Turned Into Another Man
1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance? 2 When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’ 3 “Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand. 5 “After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man. 7 Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you. 8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.” 9 It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them. 11 When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 One from the same place answered, “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?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.
Oil, three signs, a new heart, and a proverb — everything Saul needs is given him, including the Spirit, before he has done anything at all.
Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
The anointing is private — one prophet, one young man, a roadside at dawn — and its wording keeps the ownership straight: the inheritance is God's, and Saul is set over it as steward. Anointing is the book's central act; the word behind it will become messiah, and every later scene of oil poured on a head takes its meaning from this economy of stewardship.
Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.
Three signs are promised and all three land the same day 1 Samuel 10:9: the men at Rachel's tomb who close the donkey errand, the three pilgrims bound for Bethel with bread, the band of prophets with lute and tambourine coming down from the high place. Their function is confirmation for a man who will need it later — and the third goes further than confirmation. God gave him another heart; the Spirit comes mightily and the farmer's son prophesies. Every resource for the office is issued in advance and none of it is earned. What Saul does with equipment he did not deserve is the rest of his story, and the same Spirit's departure will mark its turn 1 Samuel 16:14.
One instruction is planted in the middle of the signs and left ticking: Go down ahead of me to Gilgal... Wait seven days, until I come to you 1 Samuel 10:8. It is not for today. It is the test Saul fails three chapters on 1 Samuel 13:8–9, issued before he has done anything wrong at all.
When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
The neighbors' astonishment hardens into a proverb, and the tone is not admiration but disbelief — everyone who knew him knew this was out of character. The retort Who is their father? 1 Samuel 10:12 makes the sharper point: prophecy has no pedigree, so a farm boy among prophets proves nothing about the farm boy and everything about the Spirit.
Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.
And then the uncle asks, and Saul mentions the donkeys. The reticence is attractive — no grasping, no announcement — and it is also the first showing of a trait that will not stay attractive: Saul manages information. The man who hides the kingdom from his uncle will shortly hide from the kingdom itself.
settled What this mark means