Bible Verses and Early Church Commentary | Historical Christian Faith

[AD 235] Hippolytus of Rome on 1 Samuel 10:1

And of all people, we Christians alone are those who … celebrate the mystery and are anointed there with the unspeakable chrism from a horn, as David (was anointed), not from an earthen vessel, he says, as (was) Saul, who held converse with the evil demon of carnal concupiscence.

Source: THE REFUTATION OF ALL HERESIES 5.4

[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 10:1

Furthermore, whenever someone had to be chosen and anointed, the grace of the Spirit would wing its way down and the oil would run on the forehead of the elect. Prophets fulfilled these ministries.

Source: DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 6.4.3

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:1

(I Kings X) Samuel took a flask of oil, etc. John took the grace of the Holy Spirit to be preached, and testified that all its fullness rests in Christ, saying: "I saw the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon Him" (Matthew III; Mark I). And well did he pour it out, for "your name is oil poured out" (Song of Solomon I).

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:1

And he kissed him, etc. And he united the figures of prophecy to the truth of the gospel and the grace of faith to the decrees of the long-desired peace of the law, and said: Behold, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of exultation above your companions, to ask of him, and he will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession (Psalm XLIV).

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:2

When you depart from me today, you will find two men, etc. When Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, departed from the Jordan from John, he found the people long lost by deceit, but now confirmed by faith and operation. He found them indeed, recalling them to the way of salvation; and this ceased gradually, and as the synagogue's carnal observance was to be dying and burying, from which he himself was willing to receive flesh. For Rachel was the mother of Benjamin, from the tribe from which Saul originated. He found those whom the Lord would save; and as if in the noonday of new love, in the fervor and light of knowledge shining from the heavenly realms, within the bounds of grace and truth, which in comparison to the law given through Moses is like the right hand to the left. Hence rightly Benjamin is interpreted as the son of the right hand. The believing people, found in this manner, mercifully confessed by Christ, giving thanks for his benefits, because their souls, once wandering like brute animals, were now redeemed by heavenly grace through him who came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke XIX). They also confessed the mysteries of faith which they had learned, that by the dullness of fools' sluggishness, the Almighty Father, being solicitous for his Son and those believing in him, did not allow them to be disturbed by his passion and to fall from faith until the completion of the dispensation of the same passion and the celebration of the glory of the resurrection, he more fittingly commanded that the unclean souls either of Jews or Gentiles, which he had temporarily neglected, be sought and saved; so that those already partially found might be perfectly gathered by their Lord to the manger.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:3

And when you depart from there, and go further, etc. Increasing the course of his teaching, the Savior arrived at the point of revealing to the disciples the secret of his passion, signifying that he was to bestow the gifts of the highest light on the world. Indeed, Thabor, which is a very high mountain and is interpreted as the coming light, in both name and position, smiles upon the mysteries of the life-giving cross, whose sacraments the Lord, revealing them, sought devoutly, and found all the mighty confessors of the Holy Trinity ascending to God in the Church with devout progress, which is Bethel, that is, the house of God; who, according to the grace given to them, some offered the richest remedies of penance for thought, speech, and action; others offered strengthening provisions of Sacred Scripture for the heart of man, revealed by divine gift in a threefold manner; others brought the most fervent cups of compunctive love in earthen vessels of the heart to be dedicated to God. While each in their own rank recognized Christ the Savior and wished for his incarnation to bring about the world's salvation, they gave him a double interpretation of the Scriptures; that after the first reading of the history, which was completed before his incarnation through the law, he might also open the allegorical and anagogical sense, which either pertains to the truth of present grace or to the beatitude of future life, through the act of the assumed dispensation. Surely, he also accepted these loaves from the hand of those who offered when he revealed to the disciples a worthy operation according to merits, so that they might understand the Scriptures. To this, if I am not mistaken, the interpretation of the three loaves rightly resonates; because in the Gospel, the importunate petitioner, urged by necessity, equally seeks and receives three loaves from a faithful friend (Luke 11). And in Leviticus, the loaves to be offered as a sacrifice are commanded to be prepared in three kinds of baking: namely, in the oven, in the pan, and on the griddle (Leviticus 2). We are nourished with the bread baked on the griddle when we receive those things which are openly and literally said or done without any cover to safeguard the soul's health. But with the bread fried in the pan, we seek what is often reviewed and reconsidered in the surface of the letter, to see what in it allegorically suits the mysteries of Christ, the state of the Catholic Church, and the correction of individual morals. Moreover, we seek the bread of the word in the oven when we also comprehend in the anagogical scripture, that is, by the upward lifting intention of the mind, those things which we cannot yet see, but hope to live out in the future.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 10:3

Bethel: Where there was at that time an altar of God; it being one of the places where Samuel judged Israel.

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:5

After these things, you will come to the hill of God, where the station of the Philistines is, etc. Understand the hill of God to be Gabatha, the city which is interpreted as a hill. Therefore, the Lord, coming to the height of His divine majesty to be explained to mortals, which impure spirits brazenly claimed for themselves, took a flock of prophets as companions, helpers, and witnesses of His preaching; just as He Himself taught by reading one of them from Isaiah (Luke IV); those prophets, indeed, were accustomed to return from the hidden summit of the highest glory to the common weaknesses of humanity by both doing and speaking, with their life and their word being like an instrument they played and a song they sang. And beautifully, the flock of prophets descending from the height and prophesying is described not as having musicians behind them, but in front of them. For the teacher is truly shown to have been in the height of divine contemplation, who, condescending to speak to the humble and weak, preaches everything he is going to say, demonstrating by his actions what he will teach by his words, similar to how it is written of the Lord: "Jesus began to do and to teach" (Acts I). Therefore, when the prophets met him, Saul accepted the Spirit of the Lord and prophesied with them, and he was immediately changed into another man. So also our Lord, after revealing the prophecies about Himself from the prophets, openly filled with the spirit of grace and prophecy, that is, preaching the joys to come, took up His ministry. And without delay, as the minds of believers advanced, He was changed from a prophet into the Christ, not by beginning to be what He was not, but by appearing as what He was.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 10:5

Prophets: These were men whose office it was to sing hymns and praises to God; for such in holy writ are called prophets, and their singing praises to God is called prophesying. See 1 Par. alias 1 Chr. 15. 22, and 25. 1. Now there were in those days colleges, or schools for training up these prophets; and it seems there was one of these schools at this hill of God; and another at Najoth in Ramatha. See 1 Kings 19. 20, 21, etc.

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 10:5

The hill of God: Gabaa, in which there was also at that time, a high place or altar.

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:8

And descending before me in Gilgal, etc. The Lord descended before John in Gilgal, that is, the place of rolling, namely those about which he speaks to the Father in the Psalm: Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold (Psalm 68). Not because the Lord had undergone death's destruction before John, but because before they killed John, the Jews were persecuting Jesus and seeking to kill Him; because He not only broke the Sabbath but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God (John 5). And John descended to Him, because he accepted the mud of prison and death as an example of His humility and patience. The Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father and made peace through His blood, both on earth and in heaven. But He awaited the time of His forerunner’s example. The completeness of this, according to the custom of the Scriptures, is signified by the number of seven days, until, namely, the same John, having undergone death by the wicked, showed what the Lord Himself would suffer.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 10:8

Galgal: Here also by dispensation was an altar of God.

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:9

So then, when He turned His shoulder, etc. When the Lord went away from John, immediately obeying the command of paternal dispensation, He was changed in a new thought, so that He who hitherto had been subject to His parents and was considered like other mortals, from then on, by the clear proofs of virtues, would also be revealed as God. And all that John had spoken of Him, and what other prophets had predicted, were true.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 1 Samuel 10:10

First, you ask that I explain how it can be said in the first book of Kings [Samuel], “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul,” when it is said elsewhere “There was an evil spirit from the Lord in Saul.” Thus it is written: “And it happened that when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave Saul another heart, and all the signs came to pass on that day. Then he came to the hill and, behold, a chorus of prophets met him on the way and the Spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied among them.” But Samuel had already predicted this when he anointed him. About that, I don’t think that there is any question. For “the Spirit blows where he wills,” and no one’s soul can be fouled by contact with the Spirit of prophecy, for it extends everywhere on account of its purity. Yet, it does not affect everyone in the same way; the Spirit’s infusion in some people confers images of things, others are granted the mental fruit of understanding, others are given both by inspiration, and still others know nothing. But the Spirit works through infusion in two ways. The first way comes during sleep, and not only to saints, but even Pharaoh and King Nebuchadnezzar saw what neither of them was able to understand but both of them were able to see. The second way is through demonstration in ecstasy (which some Latins translate as “trembling”—astonishingly idiosyncratic, but close in meaning nonetheless), where the mind is separated from the bodily senses so that the human spirit, which is assumed by the divine Spirit, might be free of perceiving and intuiting ideas, as, for instance, when it was shown to Daniel what he had not understood and, to Peter, the sheet let down from heaven by its four corners, who only later recognized what this vision represented. One way is through the mental fruit of understanding, when the significance and relevance of the things demonstrated through images is revealed, which is a more certain prophecy, for the apostle calls such prophecy “greater,” as Joseph deserved to understand but Pharaoh only to see, and as Daniel explained to the king that he saw but did not know. But since the mind is affected in such a fashion that it does not understand ideas of things by conjectural examination but intuits the things themselves, as wisdom and justice and every divine form are understood to be immutable, it does not pertain to the prophecy about which we are now concerned.

Source: ON VARIOUS QUESTIONS TO SIMPLICIAN 2.1.1

[AD 220] Tertullian on 1 Samuel 10:11

It is possible for an evil spirit to influence a person. The spirit of God later turned Saul into another man, that is, into a prophet, when people said, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” But the evil spirit also turned him into another man, in other words, into a renegade. For some time Judas was numbered among the chosen [apostles], even becoming the keeper of the purse. He was then not yet a traitor, but he was dishonest. Later, the devil entered into his soul.Therefore, if neither the spirit of God nor the devil enters into the soul of man at the birth of the soul, then the soul must exist separately before the accession of either spirit. If it exists alone, then it is simple and uncompounded in substance and it breathes simply as a result of the substance which it received from God.

Source: ON THE SOUL 11.5-6

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:11

And all those who knew Him yesterday and the day before, etc. Jesus, teaching in His homeland, many hearing were astonished at His doctrine, saying: Whence has this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended in Him. And Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house (Matthew 13).

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 10:12

Their father: That is, their teacher, or superior. As much as to say, Who could bring about such a wonderful change as to make Saul a prophet?

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:13

But he ceased to prophesy, etc. However, Jesus ceased to be considered a prophet, and began to be believed as Almighty God, of whom Isaiah to the pursuing peoples said: "Therefore desist from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for he is considered on high" (Isa. II).

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:14

And Saul’s uncle said to him: Tell me, etc. Saul’s uncle who speaks with him here is understood to be Ner, the father of Abner, who was the son of Abiel or Saul. Therefore, the relatives and brothers of the Lord, who were seeking what testimony John had given of him but not yet believing in him, as John the Evangelist testifies; the Lord himself responded, teaching that the entrance of the heavenly kingdom was proclaimed to those repenting by his precursor and promised; but he delayed saying that he was the God and Lord preached by that same precursor, and that he was to be proclaimed king to all nations unsparing and proud. Thus far we have briefly traversed the allegorical exposition of the anointing of Saul concerning the Lord. But also tropologically, that is, according to the rules of moral understanding, each of us keeps simple thoughts and those refreshed by the word of God to bear the burdens of fraternal necessity within the enclosures of our hearts, as if pasturing donkeys prepared for daily work, which namely, the most healthful devotion of thoughts, having been slipped away by some temptation as is usual at the moment, having escaped from watchfulness, broken with the reins of continence, to pursue external and secular things, it is necessary to recall wandering minds with all instant attention and to hasten to return them to the inner manger of heavenly fodder. And because we are not sufficient to do anything of ourselves, as from ourselves, having received the gifts of obedience and humility, let us ascend to hear the word of God, and being raised by his modest consolations, let us acquire that which our weakness could not achieve. And indeed it will come, with the help of divine grace, that not only do we recover the interrupted watchfulness of the mind, but also being enriched with the interest of a more perfect gift, we may begin to hope for the joys of the heavenly kingdom; indeed leading devoted people of God in charity, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faith, modesty, continence, and the other fruits of the Spirit, we may be anointed with the oil of heavenly grace as prince over this inheritance of the Lord; and also to kiss with the prophetic mouth, that is, to receive in our manner the exhortatory admonitions of the holy Scripture, by which the hearts of either ourselves or our neighbors may be comforted.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 1 Samuel 10:21-23

It is common experience that in the school of adversity the heart is forced to discipline itself; but when one has achieved supreme rule, it is at once changed and puffed up by the experience of his high estate.It was thus that Saul, realizing at first his unworthiness, fled from the honor of governing but presently assumed it and was puffed up with pride. By his desire for honor before the people and wishing not to be blamed before them, he alienated him who had anointed him to be king.

Source: PASTORAL CARE 1.3

[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 1 Samuel 10:24

But I see we must enquire how this Behemoth, who eats hay like an ox, is said to destroy the life of the spiritual, when, as was said before, by the word hay is designated the life of the carnal. His food also will no longer be choice, if, in eating hay, he seizes the carnal. But it occurs at once in reply, that some people are both hay in the sight of God and among people are counted under the name of holiness, when their life displays one thing before the eyes of men and before the divine judgment their conscience intends another. They therefore in the opinion of men are “elect,” but in the accurate judgment of the Lord are “hay.” Was not Saul hay in the sight of God, of whom the prophet Samuel said to the people, “You surely see him whom the Lord has chosen,” and of whom it is just said above, “He is choice and good”? For he whom the sinful people deserved was both reprobate in the sight of God and yet in the order of causes was choice and good.

Source: MORALS ON THE BOOK OF JOB 32.13

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:25

But Samuel spoke to the people the law of the kingdom, etc. John the Baptist spoke, as did the other prophets, to the people the law of the heavenly kingdom, which is given through Christ; and each wrote in his own book, and placed them among the sacred Scriptures, in which alone the divine will is always found. Certainly, according to the letter, it should be said that above, where the law of the king is promulgated, his proud presumption is foretold to allay the obstinacy of the requesting people. Here indeed, through the spoken, written law of the kingdom and stored for the sake of memory before the Lord, it is declared what kind of good ruler and what kind of spirit towards subjects he ought to have, according to the commands of Deuteronomy.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 10:25

And Samuel dismissed all the people, etc. Even today, a teacher dismisses the congregation after the sermon is finished, similarly, once the reading of the little script is concluded, he dismisses all the listeners, each to their own conscience, so that they may reconsider what they have heard through meditation, and by acting on what they have meditated, may bring it to perfection. But if anyone is disturbed as to why I have presumed to interpret the deeds of a reprobate king allegorically in relation to Christ, who is the King of Kings, let him know that it is customary for interpreters, indeed it is the essence of the Scriptures, to draw either good from evil or an allegorical form from a good man, where such an order is necessary, impartially. Otherwise, it would never be appropriate to write with black ink, but always with bright gold, or some other honorable form; for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1). A dark color does not unorderly signify brightness. Accordingly, Blessed Pope Gregory did not doubt to transfer even the anointing of the same Saul, not only to the kingdom of Christ but also his death, which befell because of his sin, to signify allegorically the innocent death of Christ. For you may read his exposition in Job, where he says, "Let the day perish in which I was born." Similarly, concerning King Jehoiachin, who, condemned for his crime, is carried away from Judah to the Chaldeans, he understands it as representing the Lord being transferred from the unbelieving Jews to the salvation of the Gentiles. Likewise, the Church refers all the wisdom, sayings, and actions of Solomon, though he gravely sinned afterwards, to be figures of praises of Christ. Quite a few Church commentators, as the Apostle says, "The rock was Christ," understand the rod that struck the rock as the cross of Christ, and Moses and Aaron, holy men who struck it, as representing the chief priests and doctors of the law, that is, the Pharisees, who crucified the Lord. And if that rock, although offering salutary drinks to the people, a rock nonetheless adhering to the back of the countryside with natural mass, signifies the ineffable gifts of Christ, or that patriarch anointed with holy chrism proclaims the Son of God anointed with the holy oil of the Spirit; or certainly Cyrus, the Persian, though a reasonable man yet wholly alien to the faith and sacraments of Christ, could rightly be consecrated in type or name for the congruity of prefiguring Christ: why could not a man of Christ, consecrated in youth with mystical anointing to Christ, illustrious unto death with the most holy name, predictively proclaim the future deeds of Christ in the flesh through figurative representation? It is also to be noted more attentively that the Scripture itself does not approve of all things it takes up as examples. For it is not to be thought that the wise man preached the art of the Marsi, which is undoubtedly demonic, when he says: "Who shall heal the enchanter bitten by the serpent?" The sense of which saying is, who will correct a teacher deceived by the devil? And if it seems novel to anyone that the same Saul is said to signify both good and evil at the same time, let him see the holy man Isaac blessing his son, but not recognizing the same son, as a type of the Jews, who having long sung of Christ the Savior coming blessed in the name of the Lord, did not recognize Him already present in the flesh by faith. Let him see the same son both blessed by an angel and rendered lame, signifying the Jewish nation, blessed indeed in those who believe in Christ, but lame in those who persecute Christ. And so, through the good, good things, through the evil, evil things, and through the evil, good things are figuratively represented freely according to places and times. However, in the reception of rewards, the good bring only the good things they have done, and the evil bring only the evil things they have done. Just as Ethiopians drawn in black color and a fair Saxon, discerned by their native color, can be easily and without any controversy distinguished, but differently in a painting, where unless each person is transformed into their proper colors as well as forms, the shamelessly deceptive picture, which has promised an image, is accused.

Source: Commentary on Samuel

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 1 Samuel 10:26-27

Accordingly, there is no doubt that human wills cannot resist the will of God, “who has done whatever he pleased in heaven and on earth,” and who has even “done the things that are to come.” Nor can the human will prevent him from doing what he wills, seeing that even with human wills he does what he wills, when he wills to do it. Take, for instance, the case of Saul. When God willed to give the kingdom to Saul, was it in the power of the Israelites to subject themselves to him or not to subject themselves? In a sense, yes; but not in such a way that they were able to resist God himself. As a matter of fact, God carried the matter through by means of the wills of people themselves, having, as he undoubtedly does, the almighty power to bend human hearts in whatever direction he pleases. So it is written: “And Samuel sent away all the people, everyone to his own house. Saul also departed to his own house in Gibeah; and there went with him a part of the army, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, ‘Shall this fellow be able to save us?’ And they despised him, and brought him no presents.” Surely, no one will say that any of the children of Belial, whose hearts God had not so touched, did go with him.

Source: ADMONITION AND GRACE 14.45

[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 1 Samuel 10:26-27

In vain also do they object that what we have established from Scripture in the books of Kings [which includes Samuel] and Chronicles—that when God wills the accomplishment of something which ought not to be done except by people who will it, their hearts will be inclined to will this, with God producing this inclination, who in a marvelous and ineffable way works also in us that we will—is not pertinent to the subject with which we are dealing. What else is this but to contradict without saying anything? Unless perhaps they gave you some explanation of why it seems this way to them, but you have chosen not to mention it in your letters. But what that explanation could be, I do not know. Do our brothers perhaps think that because we have shown that God so acted in the human hearts and led the wills of those whom it pleased him to lead, that Saul or David was established as king, these examples are not pertinent to the subject, since it is one thing to reign temporally in this world and another to reign eternally with God? Do they suppose, accordingly, that God moves the wills of those whom he has wished to the creation of earthly kingdoms but that he does not move them to the attainment of a heavenly kingdom?

Source: PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 20.42