1 Samuel 10:5

5. The hill of God Hebrew, Gibeath ha-Elohim. This seems to have been the name of a sacrificial height near the home of Saul. It perhaps took its name from being the chief seat of the company of prophets here referred to. Without doubt the height Tuleil-el-Ful is meant, which marks the site of the ancient Gibeah of Saul. The city itself, as we learn from this same verse, lay close by, probably at the base of the hill on the east or northeast. See Robinson’s “Biblical Researches,” vol. iii, p. 287.

Garrison of the Philistines On this height those vigilant enemies had intrenched themselves; for, though subdued, and unable to make successful invasions in the land of Israel, (see on 1 Samuel 7:13,) they still annoyed Israel by occasionally throwing a garrison into such places as this and Geba. 1 Samuel 13:3. Some render the word, less properly, columns or pillars of the Philistines, meaning monumental pillars which these invaders had erected as signs of their supremacy, or else of former victories.

A company of prophets חבל , a cord, like the English word band, is used to denote a company or association of persons bound together by common sympathies and aims. This is the first mention we have of those associations in ancient Israel which are commonly called Schools of the Prophets. There is little doubt but that they originated with Samuel, for at the time of his call prophecy was rare in Israel. 1 Samuel 3:1. We have reason to suppose that after the capture of the ark, and the desolation of the sanctuary at Shiloh, this inspired man, anxious to counteract the prevailing tendency to idolatry, gathered around him at his home in Ramah a company of promising youth, and trained them in the true knowledge of Jehovah. During those twenty years of silence in the history of Israel referred to in 1 Samuel 7:2, this work probably occupied much of Samuel’s time. Here, observes Stanley, we have the first historical notice of societies formed for educational purposes. “Long before Plato had gathered his disciples round him in the olive grove, or Zeno in the Portico, these institutions had sprung up in Judea.” These associations of holy men were no doubt powerful agencies for preserving a knowledge of the true God among the people. Jerome regarded them as an order of monks, but they did not seclude themselves from the world and from human society, for some of them were married, (2 Kings 4:1;) and this procession, marching with instruments of music through the streets of Gibeah, and publicly prophesying, presents them rather as travelling revivalists, seeking to scatter their religious spirit and enthusiasm among the people. Besides such public exercises, they probably employed themselves privately with the study of the law of Moses, the history of the chosen nation, and the cultivation of sacred poetry and song. A full account of these schools would supply a most interesting chapter in the history of the Hebrew nation, but we are dependent on a few incidental allusions for all we know of them. We next meet with them at Ramah. 1 Samuel 19:18-24. Here was Samuel’s home, and just out of the city these prophets had probably their first-established settlement, ( Naioth.) Here, for a time, in the days of his persecution, David found an asylum with Samuel; and here, no doubt, that youthful psalmist found a most congenial society, and amidst its happy surroundings composed many of his psalms, and cultivated his taste for music to greater perfection than before. In the days of Ahab the members of these schools must have become very numerous; for, besides those whom the miserable Jezebel succeeded in destroying, (1 Kings 19:10,) a hundred were hidden by Obadiah in a cave, ( 1Ki 18:4 ; 1 Kings 18:13;) and who shall tell how many of the seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18) were saved from idolatry through the influence of these associations of devout men? In the time of Elijah they were called “sons of the prophets,” (1 Kings 20:35,) probably because some distinguished prophet like Elijah or Elisha was their spiritual father, and presided over them as superintendent and teacher. They had schools at Beth-el, Jericho, Gilgal, the Jordan, and perhaps many other places. 2 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 2:5; 2 Kings 4:38; 2 Kings 6:2. Asaph the seer (2 Chronicles 29:30) was probably a president of one of these schools, in which special attention was paid to sacred poetry and song. Hence the psalms attributed to him, (Psalms 50, 73-83 ,) composed by him or some disciple of his school, and used in the temple service. We are not to suppose that all these sons of the prophets received and uttered divine revelations, but rather that in these associations they were trained to be leaders of the public worship, and to serve in divers ways as teachers of the people.

Psaltery… tabret… pipe… harp These instruments of music often served, as in the case of Elisha, (2 Kings 3:15,) to tranquillize the spirits of the prophets, and induce the proper frame of mind to engage in holy exercises. Instrumental music may ever be an assistant to religious devotion a fact which the saints of every age have acknowledged by appropriating its use to the worship of God in the sanctuary. It is impossible to determine clearly all the distinguishing qualities of these and other musical instruments of the ancient Hebrews. Those who wish to know the various, and ofttimes conflicting, opinions of antiquaries on this subject should consult the large biblical dictionaries on the several words. On the harp, see at Genesis 4:21. The probable forms of the psaltery, tabret, and pipe are shown in the foregoing cut. The psaltery was a stringed instrument of a triangular form, ( a;) the tabret was an instrument of percussion, something like the modern tambourine, ( b;) and the pipe was a wind instrument like the modern flute, and perforated with holes, ( c. c.)

They shall prophesy Literally, and they prophesying. This exercise seems to have consisted in the ecstatic utterance of prayer and praise to God, as in the case of the elders in the time of Moses. Numbers 11:25. So powerful was the influence exerted by this prophesying that those who came near were affected by the same spirit. Compare 1 Samuel 19:20-24.