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1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

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 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?

3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

4 And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

15 And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh;

18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.

20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son 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 he hath hid himself among the stuff.

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every 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 said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought no presents. But he held his peace.

<html><b>By Rochel's Tomb, at the border of Binyomin.</b> Isn't Rochel's Tomb within Yehudah's border, in Beis Lechem? [The answer is that] they are now by Rochel's Tomb, but, 'when you will meet them, you will find them within Binyomin's border, in Tzeltzoch.' Thus was taught by the Tosefta of [Maseches] Sotah.¹<i class=“footnote”>11:7.</i> Tzeltzoch is a combination of the words <span>צֵל לַצַּח</span> of the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who is pure and ruddy;²<i class=“footnote”>Shir Hashirim 5:10.</i> and this is Yerusholayim. <b>And is worrying about you.</b> Has fears concerning you; every expression of <span>דְּאָגָה</span> [worry] is an expression of fear; <i>dementer</i> in O.F.</html>

<html><b>Eilon Tavor.</b> The plain of Tavor.</html>

<html><b>The hill of God.</b> The hill of Kiryas Ye'arim, where the Ark of God was now resting. <b>Philistine officers.</b> Officers whom they had appointed over Yisroel, for they [the Philistines] were ruling over them and stationing officers in the cities of Yisroel.³<i class=“footnote”>The Philistines had been conquering parts of Eretz Yisroel and had appointed officers to govern the areas that they dominated.—Mahri Kra</i> <b>A band of prophets.</b> Targum Yonoson renders, 'a band of scribes.' '<span>חֶבֶל</span>' is a band, similar to, 'the <span>חֶבְלֵי</span> of the wicked surrounded me'⁴<i class=“footnote”>II Shmuel 22:6.</i> [rendered by Targum as], 'the bands of the wicked surrounded me.' <b>From the high place.</b> Targum Yonoson renders, 'from the banquet hall.'</html>

<html><b>And when these signs come upon you.</b> And you will realize that my words are true; for just as these signs will come to you, so will the matter of the kingship be fulfilled.⁵<i class=“footnote”>And therefore “prepare yourself…”</i> <b>Prepare yourself as well as you can.</b> [Targum renders,] 'prepare for yourself regal garments, and make ready for yourself the court ritual,' as well as you can.</html>

<html><b>Then you shall go down to Gilgol ahead of me.</b> After you reign, you shall come down to Gilgol before me, i.e., before I go down. <b>And I will go down to you.</b> At the end of seven days after you will have gone down. <b>Wait.</b> You shall wait.</html>

<html><b>Transformed his heart.</b> [To] a spirit of royal power.</html>

<html><b>And who is their father?</b> Why do you wonder about the matter as to who is the father of the prophets? Is prophecy hereditary?⁶<i class=“footnote”>Or <span>וּמִי אֲבִיהֶם</span> can mean “Who is their teacher?” for one’s teacher is called his father as in II Melachim 2:12. He implied to the people that ‘<span>ה</span> is their teacher and just as He teaches the other prophets, He can teach Shaul too.—Radak</i></html>

<html><b>But about the matter of the kingship he did not tell him.</b> He possessed a discretionary nature.⁷<i class=“footnote”> See Maseches Megillah 13b.</i></html>

<html><b>And Shaul… was singled out.</b> Even though he was not there, the lot fell upon him, for their names were written on pieces of parchment and placed in a box. The prophet would insert his hand and take one piece of parchment.</html>

<html><b>Is hidden by the baggage.</b> In the room where newcomers had placed their baggage; [he hid] because he was running away from the high position. But the Midrash Aggadah of R. Tanchuma⁸<i class=“footnote”>Vayikra 3.</i> explains that '<span>אֶל הַכֵּלִים</span>' refers to the Urim and Tumim. He said [to himself], 'perhaps I am not worthy of this high position. [I will not assume it]. until they inquire of the Urim and Tumim.⁹<i class=“footnote”> Shaul was convinced that the Urim and Tumim would confirm that he was not worthy of the kingship. But, on the contrary, it confirmed that nobody was equal to him. In Maseches Eiruvin 13b it states that he who runs away from honor is rightfully pursued by it.</i> Thereupon they asked, and he accepted it.</html>

<html><b>God had touched.</b> [Targum renders], 'men who fear sin, in whose heart '<span>ה</span> has instilled fear.'</html>