Israel asks for a king: Samuel, Saul and the beginning of the monarchy

8When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice. ⁴So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.” ⁶But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. ⁸Just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹Now listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them and show them the manner of the king who will reign over them.” ¹⁰So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots. ¹²He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots. ¹³And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants. ¹⁶And he will take your menservants and maidservants and your best cattle and donkeys and put them to his own use. ¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When that day comes, you will beg for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.” ¹⁹Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. ²⁰Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.” ²¹Samuel listened to all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. ²²“Listen to their voice,” the LORD said to Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Everyone must go back to his city.”

9Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. ²And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people. ³One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.” ⁴So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them. ⁵When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” ⁶“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.” ⁷“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.” ⁹(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.) ¹⁰“Good,” said Saul to his servant. “Come, let us go.” So they set out for the city where the man of God was. ¹¹And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?” ¹²“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place. ¹³As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.” ¹⁴So Saul and his servant went up toward the city, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the high place. ¹⁵Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel, ¹⁶“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” ¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.” ¹⁸Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?” ¹⁹“I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And when I send you off in the morning, I will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?” ²¹Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?” ²²Then Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them in the place of honor among those who were invited—about thirty in all. ²³And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside.” ²⁴So the cook picked up the leg and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Here is what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for it has been kept for you for this occasion, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul dined with Samuel that day. ²⁵And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house. ²⁶They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way!” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went outside together. ²⁷As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on.

10Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance? ²When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’ ³Then you will go on from there until you come to 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. ⁴They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hands. ⁵After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. ⁶Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person. ⁷When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you. ⁸And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.” ⁹As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them. ¹¹All those who had formerly known Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹²Then a man who lived there replied, “And who is their father?” So the saying became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place. ¹⁴Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵“Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?” ¹⁶And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship. ¹⁷After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah ¹⁸and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ ¹⁹But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.” ²⁰Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. ²¹Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him. ²²So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” ²³So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. ²⁴Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” ²⁵Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home. ²⁶Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.