which only the kings of the house of David were anointed; but common oil, or, as they say, oil of balsam; and this was not an horn, but a vial, which held a small quantity, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1

Took a vial of oil - The reasons of this rite the reader will find largely stated in the note on Exodus 29:7 . The anointing mentioned here took place in the open field. See the preceding chapter, 1 Samuel 9:26-27 ; (note). How simple was the ancient ceremony of consecrating a king! A prophet or priest poured oil upon his head, and kissed him; and said, Thus the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance. This was the whole of the ceremony. Even in this anointing,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1

EXPOSITION SAUL ANOINTED TO BE KING , AND SIGNS GIVEN HIM CONVINCING HIM OF THE TRUTH OF HIS APPOINTMENT ( 1 Samuel 10:1-16 ). A vial of oil. Hebrew, "the vial of oil," because it was that same holy oil with which the priests were anointed ( Exodus 29:7 ). Throughout Holy Scripture the office of king appears as one most sacred, and it is the king, and not the priest, who is especially called Messiah, Jehovah s anointed ( 1 Samuel 2:10 , 1... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1-8

Supports to faith and duty. The facts are— 1 . Samuel privately anoints Saul as the chosen of God. 2 . He gives him four signs of the Divine sanction of the act of anointing. 3 . He instructs him on the completion of the signs to act on his own judgment, with the assurance that God is his helper. 4 . He finally directs him to wait at Gilgal for himself, there to receive further guidance. The course taken by Samuel was the natural completion of his protracted intercourse... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1

Is it not because ... - Samuel answers Saul’s tacit or expressed wonder, by telling him why he did as he did. (Compare 1 Samuel 9:21.) read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 10:1

1 Samuel 10:1. And poured it upon his head We do not read of any order of God, given for the anointing of kings. But it was the usual rite in the designation, as of prophets and priests, so also of kings, as appears from the parable of Jotham, recorded Judges 9:8, and delivered two hundred years before this time. By using this ceremony Samuel signified the pouring forth of the gifts and graces of God’s Spirit upon Saul, to fit him for the administration of his office. These sacred unctions... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:1-16

Samuel’s prediction about Saul (9:1-10:16)Saul, who became Israel’s first king, originally had no desire for political power and little interest in the spiritual ministry of Samuel. As the son of a wealthy landowner, he was more concerned about the loss of his father’s donkeys, and the worry he might cause his father by being away so long in search of them (9:1-5). This concern led him to seek help from Samuel. He thought that Samuel, with his ability to see visions and make predictions, could... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 10:1

a vial = flask. Not "the". Is it not . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 . the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 . Note the Jehovah relationship. Here is another Homceoteleuton, which is preserved in the Septuagint and Vulgate, "the LORD [and thou shalt rule among the people of Jehovah, and thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies, and this shall be a sign unto thee, that] the LORD hath, &c. The eye of some ancient scribe evidently went back to the latter of these two... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Samuel 10:1

SAUL ANOINTED KING; THEN CONFIRMED PUBLICLYThere were three phases in God's appointment of Saul as king of Israel, each one of them absolutely necessary.(1) There was the private, even secret, anointing of Saul (1 Samuel 10:1-8).(2) Then there was a public presentation of Saul as king, confirmed by the casting of lots, which was opposed by some of the people.(3) The Divinely-inspired victory of Saul over the Ammonites propelled him into the universal acceptance of his kingship by all Israel.The... read more