Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 9:16

"To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me." — 1 Samuel 9:16 (ASV)

The Philistines. — This statement evidently points to the fact—for which we later have ample evidence—that at this time the Philistines were again harassing the Israelite territory with their destructive raids. The power of the Philistines was broken, but by no means destroyed, in the great battle of Mizpeh. We know that throughout King Saul’s reign, and in the early days of King David, these invasions were repeated with varying success.

The statement of 1 Samuel 7:13 must be understood not as representing that the victory of Mizpeh once and for all destroyed the Philistine power, but that from that day the power of these determined enemies of Israel began to decline. The words of 1 Samuel 7:13 must be taken as including the ultimate result of the great Hebrew victory. It is clear that the annoyance of these Philistine raids and incursions was the immediate cause of the prayer for a king. The desire for this form of government, no doubt, had existed among the people for a very long time, but this pressing need for a younger and more warlike leader than their old prophet and judge prompted the request to Samuel.