Synopsis of the Chapter
Samuel secretly anoints Saul as king, and confirms by three signs given to Saul that he does this by God's command. The first is the found donkeys. The second, three men going to Bethel. The third, a company of Prophets, with whom Saul also, moved by the Spirit of God, prophesies. Then, verse 17, Samuel publicly at Mizpah before all the people designates Saul, chosen by God as king through the lot.
Verse 1: Samuel anoints Saul with oil ¶
1. AND SAMUEL TOOK A FLASK OF OIL AND POURED IT OVER HIS HEAD. — This is the first king of Israel who is consecrated by anointing. The reasons why they were anointed were various. First, to signify the supreme dignity of the king in temporal matters, just as of the Pontiff in spiritual matters. Second, to signify that new strength and spirit were poured by God into the new king, to maintain the people of God in His true worship and to defend them against unbelievers. Third, to remind kings of the gentleness, kindness, clemency, mercy, charity, and beneficence to be exercised toward their subjects. Fourth, to be a type of Christ, who is the supreme priest, king, and prophet; for Christ was anointed by God with the oil of grace.
Hence this custom passed to the Christians, so that their Emperors and Kings are anointed, and indeed this was decreed by Canon Law. These ceremonies were observed among the Hebrews: "First, the king to be inaugurated was placed on a seat. Second, he was adorned with a diadem. Third, he was anointed. Fourth, the book of the law was given into his hands. Fifth, they swore to its observance. Sixth, sacrifices of every kind were offered. Seventh, various signs of joy and approval were displayed."
AND HE KISSED HIM. — This kiss signified the communication of grace, says Procopius, and the mutual harmony and cooperation of the royal and priestly offices. For a kiss is a symbol of friendship and peace.
Verse 2: The sign at Rachel's tomb ¶
2. YOU SHALL FIND TWO MEN NEAR THE TOMB OF RACHEL IN THE BORDERS OF BENJAMIN. — This tomb was in Bethlehem, and therefore in the tribe of Judah, Genesis XXXV, 19; but the tribe of Benjamin bordered the tribe of Judah.
Verse 5: The hill of God and the company of prophets ¶
5. AFTER THIS YOU SHALL COME TO THE HILL OF GOD — that is, to Gibeah, which was the homeland of Saul and was on a hill. For Gibeah in Hebrew means hill. In Gibeah there was a garrison of the Philistines.
YOU SHALL MEET A COMPANY OF PROPHETS. — These prophets were not properly so called, as those who foretell the future; but they were religious men who, withdrawing from the crowd, devoted themselves to God, and sang hymns and praises to Him, both with the voice and with musical instruments. Samuel seems to have established these. They are therefore the first religious, as it were, that we find in Sacred Scripture.
6. AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SHALL RUSH UPON YOU, AND YOU SHALL PROPHESY WITH THEM — that is, inspired by the spirit of God and moved as by an ecstasy, you will compose and sing hymns to God.
AND YOU SHALL BE CHANGED INTO ANOTHER MAN — a greater one: you will receive wisdom and magnanimity infused by God. From a rustic muleteer you will become civil, political, regal, for you will put on a liberal and royal spirit. From rude you will become wise, from harsh gentle, from boorish urbane, from a private man, kingly.
Verse 7: Do whatever your hand finds ¶
7. WHEN THEREFORE ALL THESE SIGNS HAVE COME TO YOU, DO WHATEVER YOUR HAND FINDS TO DO. — As if to say: From these signs know with absolute certainty that you are a king chosen by God. Act therefore in a kingly manner and fight fearlessly for the people of God and your own.
FOR THE LORD IS WITH YOU — as your director and governor. Hear St. Jerome in the Questions: "By these signs you will be able to know that God willed you to be king: and therefore in all things you must do, act in a kingly manner, for the Lord is with you."
Verse 9: God changed his heart ¶
9. GOD CHANGED HIS HEART INTO ANOTHER — meaning God changed the heart of Saul, which, while he was a private man, was small, abject, rustic, and servile; but now that he was made king, He made it magnanimous, lofty, ample, and royal, so that he would yield to no dangers, fear no enemies, and consider no burden too difficult. So Abulensis: "He changed his heart, which before was small and servile, into a royal heart."
So Tertullian, book On the Soul, ch. XI: "God's spirit first turned Saul into another man, that is, into a prophet, just as later an evil spirit overturned him into another man, that is, into an apostate."
Verse 10: Saul prophesied among the prophets ¶
10. AND HE PROPHESIED IN THEIR MIDST — that is, inspired by the divine power, he sang the same praises to God which the other Prophets were singing.
11. IS SAUL ALSO AMONG THE PROPHETS? — From so sudden and great a change in Saul, this exclamation burst from the bystanders, which became a proverb similar to our saying: "A goose among swans, a donkey among bees, a crow among the Muses."
Morally, learn here how useful the company of good people is: for by this one rubs one's goodness off on others. Behold Saul, in the company of the Prophets, becomes a prophet and prophesies. For God, breathing His spirit on the Prophets, breathed it on Saul also, placed among them.
Verse 16: Saul's silence about the kingdom ¶
16. BUT ABOUT THE MATTER OF THE KINGDOM HE DID NOT TELL HIM. — Why did Saul maintain such deep silence about his kingdom? Lyranus answers: "to avoid boastfulness and to preserve humility." Vatablus: "This is attributed to the modesty of Saul." The second reason was to avoid disclosing a secret. Third, lest he stir up his uncle's envy, as Joseph did when he told his dream to his brothers.
Verse 17: The assembly at Mizpah ¶
17. AND SAMUEL CALLED THE PEOPLE TOGETHER TO THE LORD AT MIZPAH — not that the ark of the Lord was at Mizpah, but to the Lord, that is, to the assembly of the Lord; for where the Church of God is, there God Himself is and presides.
20. AND HE BROUGHT FORWARD ALL THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL — to the lot, that is, he cast lots for the twelve tribes, so that through it he might see which of them God would choose, to designate a king from it.
Verse 22: Saul hidden among the baggage ¶
22. BEHOLD, HE IS HIDDEN AT HOME — among certain baggage; or he had fled to some hiding place, as Josephus says, and this from the humility by which he judged himself unworthy of the kingdom and dreaded the burden of ruling. See here how honor follows those who flee it, and flees those who pursue it, as it pursued Saul.
23. HE WAS TALLER THAN ALL THE PEOPLE FROM HIS SHOULDERS AND UPWARD — so that just as in body, so also in mind, virtue, and royal dignity he might stand above all his subjects. Tropologically St. Gregory: "The king excels in neck, excels also in head. For what is designated by the neck, except speech? What by the head, except the contemplation of the mind?"
Verse 25: The law of the kingdom ¶
25. AND SAMUEL SPOKE THE LAW OF THE KINGDOM — that is, he prescribed the laws to be observed, both for the king regarding the people and for the people regarding the king. From this it is clear that the right of the king recounted by Samuel in ch. VIII, verse 11, is not legitimate, but unjustly usurped.
AND SAUL ALSO WENT TO HIS HOUSE AT GIBEAH. — Mystically St. Gregory: "The house of the king is said to be situated in Gibeah. For Gibeah means lofty. The house of the king is therefore shown to be in Gibeah, because the elect Doctor strives not to dwell by thinking on low and earthly things, but to meditate on high and heavenly things."
Verse 27: The sons of Belial ¶
27. BUT THE SONS OF BELIAL SAID: SHALL THIS ONE BE ABLE TO SAVE US? — "This one," namely a lowly, common, ignoble, unknown, untried man.
BUT HE PRETENDED NOT TO HEAR. — In Hebrew, he became deaf, he acted as though deaf. Wisely St. Isidore, book III of Sentences, ch. L: "Usually a just prince knows how to overlook the faults even of the wicked, not because he consents to their iniquity, but because he waits for the right time for correction."
Allegorically Saul was a type of Christ, and this on account of three analogies which Bede recounts: First, because Saul descended from the tribe of Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand: so the family of Christ the Lord is entirely on the right. Second, because Saul was taller than all the people: so Christ the Lord easily surpassed all in the glory of His holiness. Third, because Saul, about to be anointed king, was hidden at home; so also Christ the Lord, when they were about to come and seize Him and make Him their king, fled.
Tertullian adds the fruit of this patience: "Every injury, whether struck by tongue or hand, when it has encountered patience, will be blunted by the same blow as a weapon hurled against a rock of the hardest stone."
It is therefore kingly, indeed divine, to despise injuries, to overlook them, to pardon them, and to overwhelm them with kindnesses.