Year of the Bible
1 Samuel 10
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Commentary on the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 10:
Samuel explains to Saul that God has appointed Saul to be a prince who will reign over God’s people. To accompany these prophetic words, Samuel anoints Saul’s head with oil, a common action upon those who will be king. Samuel explains that God’s Spirit will come upon Saul, allowing him to worship in a new way, prophesy, and have a new heart. At this point, Saul is considered a prophet, so a public recognition of his kingship must be made. Samuel calls together the men of the tribes and has a lottery to find God’s choice for king. Casting lots was a common way in the ancient world to discern God’s intention, and Saul is chosen. He does not, however, immediately begin to rule.
The First Book of Samuel, Chapter 9:
1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines; and there, as you come to the city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
Saul Prophesies
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibe-ah, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please, tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Saul Proclaimed King
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But you have this day rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, ‘No! but set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot; finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Did the man come here?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then they ran and fetched him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
Samuel anoints Saul and tells him: "...the spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into another man." (vs 6) When we are baptized, we are anointed priest, prophet, and king, and become a new person. Lord, draw me deeper into the mystery of my baptism.
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.
1 Entonces tomó Samuel el recipiente
de aceite, lo derramó sobre
la cabeza de Saúl y luego le besó diciendo:
–He aquí que el Señor te ha ungido
como príncipe de mi pueblo Israel. Tú
regirás al pueblo del Señor y le librarás
de la mano de los enemigos que le rodean.
Ésta es la señal de que Dios te ha
ungido como príncipe sobre su heredad:
2 cuando te separes hoy de mí, encontrarás
junto al sepulcro de Raquel, en los límites
de Benjamín, dos hombres que te
dirán: «Han sido encontradas las asnas
que andabas buscando; pero tu padre
ha olvidado lo de las asnas y está preocupado
por vosotros pensando: “¿Qué
debo hacer por mi hijo?”». 3 Cuando te
alejes de allí y llegues a la encina del Tabor,
te saldrán al encuentro tres hombres
que suben a honrar a Dios en Betel:
uno llevará tres cabritos, otro tres tortas
de pan y otro un odre de vino. 4 Te
saludarán y te entregarán dos panes; tú
recíbelos de sus manos. 5 Luego subirás
a Guibeá de Dios donde está la guarnición
de los filisteos. Cuando entres en
la ciudad te toparás con un grupo de
profetas que bajan de la colina precedidos
de arpas y panderos, flautas y cítaras,
y que van profetizando. 6 También a
ti te invadirá el espíritu del Señor, profetizarás
con ellos y te transformarás en
otro hombre. 7 Cuando te sucedan estas
señales, haz lo que se te ocurra porque
Dios está contigo. 8 Bajarás luego delante
de mí a Guilgal. Yo también bajaré para
ofrecer holocaustos y sacrificios de comunión.
Esperarás allí siete días hasta
que yo llegue y te dé a conocer lo que
has de hacer.
9 En efecto, apenas había vuelto
la espalda para alejarse de Samuel,
le transformó Dios el corazón y en el
mismo día le ocurrieron todas esas señales.
10 Desde allí fueron a Guibeá donde
un grupo de profetas salió a su encuentro.
11 Los que le conocían de antes y le
vieron en trance con los otros profetas
se decían unos a otros:
–¿Qué le ha pasado al hijo de Quis?
¿También Saúl anda entre los profetas?
12 Uno de aquella región respondió:
–¿Y quién es el padre de todos esos?
Por ello se difundió el proverbio:
«¿También Saúl anda entre los profetas?
».
13 Cuando cesó el trance profético,
vino a Guibeá. 14 Entonces el tío de Saúl
les dijo a él y a su criado:
–¿Adónde habéis ido?
Respondió:
–A buscar las asnas; pero al no encontrarlas,
acudimos a Samuel.
15 Su tío le preguntó:
–Cuéntame, por favor, qué os ha dicho
Samuel.
16 Y Saúl respondió a su tío:
–Sólo nos indicó que las asnas habían
aparecido.
Pero no le contó nada de lo que
Samuel le dijo sobre el reino.
17 Samuel convocó al pueblo en Mispá,
junto al Señor, 18 y dijo a los hijos de
Israel:
–Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel:
«Yo hice subir a Israel de Egipto y os libré
de la mano de los egipcios y de la
mano de los reinos que os oprimían.
19 En cambio, vosotros habéis rechazado
hoy a vuestro Dios, al que os ha salvado
de todos los males y de vuestras tribulaciones,
y habéis dicho: “No. Tú nómbranos
un rey”. Así pues, congregaos ante el
Señor por tribus y por familias».
20 Samuel ordenó que se acercaran
todas las tribus de Israel y fue elegida
por suerte la tribu de Benjamín.
21 Mandó luego que se acercara la tribu
de Benjamín, por familias, y fue elegida
por suerte la familia de Matrí; finalmente
fue elegido por suerte Saúl, hijo
de Quis. Le buscaron pero no apareció,
22 así que consultaron de nuevo al Señor:
–¿Ha venido aquí este hombre?
Respondió el Señor:
–Ahí está, escondido entre la impedimenta.
23 Fueron corriendo y lo sacaron de
allí; al presentarse en medio del pueblo,
sobrepasaba a todos de hombros para
arriba. 24 Samuel se dirigió a todo el pueblo:
–¿Veis a quién ha elegido el Señor?
No hay nadie como él en todo el pueblo.
Y el pueblo entero gritó al unísono:
–¡Viva el rey!
25 Samuel expuso al pueblo el derecho
del rey, lo escribió en un libro y lo
depositó ante el Señor; después despidió
al pueblo, cada uno a su casa. 26 También
Saúl se fue a su casa en Guibeá; con
él se fueron los más valientes a quienes
Dios tocó el corazón. 27 Sin embargo, algunos
malvados dijeron:
–¿Ése va a salvarnos?
Y le despreciaron y no le llevaron
presentes. Pero él simuló no oír nada.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
Samuel unge a Saúl y le dice: "...el espíritu del Señor vendrá con fuerza sobre ti, y profetizarás con ellos y te convertirás en otro hombre". (vs 6) Cuando nos bautizamos, somos ungidos como sacerdote, profeta y rey, y nos convertimos en una nueva persona. Señor, enséñame a reflexionar en el misterio de mi bautismo.
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).