Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 10:5

"After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:" — 1 Samuel 10:5 (ASV)

After that thou shalt come to the hill of God. —These words should be rendered as Gibeah of God. The writer here is alluding to Saul’s own city, afterwards known as “Gibeah of Saul.” The name of Gibeah, or Hill of God, was given to it on account of a well-known high place or sacrificial height in or near the town. We know that this sacred place was chosen by Samuel as the site of one of his “schools of the prophets.”

Where is the garrison of the Philistines. —These warlike Phoenician tribes seem gradually, after their great defeat at Mizpeh, to have again established themselves in various stations of the land, from which they harassed the Israelites. A parallel to these marauding soldiers, so long the plague of Israel, might be found in the countless freebooters’ strongholds which, in the Middle Ages, were the curse especially of Germany, the terror of the peaceful trading people of the rich countries of Central Europe.

A company of prophets. —These evidently belonged to one of those seminaries called “schools of the prophets,” founded by Samuel for the training of young men. The founding of these schools in different parts of the country was one of the greatest works of this noble and patriotic man. These schools seem to have flourished during the whole period of the monarchy and greatly contributed to the moral and mental development of the people. Some of the youth of Israel who received their training in these schools became public preachers of the Word; for after all, this, rather than foretelling future events, was the grand duty of the prophet’s calling.

It is a grave mistake to conclude that all, or even the greater part, of these young men trained in the “schools of the prophets” were inspired in the usual sense of the word. The aim of these institutions, besides high mental culture, seems to have been to train the youth of Israel to love and then live noble, pure lives.

Dean Payne Smith calls attention to the remarkable fact that at David’s court all posts which required literary skill were held by “prophets.” He considers that it was because of these great educational institutions which Samuel founded that the Israelites became a highly trained and literary people. “Prophets,” in the awe-inspiring sense of the word as we use it—men who, compared to their peers, had a different relationship with the Most High, who heard things that other men did not hear, and saw visions unseen by anyone but themselves, men before whose eyes the veil hiding the dark future was occasionally raised—were, after all, even among the people of God, very rare.

In the course of a generation, one or two, or perhaps three, appeared, were listened to, and their words, we know, were preserved in many cases. These, for the most part, we may assume, received their early training in the “schools of the prophets.” However, these famous institutions were never, as has often been popularly supposed, established in the hope of training and developing such men. Instead, they were founded and supported with the intention of fostering what we would call higher education in Israel; and in this, we know from the outset, these schools were eminently successful.

Dr. Erdmann, in Lange’s Commentary, accounts for this special mention of the music—which we know from this and other passages was carefully cultivated in these seminaries of the sons of the prophets—by suggesting that in these societies religious feeling was nourished and heightened by sacred music. It would be a mistake to attribute to this carefully cultivated music and singing that condition of ecstatic inspiration into which some of these companies appear to have at times fallen.

We understand and know, however, very little about this state of ecstasy—what produced it, and how it affected those who had fallen into this strange condition. The purpose of the musical teaching of the schools of the prophets was undoubtedly to enable those who had studied in the seminaries to guide and direct the religious gatherings of the people—gatherings into which, as we know from the subsequent Temple service (the model for all popular sacred gatherings for worship), music and psalmody played such a large part.

With a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them.—The four instruments mentioned here indicate that even in this—which is often termed a semi-barbarous age—music had been long and carefully studied. The psaltery (nevel) was a species of lyre with ten strings, shaped like an inverted delta V, and was played with the fingers. The tabret (toph) was a hand-drum—a tambourine. Miriam (Exodus 15:20) is represented as using it to accompany her song of triumph. The pipe (chalil) was a flute made of reed, wood, or horn, and seems to have always been a favorite instrument among the children of Israel. The harp (cinnor) was a stringed instrument, like the psaltery, only apparently larger, and was usually played with a plectrum. David, however, is represented in several psalms as playing on the cinnor with his fingers.

And they shall prophesy. —In this case, the company from the “School of the Prophets” were undoubtedly singing some hymns or psalms in praise of the Eternal to the accompaniment of their musical instruments. Saul, as he drew near his home at Gibeah, would meet these men coming down from sacrificing on the high place of God. As he listened to the sweet, pure sounds, he would be aware of something indescribable taking possession of his whole being; new thoughts—high, grand thoughts—would chase away the aspirations and hopes of the past.

Through his heart (see 1 Samuel 10:9) would flash the memory of what Samuel had told him when alone on the housetop at Ramah—of the glory and future of Israel. A conviction would steal over him that he was the man of the future chosen by the Eternal to work His will among His people.

The Saul of the vineyards and the cornfields of the farm on the Ephraim hills would die, and a new hero-Saul would be born. Although quite untrained and untaught in the elaborate music of the choirs of the sons of the prophets, the truly inspired Saul would lift up his voice in the choruses singing before him and join with a new, strange power in their glorious hymn to the Eternal—he would pour out his whole heart and soul in thanksgiving to his God. In this way, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him.