Thutmose IV claimed that Re told him in a dream that he shall bequeath the kingdom to him long before he ascended to the throne.58 Mesopotamian literature tells of kings like Assur-rêsh-ishi, Asshurbanipal, and Nabonidus, who claimed to be designated in the womb.59
In the biblical story, the first stage takes place in Ramah, where Saul is designated as future king. In Mizpah, where Saul is crowned before the whole nation, the second act occurs. Saul’s anointing also includes a message from Samuel: Saul would liberate the Israelites from their enemies. Samuel gives Saul signs that God has anointed him as a king of Israel. These three signs would occur in three different locations. The first will take place at Rachel’s tomb, where he will meet two people who will tell him three things: the donkeys were found, his father had given up on finding the donkeys, and his father is worried about him.
The second will take place at the Oak of Tabor where he will meet three people. One will carry three kids, one will carry three bags of bread, and one will carry a jug of wine. They will greet him and offer him two wave offerings of bread, which he will accept. The bread is intended for God, but Saul is instructed to accept it.60 It is possible that the second sign is a fulfillment of the royal tribute that was mentioned by Samuel (9:20). Indeed, Wiseman points out that the bread was to be accepted “since such ‘greetings’ and gifts were part of the customary diplomatic acknowledgment of a king’s new position and authority.”61
The third encounter will occur at the Hill of God where the Philistine prefect was located. Saul will encounter a band of prophets who will have timbrels, flutes, and harps in front of them, and they will be prophesying with musical instruments.
Samuel predicted that the encounter with the band of prophets would change Saul, as “The spirit of God will rush upon” him, and he would prophesy (1 Sam 10:6). This is a typical expression in the stories of Samson and Saul where the hero is empowered by God’s spirit to perform heroic actions (Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Sam 11:6). Saul started to prophesy by musical inspiration the same way Elijah prophesied by music (2 Kgs 3:15). As the spirit rushes upon him he changed (1 Sam 10:9). And when the spirit departs, while David was playing the lyre (1 Sam 16:14, 23), an evil spirit seizes Saul (1 Sam 18:10).
The Coronation at Mizpah
Contrasting the private secretive anointing of Saul, the coronation at Mizpah was public. Saul was anointed by Samuel first as nāgîd, now he is elected a king. As Herzberg pointed out, Saul’s rise to power was narrated in different ways in different places. However, he acknowledges the general agreement that God directs the events and uses Samuel as his instrument.62
Here, Saul is chosen king by a “lot.” The Hebrew Bible maintains that a lottery was used to determine an unknown offender. In the Achan story, a lot was cast to find the person who did not follow the laws of the ban (Josh 7:1). Later a lot was cast to find out who broke Saul’s vow (1 Sam 14:24–29). In each case the reader knows who will be caught. It is not clear why a lot was cast to identify the king of Israel since Samuel had already anointed Saul. Moreover, the fact that a lot was cast to find the king of Israel gives the impression that Saul might be guilty of something. The feeling that things will turn deleteriously arises. According to McCarter “there is a clear, if subtle, implication that he is an offending party by the virtue of the election itself.”63 The word “lot” is not used, but is inferred. Instead the writer uses the word hiqrib “present,” which also means sacrifice.
Since Saul was not found, Samuel again asked Yahweh. There is a play on words: the verb ša’al “ask, inquire,” and the name Saul (šā’ûl). Saul was hiding the entire time the casting of lots took place. This motif of hiding also appears in the New Testament. In the Gospel of John we read that Jesus runs to the mountains when they came to crown him (John 6:15).64 It does not say why Saul was hiding. Was it modesty or shyness? The Talmud commenting on this passage asserts that Saul was a model of humility. This detail is significant in understanding the different stages in Saul’s coronation. Saul’s hiding proves that there is a link between Saul’s secret anointing and the anointing in Mizpah. Why does Saul hide? How did he know that he would be chosen? Evidently, one tradition holds that there were two stages of Saul’s anointing. Therefore, he concealed the matter of the kingdom from his uncle (1 Sam 10:17); and he hid because he already had been anointed by Samuel, suggesting that he knew he would be chosen by lot.
When Samuel brought Saul forth from his hiding place, the narrator repeats some of the details mentioned previously in the anointing story. Once again we are told that he was taller than the rest of all the people, yet this will be repudiated later in the story (1 Sam 16:7).65 Further repeated details are that Saul was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, and that he was modest and shy. Modesty is a quality associated with Moses (Num 12:3), Gideon (Judg 6:15), David (1 Sam 18:23; 2 Sam 7:18–21), and Solomon (1 Kgs 3:7). In Saul’s anointing and coronation ceremonies, his modesty is stressed. It is mentioned in connection with Saul’s appearance (1 Sam 9:21), when Saul was elected by lot (10:22), when Saul concealed the kingship from his uncle (10:16), and lastly when Saul already was the king of Israel (15:17).
Saul was presented as Yahweh’s chosen one. This reflects the belief that the king is God’s elected one and the elected one of the people. Samuel quickly tells the people of Israel: “And now here is the king you have chosen! Yahweh has appointed a king over you” (12:13). Likewise, we read that Hushai justified his support for Absalom saying: “No, the one chosen by the Lord, by these people, and by all the men of Israel” (2 Sam 16:18). The belief that the king is the one chosen by God and the people is also known from ancient Near Eastern texts. In the Hebrew Bible the preeminently chosen one of Yahweh is David; but at the early stages of the monarchy, Saul was seen as the chosen one. By shouting, “Long live the king!” the people of Israel recognized Saul as king. This phrase is repeated throughout the historical books of the Bible to express the approval of the king (1 Kgs 1:25, 34, 39; 2 Kgs 11:12). R. P. Gordon points out that: “for the first time since his introduction in 9:1f. Saul is called ‘king’; significantly, it is the people who acclaim him so.”66
In spite of Saul’s election by God and his recognition by the people, some people did not accept Saul as a king. The Bible mentions two groups, stalwart men and worthless men. The former refers to soldiers or warriors, and connotes loyalty. They were part of the army that Saul gathered (1 Sam 14:52). The second group refers to disloyal traitors. They expressed their contempt to the new king by words and actions. They asked, “How can this fellow save us?” (v. 27). They spurned him and tendered no gifts. No evidence exists for giving a gift following a new king’s election; nevertheless the biblical narrator stressed that fact. Gift giving by a vassal to a king was considered a sign of recognition and loyalty to the king.67 The same people’s contempt towards Saul will be mentioned after his victory over the Ammonites.
Saul Proclaimed King at Gilgal
After the victory over the Ammonites, Samuel asked the people to join him in renewing the kingship at Gilgal (1 Sam 11:14). The people went to Gilgal and, in the presence of Yahweh, crowned Saul as their king. There they sacrificed to Yahweh, and Saul and all Israel rejoiced. Medieval commentators such as Rashi (Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, 1040–1105) and Radak (Rabbi David ben Joseph Kimh.i, 1160–1235) raised the question: why was a third coronation needed in Gilgal? They claimed there was disagreement about Saul.
