A Crisis in Government. But old age came to Samuel. Palestine was the center of a busy life. The caravan routes from Egypt to the great northeast led right across the center of the land, and along its western coastline. The more advanced civilization of the older Philistine and other Canaanitish cities had greatly affected the life of the Hebrews. The Philistines were still aggressively seeking to grasp the hardly won territory of Israel. Following a natural precedent as seen among other peoples, Samuel named his sons as his successors. They were unworthy of the high office, dishonest, open to bribery and corruption, and were promptly repudiated by the people whom Samuel himself had trained to higher ideals. "Other nations have kings," said Israel with one voice, "why not we ?"2

Samuel was now confronted with a desire for unity and a national ambition which was largely the result of his own influence. Later writers, as seen by one of the accounts which we shall read, emphasized the reluctance with which Samuel moved in response to the request of the people, but we must believe that the sound judgment which had marked his career led him to see that a great military leader would be the salvation of Israel from the hands of her foes. In two of the accounts we find no mention of reluctance but co-operation in finding a king so prompt and definite as to suggest that the coming of the kingdom had long been in the mind of Samuel. Was there in the thought of Samuel at this time an ambition to be himself the people's king? Did he shrink from the establishment of another great power in the land, a civil power which might come between Jehovah and his people, which might even ignore the voice of his prophets? We have no hint of this in the earlier stories, unless it be in Samuel's insistence that the king shall be one of Jehovah's choice, and in this as in earlier days his judgment prevailed.

I Consult the map of the Semitic World for the caravan routes.

2 The Hebrews were of course familiar with the government of the older nations, Egypt, Syria, and Assyria, and her own more insignificant neighbors, Moab, Phoenicia, Edom, etc. But at this time they thought of a king chiefly as the leader of their armies.

The Choice of the King.-We have three different traditions of the actual choice of the new king. All three are here given, for each is of peculiar interest. The important thing to note is that in all of them Samuel is the commanding figure. His authority in Israel as the representative of Jehovah was not lessened by the impending change of government. His was still a supremacy which was allied in the minds of the people with the mysteries of God and the universe. It could only be overthrown by failure to interpret Jehovah truly.

First Account-Chosen by Samuel Privately2

Now there was a man of Benjamin,3 whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of wealth. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a young man and a goodly: 5 and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, "Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses." And he passed through the hillIO country of Ephraim,4 and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his serv15 ant that was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be anxious for us." And he said unto him, “Behold now there is in this city a man of God,5 and he

I It should be recalled that the records of the history of the Hebrews which we possess are literary fragments, gathered from many sources. It is not strange therefore that we have seemingly divergent accounts of the same event. We can only weigh them in the light of all that we can discover of the spirit and the life of the period, and must even then be satisfied with knowing that we cannot get at the exact facts. We can gather from these three accounts, however, that Saul was welcomed as king by the people as well as by Samuel.

map.

2 I Sam. 9:1—10:1; 10:196–24; 11:14, 15 (chiefly Am. Standard Rev. Ver.). 3*Beniamin: one of the smallest of the tribes, whose territory can be noted on the

5 *Man of God: one who officially represented God. Note that the thing which they expected of the prophet was much the same that some people might expect of a

is a man that is held in honor; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning 20 our journey whereon we go." Then said Saul to his servant, "But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?" And the servant answered Saul again, and said, "Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel 25 of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way."

(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer). Then said Saul to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go." So they went unto the city where 30 the man of God was.

As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water,1 and said unto them, "Is the seer here ?" And they answered them, and said, "He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people 35 have a sacrifice to-day in the high place. As soon as ye are come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he goeth up to the high place to eat,2 for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall 40 find him." And they came within the gate; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.

Now Jehovah had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man 45 out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be leader over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, Jehovah said

clairvoyant today. The story indicates that it was the custom to pay for such services. A shekel was a piece of silver of any shape weighing 56 Troy grains, in value about twenty cents. Note the old name for prophet, a seer.

I *To draw water: The water supply of Palestine was subject to exhaustion through frequent drought. It was carefully husbanded. Each village had its common well from which the women drew water for flocks and for domestic use. The seer was

well known in the village. The high place was on the hill back of the city, the village well at its foot.

2 *To eat: Note the sacrificial meal and other interesting customs connected with the offering of the sacrifice.

unto him, "Behold, the man of whom I said to thee, this same shall 50 have authority over my people." Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is." And Samuel answered Saul, and said, "I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day: and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy 55 heart.1 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?" And Saul answered and said, "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all 60 the families of the tribe of Benjamin ? wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner ?"

2

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the dining hall, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, who were about thirty persons. And 65 Samuel said unto the cook, "Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee." And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold, that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept 70 for thee, for I said, I have invited the people." So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

And when they were come down from the high place into the city, he communed with Saul upon the housetop. And they arose early: and it came to pass early in the morning that Samuel called 75 to Saul on the housetop, saying, "Up, that I may send thee away." And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel abroad. As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Bid the servant pass on before us," and he passed on, "but stand thou still first, that I may cause thee to hear the word 80 of God."

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, "Is it not that Jehovah hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance ? "3

All that is in thine heart: Perhaps it was already Saul's ambition to lead his people against the Philistines.

2 *Dining-hall: connected with the sanctuary, probably a feature of all sacrificial

centers.

3*Jehovah hath anointed thee: The anointing of a king by pouring oil upon his

Second Account-Chosen by Lot with Samuel's Co-operation1

"Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands." So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family 5 of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they asked of Jehovah further, "Is the man yet come hither?" And Jehovah answered, “Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage." And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he Io stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, "See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" And all the people shouted, and said, "Long live the king."

Third Account-by Public Acclaim after a Deed of Bravery2

Then said Samuel to the people, "Come, and let us go to Gilgal,3 and renew the kingdom there." And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal; and there they offered sacrifices of peace-offerings4 before Jehovah; and there 5 Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Establishes a New Standard of Conduct.-Saul was preeminently a military leader. His successful campaigns against the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Amalekites,

head was a custom followed in Egypt and adopted by the Canaanites and probably from them by the Hebrews. With the Hebrews the ceremony was supposed to impart special endowment of the spirit of Jehovah. It was originally used only for the consecration of a king.

I *The second account of the choosing of a king represents the custom of the sacred lot cast by the representatives of the surrounding tribes, at the call of Samuel. We do not know the exact details of the ceremony, but only that upon Saul fell the fortunate designation.

2 *The third account should be read as a sequence of Saul's heroic deliverance of the men of Jabesh Gilead, found in I Sam. II:I-II. The word "renew" in vs. 14 may be the interpretation of a later writer who was trying to harmonize this with one of the other accounts. We may regard it, however, as only one of several different views as to the precise method and occasion through which Saul actually took possession of the throne.

3 *Gilgal: another of the towns on Samuel's circuit, afterward a noted sanctuary. 4 *Peace-offerings: represented general friendly relations with Jehovah.