Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 10

Is it not because ... - Samuel answers Saul’s unspoken or expressed wonder by explaining why he acted as he did. (Compare 1 Samuel 9:21.)

How was Saul to know that what Samuel said was the word of the Lord? Samuel gives him a sign: You will find two men... (Isaiah 7:11–14; John 6:30; Mark 11:2; Mark 14:13, etc.).

Zelzah - A place absolutely unknown.

The plain of Tabor — This should be read as “the oak or terebinth of Tabor” (Judges 4:11). It has been ingeniously conjectured that “Tabor” is either a different form of “Deborah” or a corruption of it. If this is the case, the “oak of Tabor” would be the same as Allon-bachuth—the oak under which Deborah was buried, which lay “beneath Bethel” (Genesis 35:8).

The terebinth where the three men came upon Saul must have been located at a point before the road leading north from Jerusalem branches off. When they reached that junction, they would have continued to Bethel with their offerings, while he pursued his journey to Gibeah.

Hill of God - This should be read as "Gibeah of God," as it is also in 1 Samuel 10:10. Two things are clear from the text. First, Saul had arrived home when he reached Gibeah of God, because he found his uncle there and no further journeying is even hinted at. The same word, "Gibeah," also describes his home in 1 Samuel 10:26.

Second, there was a high place at Gibeah just above the city, from which he met the company of prophets "coming down." Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the name "Gibeah of God" (which appears nowhere else) was sometimes given to Gibeah of Saul because of the worship on its high place. It is also possible that the name described the entire hill on which a part of the city stood.

Where is the garrison of the Philistines - It seems strange that Samuel would give this description of Gibeah to Saul, who must have been very familiar with it. These may be explanatory words inserted by the narrator, referring to 1 Samuel 13:2.

Musical instruments accompanied the prophetic song (1 Chronicles 13:8; 1 Chronicles 25:3).

The psaltery is a type of lyre with ten strings, shaped like an earthenware wine bottle (נבל nebel, from which comes the Greek νάβλα nabla), and was similar in shape to a sugarloaf or a delta.

The tabret is a type of drum, tambourine, or timbrel, usually played by dancing women (Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34).

The pipe (חליל châlı̂yl, literally the "bored" or "pierced" instrument) is a type of flute used on occasions of joy and celebration (Isaiah 5:12; 1 Kings 1:40; Psalms 68:25).

The harp (כנור kı̂nnôr, from which comes the Greek κινύρα kinura) was a stringed instrument, the one played by David (1 Samuel 16:16; 1 Samuel 19:9; Psalms 43:4; Psalms 57:8).

Will come upon you - The word translated as “come” means to “come” or “pass upon,” like fire breaking out and spreading (Amos 5:6). Therefore, it is frequently used to describe the Spirit of God coming upon someone (Judges 15:14; 1 Samuel 10:10; 1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Samuel 16:13).

You shall be turned into another man - This is a remarkable expression that occurs nowhere else in Scripture. It describes the change in mental power and energy that would result from the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord (1 Samuel 10:9). In Samson's case, this meant supernatural physical strength. In Saul's case, it was a capacity for ruling and leading the people—a capacity he previously lacked—which the Spirit worked in him (Isaiah 11:2–4).