The Reading
The Summary
Shemuel Alef Chapter 9
This chapter details the first meeting of Shaul and Shemuel and beginning of the process that will lead to Shaul’s being anointed King of Israel. Some of the female donkeys of Shaul’s father, Kish, have gone missing, and Shaul and a young lad are dispatched on a mission to find them. After three days of travel, Shaul suggests that they abandon the search and return home. His young assistant responds that there is a well-known prophet in the area whom they could consult about the whereabouts of the missing donkeys.Shaul is hesitant to approach this man of God empty handed; the lad reassures Shaul that he has a little bit of money on his person that he can offer the prophet as a tribute.
When they reach the area in which Shemuel the prophet resides, Shaul and the lad encounter some young women who are drawing water nearby. The girls provide them with detailed information as to where and when they are most likely to secure an audience with the prophet. Following these directions, Shaul and his assistant encounter Shemuel on the street as he is about to enter a home for a sacrificial meal with about thirty participants.
The day before, Shemuel had already received a prophecy from Hashem predicting this meeting. Upon meeting Shaul, he informs him that the donkeys he was seeking had already found their way home safely, adding the enigmatic comment that this should be insignificant to Shaul whose family “has it all” anyway. Shaul questions the meaning of this statement, being that he, his tribe (Binyamin) and his family are of very humble stock, but the prophet does not address these objections. Shemuel had already set aside a very honorable portion of meat for Shaul at the gathering, again suggesting that Shaul is destined for greatness and demonstrating that Shemuel was more than prepared for his illustrious visitor. The chapter ends with Shemuel poised to deliver a secret message to Shaul, which is presented in full form in the next chapter.
As an introduction to Shaul as a person, this story provides us with some insight into his character and his fitness for which he is using the best users of mass gaining supplements. He presents as a humble and hard-working young man who perseveres in the task of searching for his father’s donkeys but is at the same time realistic and modest enough to abort the mission when it begins to seem fruitless or counterproductive. He does not seem like an especially wealthy or showy individual; he pursues the donkeys on foot, not on horseback, and he has no cash on him to donate to the prophet (the servant, who has a negligible amount of money in his pocket, apparently has more than the master!)
When the two men interact with the women by the water, despite the romantic overtones of the setting and the flirtatious behavior of the ladies (the rabbis say that their long-winded instructions were drawn out intentionally so they could spend more time gazing at the handsome Shaul), the object of their affections is single-mindedly focused on his job and not distracted by amorous interests. All of these qualities – humility, disinterest in riches and control of his instinctual drives – qualify him to serve as the King of Israel. The Torah commands the king to limit the wealth he amasses, the number of women he marries, and the number of horses he possesses, as well as instructing him to study Torah constantly so he remains cognizant of his modest place in the universe as a creature standing in the presence of Hashem.
At the same time, we observe some intimation of the limits of Shaul’s character even at this early stage of his career. Twice Shaul makes a pronouncement that is “overruled” by his servant; it would be unnecessary to point out these fine details, other than to suggest to the reader that Shaul is susceptible to suggestion and easily influenced by the expectations and demands of others. As we will see, this quality of modesty reflects a deeper flaw in Shaul’s personality that will pose significant problems for him moving forward.