Reading for February 23rd

Read 1 Samuel 9.1-10
In 9.1-10.16: Saul's anointing.
In verse 2: Saul's height and handsomeness are qualities typically attributed to a king.
In verse 3: Donkeys were ridden by kings (Zech 9.9; Mt 21.1-9), so that the story already hints at Saul's kingship.
One of the boys refers to a servant who may or may not have been young.
In verse 6: Man of God is a title for a prophet.
This prophet turns out to be Samuel (v. 14).
But the identification is secondary, since Saul and his servant do not initially seem to know who Samuel is.
In the original tale, Saul's encounter was with anonymous seer.
The town would have been understood as Ramah, Samuel's home.
In verse 7: The present was necessary as a sort of payment tot he man of God for diving the whereabouts of the donkeys.
In verse 8: A shekel was not a coin but a measure of weight of less than half an ounce.
In verse 9: This is an obvious editorial comment identifying a seer as a prophet.
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