Глава 10

The election of Saul to the kingdom. 1 Samuel 10:1. And Samuel took a vessel of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: Behold, the Lord anoints you to be the ruler of His inheritance [in Israel, and you will reign over the people of the Lord and save them from the hand of their enemies who are around them, and this is a sign for you, that the Lord has anointed you as king over His inheritance]: Hitherto in the Old Testament only the high priest was mentioned about anointing with holy oil (for the communication of the spiritual gifts of God) (Ex. 30:23). But if in order to successfully carry out his ministry, the shepherd of human souls requires special divine help, then the organizer of the earthly well-being of people - the king, who in a theocratic state (see note to 1 Samuel 8:6) is at the same time an assistant to the high priest in the matter of preserving the souls of the people entrusted to him (Deut. 17:14-20). “And this is a sign for you that the Lord has anointed you”: Saul’s state of mind required some tangible confirmation of his chosenness as king over Israel (1 Samuel 9:20–21). 1 Samuel 10:2. When you now leave me, you will meet two people near the tomb of Rachel, on the borders of Benjamin, in Zelzakh, and they will say to you: “The donkeys that you went to look for were found, and now your father, having forgotten about the donkeys, is worried about you, saying: What is the matter with my son?” "Near Rachel's Tomb". According to Gen. 35:19, Rachel's tomb is located near the city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, within the tribe of Judah. It is believed that “within the borders of the Benjaminites, in Tzeltsakh,” there was an area that also bore the name of Rachel’s Sepulchre, out of respect for the memory of the ancestor of the Benjamites. 1 Samuel 10:3. And you will go further from there and come to the oak grove of Tabor, and three people will meet you there, going to God in Bethel: one carries three kids of goats, another carries three loaves of bread, and the third carries a bottle of wine; “The oak grove of Tabor” cannot be the oak grove of the famous Mount Tabor, since the latter (i.e. Mount Tabor) is located significantly north of the tribe of Benjamin, completely not on the way of Saul to his hometown - Gibeah of Benjamin (1 Samuel 10:26). The “oak grove of Tabor” mentioned here (like “Rachel’s tomb”) is, in all likelihood, the name of some currently unknown locality of the tribe of Benjamin. “Coming to God in Bethel”, i.e. going to Bethel to make a sacrifice to the Lord God. See note. to 1 Samuel 7:9 1 Samuel 10:5. After that you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistine guard detachment is; [there are the leaders of the Philistines;] and when you enter the city there, you will meet a host of prophets coming down from on high, and before them is a psalter and a tympanum, and a pipe and a harp, and they prophesy; “The Hill of God”, i.e. one of the sacrificial heights then known among the people (see note 1 Samuel 7:9). In addition to what was noted, the hill also had another military purpose, serving for the Philistines as a stronghold of their power in Canaan (see note to 1 Samuel 9:16). “You will meet a host of prophets descending from on high.” The “hosts” of prophets are religious, educational and prophetic societies, which later bore the names of prophetic schools, the initial foundation and organization of which was made by the prophet Samuel. The study of the word of God, the exercise of prayer, and the singing (to the accompaniment of music) of sacred hymns were the main subjects of study in these societies. Members of the latter were called “prophets” for their enthusiastic and animated glorification of the name of God, as well as “sons” or “disciples of the prophets” (1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3,5,15), because they were brought up under the leadership of divinely inspired prophets, who were called their “fathers” (2 Kings 2:12). Under Samuel, members of the prophetic community had their residence in Samuel's Rama (1 Samuel 19:18–24); in later times, under Elijah and Elisha, we see prophetic disciples in different cities of southern Canaan: in Gilgal (2 Kings 2:1), in Bethel (2 Kings 2:3), in Jericho (2 Kings 2:5,15). “Hosts” of incorruptible guardians of Jehovah’s law, enthusiastic heralds of His holy, perfect and good will should have become (and in fact were throughout Old Testament history) a strong counterbalance to the people’s enthusiasm for the dark and disastrous jungle of pagan lawlessness. The deep conviction of true knowledge, the sacred fire of religious inspiration, the complete truthfulness and impartiality of the accusatory speeches of the students of the prophetic schools made a strong impression on the people and greatly assisted the divinely called prophets in their great and difficult mission of religious healing of the people. “Psalter and tympanum, and flute and harp” - musical instruments of the Jews of that time: psalter and harp - strings; flute - wind pipe; tympanum - like our tambourine or tambourine. "And they prophesy". “To prophesy” in biblical language does not always mean “to predict.” In this case, as often in the Bible (for example, Numbers 11:25; 1 Samuel 10:6,10,13; 1 Samuel 19:20, etc.), the expression “prophesy” can be understood in the sense of glorifying God and His wonderful deeds in enthusiastic hymns of praise, which, of course, implies a special rise in a person’s spiritual powers. With the temporary cessation of this rise, “prophecy” also ceases (Num. 11:25; 1 Samuel 10:13, etc.). 1 Samuel 10:6. and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and become a different man. “And you will prophesy” ... See note. towards the end of 1 Samuel 10:5. 1 Samuel 10:8. And you go before me to Gilgal, where I will also come to you to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings; Wait seven days until I come to you, and then I will show you what to do. An instruction and at the same time a test for Saul: receiving a certain freedom of action (1 Samuel 10:7), the named king of the Jews should not have forgotten the fact that in matters of a higher order he is only the executor of the will of the Heavenly King of the people; the mediator between God and the people, the interpreter and herald of the divine will - the prophet - is and will be the same in relation to the king as in relation to each of the people. See note. to 1 Samuel 8:6. Gilgal is the city of sacred memories (Joshua 4:4,5:5); located east of Jericho, near the river. Jordan. 1 Samuel 10:9. As soon as Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him a different heart, and all those signs came true on the same day. “God gave him a different heart”: under the influence of divine anointing, Saul was internally reborn, as it were, and received the opportunity to be what he should become in his new rank (see note to 1 Samuel 8:6). “And all those signs were fulfilled”: see 1 Samuel 10:1–7. 1 Samuel 10:10. When they came to the hill, behold, they met a company of prophets, and the Spirit of God descended on him, and he prophesied among them. “And he prophesied among them”: see note. to the end of 1 Samuel 10:5, and also to 1 Samuel 10:9. 1 Samuel 10:12. And one of those who were there answered and said: Who is the father of these? Therefore, it became a proverb: “Is Saul also one of the prophets?” “And who is the father of those?” Pointing to the sons of the prophets, the questioner makes it clear that the morals and position of the parents have nothing to do with this case, since the prophetic gift is not hereditary. Nevertheless, the bewilderment at the sight of “the prophesied Saul” was so great that it was immortalized in a proverb. When later they wanted to express amazement at some unexpected change, they said: “Is Saul also a prophet?” 1 Samuel 10:13. And he stopped prophesying and went up to the heights. See note. towards the end of 1 Samuel 10:5. 1 Samuel 10:17. And Samuel called the people to the Lord at Mizpah The city of Mizpah (west of Gibeah Benjamin, northwest of Jerusalem) has previously been a place of religious and social gatherings of the people (Judges 20:1,21:1; 1 Samuel 7:5). 1 Samuel 10:18. and he said to the children of Israel, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 1 Samuel 10:19. And now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and your sorrows, and said to Him: “Appoint a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord according to your tribes and according to your kindreds. And now you have rejected God (cf. 1 Samuel 8:7–8). See note. to 1 Samuel 8:6. “Now therefore stand before the Lord” to find out whom the Lord chooses to be king for you. 1 Samuel 10:20. And Samuel commanded all the tribes of Israel to approach, and the tribe of Benjamin was pointed out. “And it is indicated” - through lot. “Those who lived viciously,” notes the blessed one. Theodoret, - they did not always believe God’s prophets. Therefore, so that they would not think that the sentence was made by human mercy, Samuel ordered the casting of lots” (interpretation of 1 Samuel, issue 22). 1 Samuel 10:22. And they also asked the Lord: will he come here again? And the Lord said: behold, he is hiding in the baggage train. “And they asked the Lord again” - through some sign. If the expression 1 Samuel 10:17: “to the Lord at Mizpah” is understood in the sense that by this time the tabernacle had been transferred to Mizpah, then the Jews could question the Lord in another way - through the medium of the high priest and the mysterious confidant entrusted to him. 1 Samuel 10:23. And they ran and took him from there, and he stood among the people and was taller from his shoulders than all the people. “From your shoulders above all the people,” i.e. head above everyone else. 1 Samuel 10:24. And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? there is no one like him in all the people. Then all the people exclaimed and said: Long live the king! In ancient times, the physical merits of a person were valued very highly; His inner virtues were often measured by them (1 Samuel 16:7). Where the main purpose of a person was seen as the duty to protect the interests entrusted to him through the use of physical force, the above-mentioned human virtues were, of course, of decisive importance. According to Herodotus (III, 20; XII, 187), the Ethiopians elected as their king the one who was taller than others. The Jews also wanted to see the same physical correspondence to their intended purpose in their king (1 Samuel 8:20). Seeing the tall, powerful figure of Saul, the people shouted with delight: “Long live the king!” The Lord allowed the election of Saul to take place, so that the Jews would be tangibly convinced that for a theocratic sovereign (see note to 1 Samuel 8:6) brute physical strength is not the main required quality (1 Samuel 16:1,7); so that, having experienced experience of what their king cannot be, they would more consciously react to the divine instructions in the person of Saul’s successor (1 Sam. 16:1,7) about what he should be. 1 Samuel 10:25. And Samuel explained to the people the rights of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it before the Lord. And he sent all the people away, every one to his own house. The “rights of the kingdom” written down by Samuel and placed before the Ark of the Lord must be distinguished from the picture he depicted before the people of the king’s usual behavior in the East at that time (1 Samuel 8:11–18). In contrast to this picture and in accordance with Deut. 17:14-20, Samuel, in all likelihood, portrayed in “The Rights of the King” that desirable, from the theocratic point of view (see note on 1 Sam. 8:6), the ideal of a king that the king of the Jews should follow. However, the actual content of this important document has not reached us. 1 Samuel 10:26. Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and the brave men, whose hearts had been touched by God, went with him. The city of Gibeah Veniamin is located south of Rama Samuel and north of Jerusalem. “Whose hearts God has touched,” i.e. whose hearts joyfully responded to the election of the hero Saul as king. 1 Samuel 10:27. And the worthless people said: should he save us? And they despised him and did not bring him gifts; but he didn’t seem to notice it. “And they did not bring him gifts” on the occasion of his election as king. It is assumed that others made these gifts and thereby expressed their respectful greeting to the newly chosen one. “But he didn’t seem to notice it”: simple prudence demanded that a partial outbreak of displeasure be taken calmly, otherwise it could turn into a fire of civil strife. You might be interested in: