1 Samuel 11:15

1Sa 11:15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Ver. 15. And there they made Saul king.] Serrarius saith these were the ceremonies used at such a time: (1.) They set the king in his throne; (2.) They crowned him; (3.) They anoined him; (4.) They put the book of the law into his hand: They took an oath of him to observe it; (6.) They offered sacrifices of all sorts; (7.) They showed various signs and testimonies of public joy.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 11:15. There they made Saul king — Owned and accepted him for their king. Saul had been anointed in Ramah, and chosen by lot in Mizpeh; but still some disdained to acknowledge him for their king, which made him content himself for a time with a private life. But now, after this signal token of God’s presence with him, in the late victory, he was, by common consent, received by all the people for their king. Before the Lord — Not before the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, as the expression sometimes means; for the ark was now at Kirjath-jearim, and not at Gilgal; but in a solemn manner, as in God’s presence, appealing to him as a witness of their sincerity in this transaction, and with solemn sacrifices and prayers for his blessing upon it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11:15 The solemn ceremony before the Lord acknowledged Saul’s sovereignty as king while affirming that the Lord was Israel’s true King. • Peace offerings were common on historic occasions that inaugurated important institutions (see Exod 24:5; Lev 9:4, 18, 22; 1 Kgs 8:63-64).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

In sign of thanksgiving for the victory.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 15. There they made Saul king] It is likely, from these words, that Saul was anointed a second time; he was now publicly acknowledged, and there was no gainsayer. Thus far Saul acted well, and the kingdom seemed to be confirmed in his hand; but soon through imprudence he lost it.

ON the custom referred to in 1Sa 11:7 I am favoured with the following observations by a learned correspondent: -

"It is considered that the authenticity of records respecting a peculiar people cannot be better illustrated, or the fidelity of the historian more clearly ascertained, than by proving that the manners and customs recorded are in unison with, or bear a resemblance to, the manners and customs of other nations of the same antiquity; or, what may be more correct, in a similar state of improvement; and the records of such rites and customs may possibly acquire an additional mark of authenticity, when the similarity is not so exact as to admit a presumption that the customs of one nation were merely copied from the other.

"Sir Walter Scott, in the third canto of the Lady of the Lake, describes the rites, incantations, and imprecations, used prior to the fiery cross being circulated, to summon the rough warriors of ancient times to the service of their chief; and in the first note of this canto he alludes to this ancient custom which, in comparatively modern times, has been used in Scotland, and proves that a similar punishment of death or destruction of the houses for disobeying the summons was inflicted by the ancient Scandinavians, as recorded by Olaus Magnus, in his history of the Goths. A custom still more in point than the one cited may be found to have existed in a more ancient nation, whose history is supposed the most, if not the only authentic narrative of deeds of ancient times, and which also records the sanguinary manners of uncultivated nations; see the preceding chapter, first eight verses. 1Sa 10:1-8 The similarity of the custom is to be found in the seventh verse; with the Highlanders a goat was slain; with the Israelites, an ox. The exhibition of a cross stained with the blood of the sacrificed animal was the summons of the former, while part of the animal was the mandate of the latter. Disobedience in the one nation was punished with the death of the parties, and burning of their dwellings; in the other, the punishment was more simple, and more allusive to the sacrificed emblem, the forfeiture or destruction of their oxen. It is not difficult to judge whether the comparison be correct.

"The first verses record the sanguinary practices of ancient times, which to many appear merely as the gratification of revenge, or as proofs of victory; yet when it is considered that the right eye must chiefly aid the warrior in aiming at his adversary, whether the weapon be of ancient or modern warfare, here arises a military reason, corroborative of the truth of history, for the deprivation, and in some degree lessening the cruelty of the mutilation, which would be increased if it were caused by revenge or wantonness; though Nahash declares it to be a reproach upon all Israel."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) And there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal.—We must not understand with the LXX. Version that Saul was anointed afresh at Gilgal. The Greek Version reads, “and Samuel anointed Saul king there.” The Gilgal convention was nothing more than a solemn national confirmation of the popular election at Mizpeh. The words “before the Lord,” imply the presence of the Ark, or of the high priest with the mystic Urim and Thummim. Bishop Wordsworth understands the words “they made Saul king” to signify that after this “the people would not allow him any longer to lead a private life, but they made him to assume the royal state and authority to which he had been appointed by God.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. there they made Saul king] The choice of Saul as king, privately made by God through Samuel, and publicly confirmed by the election at Mizpah, had received an unmistakable ratification in his victory over Nahash. His detractors were silenced, and the unanimous consent of the people accepted him. The assembly now held after the general levy for the war was probably larger and more representative of the whole nation than the previous one at Mizpah.

The Sept. has, “and Samuel anointed Saul there to be king,” which may possibly be the original reading. A public anointing would be natural, for that recorded in ch. 1Sa_10:1 was strictly private, and the use of the title “the Lord’s anointed” in ch. 1Sa_12:3 gains point if the ceremony had just been performed. That it might be repeated we know from the case of David, who was thrice anointed.

sacrifices of peace-offerings] Thank-offerings to Jehovah for the deliverance he had wrought, and for the establishment of the kingdom.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Made Saul king - The Septuagint has another reading, “and Samuel anointed Saul king there.” The example of David, who, besides his original anointing by Samuel 1Sa 16:12-13, was twice anointed, first as king of Judah 2Sa 2:4, and again as king over all Israel 2Sa 5:3, makes it probable that Saul was anointed a second time; but this may be included in the word “made king” (see 1Sa 12:3, 1Sa 12:5).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They made. Septuagint, "and there (again the prophet; Josephus) Samuel anointed Saul king." The same ceremonies as had been used before, except the casting of lots, were here repeated, particularly the solemn anointing, (Salien) whence, in the following chapter, (ver. 3) Saul is styled the anointed. (Menochius) --- The Lord. His ark was probably present, and the priests to offer victims. (Salien, the year of the world 2963)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

They made Saul king, i.e. they recognized him, or owned and accepted him for their king by consent; for, to speak properly, Saul was not made or constituted king by the people, but by the Lord’s immediate act: see 1Sa 8:9; 10:1.

Before the Lord; who was there present in a special manner; both because the people of the Lord were there assembled, and because there was an altar, as the following sacrifices show. The same phrase is used 1Sa 10:17; 14:18.

They sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings; partly to praise God for so glorious a victory, and for the firm settlement of the distracted kingdom; and partly to implore the presence and assistance of God to the king and kingdom, in all their affairs and exigencies.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. There they made Saul king before the Lord — Whether Samuel anointed him again on this occasion we are not told, but it is certain that by some formal ceremony he was set apart and recognised as king. Samuel’s speaking of him as Jehovah’s anointed (1Sa_12:3) makes it probable that the public anointing was done at this time. One prominent ceremony of the occasion was the sacrifices of peace offerings. In these the worshipper himself received the greater part of the animal slain, and with it held a feast of thanksgiving; an appropriate service for that proud occasion, when all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They made Saul king. This is not to be interpreted, with the Septuagint, of a second anointing of Saul, but of his confirmation in the kingdom by the unanimous voice of the nation, whereas the first election of him at Mizpah had met with opposition. Before Jehovah. Ie. with religious ceremonies conducted by Samuel and the high priest. The difference between Saul"s election at Mizpah and the confirmation of it at Gilgal is much the same as between the first proclamation or" a king and his coronation. The latter is the nation"s acknowledgment of his sovereignty, and the solemn consecration of him to his high office. Peace offerings were tokens of joy and gratitude, and were followed by a feast. At this there was great rejoicing, because the king whom they had desired had so quickly proved himself worthy to be their head.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Made - They owned and accepted him for their king.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.