Chapter Overview
Summary
1 Samuel 10 narrates Saul's secret anointing (v. 1), the three prophetic signs confirming his call (vv. 2–8), the Spirit's rushing upon him and his prophesying (vv. 9–13), and the public lottery that presents him to Israel as the divinely-chosen king (vv. 17–27). The LXX at 10:1 preserves a substantially longer reading than MT — one of the most notable LXX pluses in 1 Samuel.
Notable Variants
The major LXX plus at 10:1 (explaining the anointing with additional divine speech) that MT lacks; the 'Is Saul also among the prophets?' proverb at 10:11–12; the 'God gave him a different heart' at 10:9 — an early biblical text for heart-transformation theology.
Structural Notes
LXX 1 Samuel 10 has 27 verses, matching MT overall though with the significant 10:1 plus.
Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it over Saul's head. He kissed him and said, "The LORD has anointed you as leader over his own inheritance."
Masoretic (WLC)
הֲלוֹא כִּי־מְשָׁחֲךָ יְהוָה עַל־נַחֲלָתוֹ לְנָגִיד
The LORD has anointed you as leader over his own inheritance
Septuagint (LXX)
οὐχὶ κέχρικέν σε κύριος εἰς ἄρχοντα ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Ισραηλ καὶ σὺ ἄρξεις ἐν λαῷ κυρίου καὶ σὺ σώσεις αὐτὸν ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ κυκλόθεν καὶ τοῦτό σοι τὸ σημεῖον ὅτι ἔχρισέν σε κύριος ἐπὶ κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἄρχοντα
Has not the Lord anointed you as ruler over his people, over Israel? And you shall reign among the Lord's people, and you shall save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you as ruler over his inheritance
One of the most significant LXX pluses in 1 Samuel. The LXX expands the anointing formula with an elaborate three-part commission (rule, save, and sign) that MT telescopes into a single clause.
Nearly all text critics agree the LXX preserves the original reading: MT's short form suggests haplography (scribal eye-skip from one 'LORD has anointed you' phrase to the next, losing the middle material).
4QSamᵃ Qumran fragment supports the longer reading against MT. Modern critical editions (NRSV, NJPS, CEB) print the longer text following LXX/4QSamᵃ.
The 'save' vocabulary (sōzō) here strengthens the messianic-savior-king framing that Matthew 1:21 (Jesus: 'he will save his people') will later invoke.
"When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb, at the border of Benjamin in Zelzah. They will tell you, 'The donkeys you went looking for have been found. Your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is now anxious about you, saying, What can I do about my son?'"
First sign — men near Rachel's tomb — tracks MT. 'Rachel's tomb' at Zelzah becomes a geographical marker of Benjaminite identity; Matthew 2:18 cites 'Rachel weeping for her children' from Jeremiah 31:15 in the same Benjaminite territory.
"From there, continue on until you reach the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there — one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine."
Second sign — three men at oak of Tabor — tracks MT.
"They will greet you with a blessing of peace and give you two loaves of bread. Accept them from their hands."
Bread-gift tracks MT. 'Greeting of peace' (erōtēsousin tēn eirēnēn) is the shalom-greeting that becomes the NT's salutation formula (Luke 10:5, John 20:19–26 'peace be with you').
"After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistine garrison is stationed. As you enter the town, you will encounter a band of prophets coming down from the high place, with lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps playing before them, and they will be prophesying."
Third sign — band of prophets with instruments — tracks MT. 'Gibeah of God' (bamah of the prophetic-band) marks Saul's home territory as a place of prophetic activity.
"The Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into a different man."
Masoretic (WLC)
וְצָלְחָה עָלֶיךָ רוּחַ יְהוָה וְהִתְנַבִּיתָ עִמָּם וְנֶהְפַּכְתָּ לְאִישׁ אַחֵר
The Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into a different man
Septuagint (LXX)
καὶ ἐφαλεῖται ἐπὶ σὲ πνεῦμα κυρίου καὶ προφητεύσεις μετ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ στραφήσῃ εἰς ἄνδρα ἄλλον
The Spirit of the Lord shall rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you shall be turned into another man
'The Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you' (ephaleitai epi se pneuma kyriou) is the standard Hebrew-Bible prophetic-anointing formula. The rushing-of-the-Spirit verb (tsalach/ephallomai) recurs at 10:10, 11:6 (Saul), and throughout Judges (Samson, 14:6, 19; 15:14).
'Turned into another man' (straphēsē eis andra allon) is one of the Hebrew Bible's clearest transformation-by-Spirit texts. NT new-creation theology (2 Cor 5:17 'if anyone is in Christ, new creation') and regeneration-theology (Titus 3:5) build on this LXX-1-Samuel 'turned into a different man' paradigm.
"When these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds to do, because God is with you."
'Whatever your hand finds to do' tracks MT. Ecclesiastes 9:10 ('whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might') picks up the same phrase. The 'God is with you' assurance echoes Joshua 1:9.
"Then go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you, and I will tell you what to do."
Seven-day-wait-at-Gilgal instruction tracks MT. This sets up the chapter-13 crisis when Saul disobeys by offering the sacrifice himself.
As Saul turned his shoulder to leave Samuel, God gave him a different heart. And all those signs were fulfilled that same day.
Masoretic (WLC)
וְהָפַךְ־לוֹ אֱלֹהִים לֵב אַחֵר
God gave him a different heart
Septuagint (LXX)
καὶ μετέστρεψεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς καρδίαν ἄλλην
God turned him a different heart
The 'different heart' (kardian allēn) is divine heart-transformation. Ezekiel 36:26's new-heart-new-spirit promise, Psalm 51:10's 'create in me a clean heart,' and NT regeneration-theology all draw on this Hebrew-Bible heart-transformation category.
The tragic irony: the 'different heart' that God gave Saul for kingship does not permanently stabilize his character. The narrative of 1 Samuel develops Saul's progressive spiritual decline even after this gift.
When they arrived at Gibeah, a band of prophets came to meet him. The Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
Saul prophesying among the prophets tracks MT.
Everyone who had known him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, and the people said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul really among the prophets?"
'Is Saul also among the prophets?' tracks MT. The proverb's ambiguity — admiring or sarcastic? — is preserved.
A man from there responded, "And who is their father?" That is why it became a proverb: "Is Saul really among the prophets?"
'Who is their father?' — a puzzling response — tracks MT. The proverb becomes a standing expression for unlikely circumstances.
When the prophesying ended, Saul went to the high place.
Saul's going to the high place tracks MT.
Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" Saul said, "To look for the donkeys. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel."
Uncle's questioning tracks MT.
Saul's uncle said, "Tell me — what did Samuel say to you?"
Uncle's continued questioning tracks MT.
Saul told his uncle, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But about the matter of the kingship — what Samuel had said — he told him nothing.
Saul's concealment of the kingship-matter tracks MT. The narrative silence — 'but about the matter of the kingship he told him nothing' — is significant: Saul himself, even after the Spirit-transformation, hesitates to claim the public role.
Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah.
Mizpah assembly tracks MT.
He said to the Israelites, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up from Egypt. I rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.'"
The Exodus-deliverance recital tracks MT. The preface to the king-presentation is a Deuteronomistic historical-rehearsal: the king emerges in continuity with YHWH's prior deliverances.
"But today you have rejected your God — the one who saves you from all your disasters and distresses — and you have said to him, 'No — set a king over us.' Now then, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans."
'Today you have rejected your God' tracks MT. The rejection-of-God framing echoes 8:7. The people's demand for a king is cast as apostasy even as the king is installed.
Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot.
Tribe of Benjamin selected by lot tracks MT.
He brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Then Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they searched for him, he could not be found.
Matri clan, Saul selected, not found tracks MT.
They inquired of the LORD again, "Has the man come here?" And the LORD said, "He is there, hiding among the baggage."
Divine disclosure of Saul's hiding tracks MT. The hiding-among-the-baggage detail is narratively charged: the man destined for kingship is physically hiding from it.
They ran and brought him out from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than everyone else from his shoulders up.
Saul's physical prominence tracks MT — echoing 9:2.
Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people!" All the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
'Long live the king!' acclamation tracks MT. The LXX's zētō ho basileus becomes the standing coronation-formula.
Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship, wrote them in a document, and deposited it before the LORD. Then Samuel dismissed all the people, each to his own home.
Samuel's writing of 'the rights and duties of kingship' in a document tracks MT. This document — the Deuteronomy 17:14–20 'law of the king' expanded or referenced — deposited 'before the LORD' sets up a written constitutional covenant alongside the monarchy.
Saul also went home to Gibeah, and with him went valiant men whose hearts God had touched.
Saul's return to Gibeah and the valiant men tracks MT.
But certain worthless men said, "How can this one save us?" They despised him and brought him no tribute. But Saul kept silent.
'Worthless men' (huioi loimoi — echoing Eli's sons at 2:12) despising Saul tracks MT. Saul's restraint ('kept silent') is politically wise at this stage. Note: in 4QSamᵃ and some LXX witnesses, chapter 11 begins with a substantial plus about Nahash the Ammonite — see ch 11 note.