1 Tulit autem Samuel lenticulam olei, et effudit super caput ejus: et deosculatus est eum, et ait: Ecce unxit te Dominus super hæreditatem suam in principem, et liberabis populum suum de manibus inimicorum ejus qui in circuitu ejus sunt. Et hoc tibi signum, quia unxit te Deus in principem.
Hippolytus of Rome · AD 235 We, however, he says, are spiritual, who, from the life-giving water of Euphrates, which flows through the midst of Babylon, choose our own peculiar quality as we pass through the true gate, which is the blessed Jesus.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 1. This indeed is expressed by this anointing, which even now is materially displayed in the holy Church: because he who is placed in a position of authority receives the sacrament of anointing. Because indeed the anointing itself is a sacrament, he who is promoted is well anointed outwardly if he is strengthened inwardly by the power of the sacrament.
Bede · AD 735 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 (…
2 Cum abieris hodie a me, invenies duos viros juxta sepulchrum Rachel in finibus Benjamin, in meridie: dicentque tibi: Inventæ sunt asinæ ad quas ieras perquirendas: et intermissis pater tuus asinis, sollicitus est pro vobis, et dicit: Quid faciam de filio meo?
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 4. For it is as if He says to the humble shepherd, trembling at so great a ministry: You tremble for this reason, because you do not know whether what has been done concerning you is from God; but because you can know this, you ought not to tremble.
Bede · AD 735 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.
3 Cumque abieris inde, et ultra transieris, et veneris ad quercum Thabor, invenient te ibi tres viri ascendentes ad Deum in Bethel, unus portans tres hædos, et alius tres tortas panis, et alius portans lagenam vini.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 6. When we wish to make good progress in holy conduct, it is necessary for us to gather for ourselves the examples of very many of the elect; for bees too cannot produce honey if they do not gather it from various flowers. Well therefore does Saul pass from some men to others, because the more abundantly we observe the examples of the saints, the better we are instructed.
Bede · AD 735 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.
4 Cumque te salutaverint, dabunt tibi duos panes, et accipies de manu eorum.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 But what they are in themselves and what they are to others, he sets forth, saying: 'And when they have greeted you, they will give you two loaves, and you shall receive them from their hand.' Holy men greet us when they announce to us the eternal goods of salvation. Those who greet us in the body incline their head to show reverence to the one greeted.
5 Post hæc venies in collem Dei, ubi est statio Philisthinorum: et cum ingressus fueris ibi urbem, obvium habebis gregem prophetarum descendentium de excelso, et ante eos psalterium, et tympanum, et tibiam, et citharam, ipsosque prophetantes.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 12. A hill is the height of a mountain. What is more rightly understood by this hill than the holy intent of the Scriptures? It is indeed the height of a mountain, because it does not lie on the plain of the letter, but is exceedingly elevated in the sublimity of spiritual meanings.
Bede · AD 735 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.
6 Et insiliet in te spiritus Domini, et prophetabis cum eis, et mutaberis in virum alium.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 18. It is well added: "And the Spirit of the Lord will leap upon you, and you will prophesy with them." The Spirit of the Lord is said to leap because the hearts of the elect are suddenly filled with His gifts. They immediately begin to prophesy, because those who are full of the divine Spirit cannot remain silent about the mighty works of God.
7 Quando ergo evenerint signa hæc omnia tibi, fac quæcumque invenerit manus tua, quia Dominus tecum est.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 19. These indeed are the signs by which a preacher may recognize himself, and then let him dare to undertake everything he plans to do, when he has learned by certain experience that he has received the power of the Holy Spirit in great abundance of charity.
8 Et descendes ante me in Galgala (ego quippe descendam ad te), ut offeras oblationem, et immoles victimas pacificas: septem diebus expectabis, donec veniam ad te, et ostendam tibi quid facias.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 20. What does it mean that he first says: "Do whatever your hand finds," and then adds: "You shall wait seven days for me, until I come and show you what you are to do"? But he who had received the signs by which he would know himself anointed king by the Lord was to be tested as to whether he would recognize those very signs.
Bede · AD 735 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).
9 Itaque cum avertisset humerum suum ut abiret a Samuele, immutavit ei Deus cor aliud, et venerunt omnia signa hæc in die illa.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 23. For the heart is changed to another when it is directed toward desiring better things; the heart is also changed when it is abandoned to evil. But in the case of Saul, who was first good and afterward evil, how this ought rather to be understood literally is not very clear.
Bede · AD 735 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.
10 Veneruntque ad prædictum collem, et ecce cuneus prophetarum obvius ei: et insiluit super eum spiritus Domini, et prophetavit in medio eorum.
Augustine of Hippo · AD 430 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.
11 Videntes autem omnes qui noverant eum heri et nudiustertius quod esset cum prophetis, et prophetaret, dixerunt ad invicem: Quænam res accidit filio Cis? num et Saul inter prophetas?
Tertullian · AD 220 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.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 26. What is it that they say, "What is this thing that has happened," except to marvel greatly at what could not be comprehended by them? They had known the man, a son of man; they saw him joined to the prophets. They had known him as carnal; they saw him as spiritual. They had known him as simple; they saw him as a prophet.
Bede · AD 735 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?
12 Responditque alius ad alterum, dicens: Et quis pater eorum? Propterea versum est in proverbium: Num et Saul inter prophetas?
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 27. What is it that up to this point it was said of Saul alone: "What has happened to the son of Kish?" And now, as if concerning many, the answer is given: "And who is their father?" But if this is understood according to history, it can in no way stand. It remains therefore that the meaning which is taken from the letter must be sought in spiritual signification.
13 Cessavit autem prophetare, et venit ad excelsum.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 29. He comes to a high place after the ministry of prophecy, who raises his mind to the heavenly joys which he preaches, and lifts himself up by loving those things which he displays by speaking. Teachers indeed preach plain things with those of lesser rank; when they are with those whom they teach, they are, as it were, on level ground.
Bede · AD 735 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).
14 Dixitque patruus Saul ad eum, et ad puerum ejus: Quo abistis? Qui responderunt: Quærere asinas: quas cum non reperissemus, venimus ad Samuelem.
Bede · AD 735 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.
15 Et dixit ei patruus suus: Indica mihi quid dixerit tibi Samuel.
16 Et ait Saul ad patruum suum: Indicavit nobis quia inventæ essent asinæ. De sermone autem regni non indicavit ei quem locutus fuerat ei Samuel.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 30. The word of the kingdom is the honorable dignity of the pastor. For by its very display it speaks: because he is no mere uncle who is elevated by so great an order. Therefore the king does not reveal the word of the kingdom: because the pastor of the Church speaks with the great splendor of divinity, but does not speak with pride.
17 Et convocavit Samuel populum ad Dominum in Maspha:
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 31. Mizpah, as I said, is interpreted as "watchtower." In the ordination of the king, the people are called to Mizpah, because those who come together to ordain a pastor of holy Church are taught to attend to his spiritual qualities, not his carnal ones. To watch, indeed, is to recognize the preacher to be ordained through the standard of sacred Scripture.
18 et ait ad filios Israël: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Ego eduxi Israël de Ægypto, et erui vos de manu Ægyptiorum, et de manu omnium regum qui affligebant vos.
19 Vos autem hodie projecistis Deum vestrum, qui solus salvavit vos de universis malis et tribulationibus vestris: et dixistis: Nequaquam: sed regem constitue super nos. Nunc ergo state coram Domino per tribus vestras, et per familias.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 32. Indeed, he carefully showed them both the good things which the Lord had bestowed upon them and the evil things which they themselves had done against the Lord, so that they might recognize that they had sinned all the more gravely, inasmuch as they had dared by sinning to offend him from whom they had received such great blessings.
20 Et applicuit Samuel omnes tribus Israël, et cecidit sors tribus Benjamin.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 34. He made them all stand by tribes and families, so that he might consider them all, and having considered all, might choose the more suitable one. But since he himself had already known the king by the Lord's revelation, and had anointed him as ruler at His command, why is it that he is still sought out as one to be chosen through tribes and families?
21 Et applicuit tribum Benjamin et cognationes ejus, et cecidit cognatio Metri: et pervenit usque ad Saul filium Cis. Quæsierunt ergo eum, et non est inventus.
22 Et consuluerunt post hæc Dominum utrumnam venturus esset illuc. Responditque Dominus: Ecce absconditus est domi.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 Commonly in the school of adversity the heart is subdued under discipline, while, on sudden attainment of supreme rule, it is forthwith changed and becomes elated through familiarity with glory.
23 Cucurrerunt itaque et tulerunt eum inde: stetitque in medio populi, et altior fuit universo populo ab humero et sursum.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 36. The prelate stands in the midst of the people when his strength is observed by all his subjects. For to stand is a mark of virtue. He who does good works steadfastly, therefore, stands. And because good works provide an example to those of lesser rank, he is seen to stand in the midst of the people, not in solitude.
24 Et ait Samuel ad omnem populum: Certe videtis quem elegit Dominus, quoniam non sit similis illi in omni populo. Et clamavit omnis populus, et ait: Vivat rex.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 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 before said, 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.
25 Locutus est autem Samuel ad populum legem regni, et scripsit in libro, et reposuit coram Domino: et dimisit Samuel omnem populum, singulos in domum suam.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 38. Concerning the law of kingship, because we spoke at length about it above, we recall only this about it: that in the historical narrative it is not prescribed but rather shown what wicked kings will do and what good kings should avoid. Kings are indeed to defend their subjects, not to strip them of their own goods.
Bede · AD 735 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 perfec…
26 Sed et Saul abiit in domum suam in Gabaa: et abiit cum eo pars exercitus, quorum tetigerat Deus corda.
Augustine of Hippo · AD 430 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.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 39. If a plain historical narrative is sought, what could ever have been stated more clearly? But if we attend to the force of each individual word, great things are enclosed within this simplicity of words. For the people are said to have been dismissed to their home, but the king is reported not to have been dismissed to his home, but to have gone away.
27 Filii vero Belial dixerunt: Num salvare nos poterit iste? Et despexerunt eum, et non attulerunt ei munera: ille vero dissimulabat se audire.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 But because within the holy Church certain persons do not fear to despise their prelates, let them hear that those who despise the king are called sons of Belial. Through the vice of pride, indeed, they are begotten in imitation of him of whom it is written: 'He beholds every high thing, and he himself is king over all the children of pride' (Job 41:25).