{N}1,{/}1: It all starts with an ordinary couple living a familiar drama in a hill town.
The woman, in an inferior situation, as it will always be in Israel, is only worth the children she bears. A man has as many wives he is able to maintain. Elkanah loves Hannah, but in the way he loves his children.
God likes to choose his servants precisely from those families who have no hope of having children. It is God who gives life to the dead and hope to those who have none. The same happens with the birth of Isaac and John the Baptist (Lk 1:5). In the book of Isaiah is a poem which starts with these words: "Shout out for joy, oh you who were barren!" (Is 54:1).
These pages depict for us the religious life of those days. The campaign tent which shelters the ark is at Shiloh. There is no temple yet in Israel, so pilgrims bring their animals; and the father as head of the family and priest of his household sacrifices the victims. Only after David's time will the priests of Levi's tribe be the exclusive intermediaries between Yahweh and his people.

{N}2,{/}1: In her thanksgiving song, Hannah makes herself the spokesperson of all the despised people of the world.
Yahweh is the God who saves the abandoned. He rejects those who put their trust {C}in their arm and in their bow,{/} in the food assured for their household, i.e., in themselves and their possessions. He manifests his glory in shifting the differences existing between people (as in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Lk 16:25). {C}Yahweh brings to the grave and raises up{/}. The song of Hannah has a prophetic vision. Like Hannah, we ought to be proud of our God, even more than in the material progress of our society which blesses the rich and the powerful.
This text condemns those who seek to advance in society and promote their own welfare with the sole purpose of ensuring their family's future. One who sides with the weak will be saved. Whereas others feel ashamed of their poor background, as laborers or farmers or of the undeveloped condition of their country, the believer knows that the poor and the hungry contribute to the salvation of the world. Where everything is wanting, it is easier to discover the value of human persons, and to understand that no world is worthy of humankind except one where food and dignity are given to all.

{N}3,{/}1: God's call to Samuel is personal and direct. The answer of the child Samuel prepares him for greater things.
How seriously Eli, in spite of his age and function, regards Samuel! He knows that spiritual maturity has nothing to do with physical age and he accepts God's reproaches relayed through this boy.
The Bible also underlines the responsibility of those who do not discipline their children. The father's duty to educate and correct his children, even by punishing them, instead of leaving them to do what they want, was taught in Israel. As the conscience of the child is not yet fully awake, the future liberty of the young person as a mature adult has to be ensured through the discipline of a "Law." (See Sir 30; Gal 4 and commentary on Jdg 8:22.)
The call of Samuel reminds us that every person has a vocation, i.e., that God calls individuals and destines them to accomplish their own irreplaceable tasks. In our society many are looked upon merely as work force and receive little appreciation. Since they have no duty or responsibility of which they can be proud, they rightly feel frustrated. They do not feel themselves "called" or needed for something big. So they lack one of the more important drives to build their future. In directing ones life, each one has to ask: "What does God want of me?"

{N}4,{/}1: In their war against the Philistines, the Israelites seek the protection of Yahweh. They look for the Ark, thinking that, when it is with them, Yahweh will be obliged to grant them victory. And since the human being often doubts his God, he relies on his lucky charms.
God is not concerned with the sacred Ark, nor is he at the service of an irresponsible people. Instead, he wants to educate them by making them pay the price for their unfaithfulness. For this reason, God does not respond to them and the sacred Ark is lost.

{N}7,{/}2: The same experience recorded in Judges is repeated here. Samuel convinces Israel to return to Yahweh. Yahweh, in turn, faithful to his Covenant, grants them victory.

{N}8,{/}1: A deep transformation took place in the way of life of the ancient nomads now living in villages and towns like the rest of the population. Former social structures adapted to life in the desert were no longer suitable, something that is often seen in the history of nations, as well as in the Church. Humankind is constantly changing, led on by events and technical evolution; differences in mentalities appear, revealing how ill-adapted are ancient structures to new situations. Because of this there is a permanent tension between life and institutions.
On the other hand, institutions indispensable to the life of communities have as their essential purpose to channel, order and organize this ever turbulent life; without creativity people are dead in life; without permanent institution a society turns towards anarchy. If the tension between life and institution is permanent, it becomes manifest when society is in crisis. While conservative elements think of reestablishing order as a return to the past, the innovators, looking for fresh structures in order to respond to present reality, forget too quickly what past experience has taught.
Chapters 8-12 of 1st Samuel present us such a crisis and the conflicts arising from it. The people realize their weakness as coming from division and anarchy. The temporary authority of the "Judges" is outdated; the twelve tribes must unite around a king.
Samuel is a defender of the past, and his warnings are inspired by personal distrust. He does not recognize the advantage of a stronger and more centralized government. Instead he is in touch with reality and denounces absolute power.
Samuel reproaches the people for their lack of trust in Yahweh. Now as they face the Philistine peril, they believe they will have security in handing over to someone else, a strong leader, the responsibility of thinking and deciding for them: they are fearful of taking initiatives. When one expects everything from civil or religious authorities it means either sinking or suffering political tyranny.
According to Samuel, theoretically the king will be God's representative and his people's servant. In reality, he will serve his own ambitions and be the nation's oppressor. Already in that ancient time, dictators had enough knowledge of propaganda to convince people that they were indispensable (Lk 22:25).

{N}9,{/}1: The continuation of chapter 8 is in 10:17. Here instead the story of Saul's vocation begins. Saul sets out to look for his father's mules and, on the way, encounters something he did not expect.

{N}9,{/}11: The young Saul, just like many other Israelites, goes to Samuel. For them the prophet is a {C}seer,{/} a diviner, and they go to him for a solution to their economic problems. We should not find this strange. For centuries, those who were addicted to the science of the stars also attended consultations concerning the future. Reading horoscopes was their way of earning a living. Science later departed from those practices.
In the same way in the early history of Israel, the prophet hardly seems different from a soothsayer, an astrologist and others who claim to know what ordinary folk cannot know; people come to consult them as does Saul for any trouble they have. But soon prophetism in Israel will find its own way: the prophet will be the one who calls people to conversion. When this chapter was written, the passage was already made and v. 9 makes it clear that if before, people spoke of "seer," they now speak of "prophet."
Samuel anoints Saul with anointing oil (see commentary on Lev 8).

{N}10,{/}17: Here is the logical continuation of chapter 8; it is another account of Saul's election which does not openly contradict the one related in the previous chapter, since Samuel consecrated Saul secretly.
It is interesting that here the same event is narrated in the Bible by two men of contrary opinions. The first saw the institution of kings as a good thing and in accordance with God's plan (chapters 9-10); the second (1 S 8 and 10:17-19) saw it as a dangerous innovation which God merely tolerated.
{C}He has hidden himself among the baggage.{/} Here begins the tragedy of Saul, king in spite of himself. The Israelites asked for a king because of external threat (the Philistines), but in their innermost self they rejected all authority. Saul himself did not feel cut out for governing. In spite of his courage, as seen in chapter 11, he was not one to take risks. He was an obstinate man; attached to the ideas of his time (see chapter 25). Saul, a modest man, did not have the humility that God seeks, which consists in undertaking new and great things without being afraid of possible failure.
{C}Everybody shouted: Long live the King!{/} We have witnessed several enthusiastic meetings such as this, which led to no positive result. As happens to many leaders, the next day Saul finds himself alone in the midst of a people who think that they have solved everything because an election has been carried out.

{N}11,{/}1: The account which was interrupted in 10:16 is resumed here. The people of Jabesh are disposed to accept peace. Israel weeps and shouts, but Saul decides that this situation is unbearable. His courage obliges God to act.
{C}Who are those who asked if Saul was going to reign?{/} There is no political life without parties. From the beginning, Saul had his allies and his foes. But he must heed even more the "tribalism" of the Israelites, especially the rivalry between the northern tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, and the tribe of Judah, in the south. As for the people of Jabesh, they will remain grateful to their savior and will be faithful to him until after his death. (See 1 S 31:11.)
Saul is a good and generous man who does not take revenge on his enemies. Yet when one is the highest authority, one easily isolates self from others and becomes arrogant or pessimistic. Saul will refuse to listen to God and to his relatives, and his jealousy will blind him, as it did in regard to David.

{N}12,{/}1: It was hard for Samuel to step aside to make place for Saul, as is the case for many founders or responsible persons who are unable to cede to others who are younger or more competent the care of continuing and developing the work they created.
In this opportunity Samuel reminds the Israelites that no authority can be exempted from the law of God, especially when its duty is to maintain the law. "If you yourselves and the king who rules you follow Yahweh..." For Samuel, the king, like his subjects, must faithfully observe the terms of the Covenant; unfortunately very soon the kings of Israel would consider themselves dispensed from this fidelity. No sooner is Solomon enthroned than he leaves the palace that David his father built in the lower city in the midst of the people's houses to go and install himself beside the Temple of Yahweh. Henceforth the ordinary people would be below and God and the king, on the holy mountain, Quite symbolic! When Jesus comes, he will take up the teaching of Samuel and the prophets: "The Son of Man has come not to be served but to serve and give his life..." Even in the Church, the new Israel, some who carry responsibility will be seen acting like churchlords confusing responsibility with abuse of authority.

{N}13,{/}1: Saul did not think of leaving his town of Gibea to construct a capital for the new state of Israel. But, gradually, he created a permanent army, instead of merely depending on volunteers who came forward whenever the people were in danger (see 14:52). For years, he fought unceasingly to repel incursions of the Philistines.

{N}13,{/}5: Not once, but on several occasions, Saul vacillates between obedience to God and Samuel, and doing what appears to him more reasonable (see also chap. 15). Finally, he prefers to act according to his own judgment.
{C}Yahweh would have secured your rule over Israel.{/} Yahweh demands more from him who is the first king of his people, and with whom he wants to establish a lasting covenant. To receive from Yahweh promises which go beyond ordinary destiny, Saul has to show complete loyalty, even when it seems that God delays or is mistaken. In this type of trial, Abraham was victorious.
In recounting the story of the kings and leaders of Israel, the Bible makes us understand that power is too heavy a burden for humans. To rule over others and, even more, to direct the destiny of a nation is somehow to partake in God's authority. No one can measure up to such responsibilities if he cannot obey more than others and listen to God.
However we should note that the verses 7-15 are a later addition to the primitive text. These are most probably the work of priests who at the return from captivity edited the older texts. They make Samuel appear as the reasonable one, the spokesman for God. We may read this event as proposed, but we can also wonder about the way Samuel attributes to himself the rights of God. What right has he not to keep his word and come within the promised delay? And how can he condemn Saul if Saul has acted according to his conscience? Christian tradition holds that we should always follow our conscience provided we have done all that is possible to have an enlightened conscience, even if in so doing we disobey high authority or very sacred laws. Without denying Samuel's great merits we can say it was he who destroyed Saul.

{N}14,{/}1: Chapter 14 helps us understand the Israelites' situation. They occupy the mountain, but the Philistines who are better organized and better armed, lord it over the plains.
The incident of Saul's oath shows the very primitive level of religious knowledge at that time, as in the case of Jephthah (Jdg 11:30):
- an oath with a death-threat,
- the importance given to the crime of one who eats where blood has been shed (see verse 33; perhaps it was not the same as to "eat meat with blood" as in Lev 17:8),
- the practice of casting lots to get Yahweh's response.

{N}16,{/}1: {C}How long will you be grieving over Saul?{/} Sometimes, we remain grounded, immobile, longing for the past, when events in life are pushing us forward to change plans and directions.
Samuel goes to Bethlehem to meet the one whom God has chosen. Bethlehem is the city of David's family. There, Jesus will be born ten centuries later.
David, Jesse's son, is tending the flock when they send for him. He is a shepherd before he becomes king. In the Bible, the shepherd is the image of the perfect king who, rather than acting like an important man, attends to persons and serves them as the shepherd does his sheep. Jesus, King and Savior, will introduce himself as the good Shepherd whom the prophets were dreaming of (see Ezk 34 and Jn 10).
{C}Humans see with the eyes; Yahweh sees the heart{/}. In the adolescent David, there is yet no evidence of the moral qualities, intelligence and courage which he will display as military chief and politician. Still, God knows whom he chooses. In order to bring his  work to completion, God does not choose those who pretend to be greater than they are (See 1 Cor 1:28).
In any human group, it is necessary to discover the values of each person and not allow oneself to be deceived by appearances. It is very important for Christian communities that those with responsibility know how "to look into the heart" of brothers and sisters, whether they be the quiet ones or those who show much zeal. Then it will not be long before they find the persons needed to animate the community, and can bypass the ambitious ones.

{N}16,{/}14: {C}We find in the Bible different traditions with respect to David's promotion - 16:1-13; 16:14-23;17:17-58. What is history and what is legend in each of these?
An evil spirit sent by Yahweh{/} (v. 14). This is an ancient way of saying that God allowed Saul to suffer some psychological disorder.

{N}17,{/}4: David's challenge delighted the Israelites down through the centuries and still delights us today. We should not be surprised therefore that the redactors have elaborated with generous details David's fight with "the Philistine" who was later called Goliath (see 2 S 21:19).
Those who wrote these books were inspired by God; they understood that David's struggle with Goliath symbolized the struggle between good and evil.
{C}You come against me with sword and spear; but I come against you with Yahweh{/}. In the world, victory will not come to those who are stronger or more heavily armed. Such people insult God by their pride and self-confidence. They will not last long if they insult the people of God, especially the lowly.
Victory belongs to the weak who trust in God's help. Here the winner is a young man who personifies those who remain young in heart and always have a clear conscience.
Some encourage David to protect himself with Saul's armor and arms. David understands that if he uses arms similar to those of the Philistine, he will not know how to use them and the latter will prevail over him. In the end, the Philistine dies, a victim of his own weapons.
David's fight can easily be compared to that of the Church. She leaves behind Saul's armor when she looks for less structure, less worry over financing her works and buildings; when she frees herself from political support. In abandoning all these securities, she makes herself freer and younger. Like David, she goes to battle trusting "in the name of Yahweh, God of Israel's armies."

{N}18,{/}1: {C}Jonathan gets to like David. {/}The Bible describes for us this deep and loyal friendship as a gift of God, overcoming the rivalry with Saul. {C}He gave David his own mantle, his sword, his bow and belt...{/} spontaneity, frankness and a disinterested love.
Although David and Jonathan were not children but young men, we can apply to them these words of a poet. "Remember that this horrible world is yet solely maintained by the sweet complicity, continually opposed, always renewed of poets and children. Never become an important person! There is a conspiracy of personalities against childlikeness and it suffices to read the Gospel to be aware of this. God said: {C}Become like children.{/} Yet those who have become important say repeatedly to the betrayed infancy: 'Become like us'."
After his victory, David is the renowned man of the kingdom. He immediately earns Saul's envy.
{C}Saul feared David. {/}The subsequent chapters show us how, as David rises in people's estimation, Saul's mind is ravaged by jealousy. Saul is guilty, the book tells us, since he departed from his obedience to God. His fault is that of many rulers and his punishment is the same: he becomes a prisoner of his office which he cannot, or knows not, how to give up. He guesses that David is God's choice, but he cannot share power with him and does not see any other solution but to kill him.

{N}19,{/}1: Chapters 19-25 are about the life of David as a fugitive. He becomes chief of a band of not very desirable companions and lives with them in the marginal parts of the country.
David is no "saint," as we would actually imagine one. He is God's friend in the way people can be in a primitive society. In spite of his defects, he becomes an example of what God can do with a person who allows himself to be guided by him.
The Bible highlights David's magnificent soul and his generosity while living with outlaws and everything that this implies. David is always conscious of his mission. He faces dangers without fear, acts as an educator of his companions and is a man with prophetic intuitions.
When God wants to entrust a great mission to someone, he sets him apart from his usual environment for a time. Like Moses, David also goes to the desert.

{N}19,{/}18: Israel lives its faith with songs and dances, celebrating Yahweh's deeds. That is why they need those groups of prophets. Here, they are mentioned for the first time in the Bible. These men excited themselves to the point where they fell into a frenzy very similar to a state of hysteria. At that time, nevertheless, such manifestations were considered to be the work of the Spirit of Yahweh. In their beginnings, the prophets of Israel were not  very different from the "prophets" of other neighboring pagan peoples. Later in the Bible other prophets who are very different appear, and are called by God for an exceptional mission. These prophets will retain only a semblance of that primitive religious frenzy.
It is good to compare these actions of the prophets with others manifested in the early Church (see Acts 21), and to read what Paul says with respect to the manifestation of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12-14. No manifestation of the Spirit is solely the work of the Spirit of God. It depends also on the capabilities of those in whom the Spirit acts, just as the light of the sun takes on the color of the glass through which it passes. In groups consisting of simple and uneducated people, the Spirit of God acted (and still acts) by arousing ecstatic manifestations which, in fact, are also observed in non-Christian religions. But these things strengthened them in their faith.

{N}20,{/}12: Here follows the account of David and Jonathan's friendship. The Bible shows how David never forgot his pact with Jonathan (2 S 21:7).

{N}21,{/}1: The {C}loaves of presence {/}represented the twelve tribes of Israel. They were offered every sabbath and remained on the altar for the entire week, signifying thereby the people's loyalty to Yahweh. Only the priests could eat of them (Lev 24:5-9). 
Jesus refers to this text when his disciples do not observe the rules about the sabbath (see Mk 2:25). Jesus wants to free us from the slavery of the "sacred," because a person is more sacred than anything else.

{N}21,{/}11: David has to pretend madness. The Bible shows how this chosen one of Yahweh was humiliated before he could sit on his throne, thereby myteriously foretelling Christ's humiliations. Jesus loved us to the point of madness when he humbled himself to the extent of living as a servant and undergoing an ignominous and painful death on the cross (see Phil 2:7-9).

{N}22,{/}1: Chapter 22:2 does not hide the fact that those who went to David were those who found themselves in difficult straits, in debt or embittered. The wars that made it possible for the people of God to live and progress were not the doings of pure saints. The same happens with struggles waged anywhere in the world for the sake of justice. In the best causes are found questionable or corrupt elements. It will be fortunate if leaders have, like David, a very elevated sense of their mission and of solidarity with their people.
This text refers to the practice of consulting Yahweh by using the {C}ephod,{/} an object which contained lots. This was an ancient practice, in ordinary use among the priests of Israel. Later, this practice fell into disuse when prophets ceased to make predictions (see chap. 9).

{N}24,{/}1: David's respect for "the anointed one" of the Lord (since Saul had been anointed by Samuel), gives evidence of his faith.
Persons instructed in the Scriptures know that leaders share with God duties and power which exceed the capabilities and the rights of a human being. Though we should replace evil or ineffective leaders, we must respect their person and the fearful responsibility God has delivered into their hands (Rom 13:1).
{C}God will do me justice. {/}This is not the grudging complaint of someone who did not even try to defend himself but the certainty of one who fights for what seems to him to be just, but recognizes that God alone is the master of history. In particular cases, he renounces his rights as a way of showing his full confidence in God. This is what Jesus says in Matthew 5:38-42.

{N}25,{/}1: The incident we read here compares two men and two mentalities: the person with possessions has no advantage over the other. This means that wealth has to be shared.
The role of the woman is highlighted. Her wisdom is able to ward off a disaster provoked by men. David is humble enough to see that his impulsive temperament leads him to violence and injustice.

{N}26,{/}1: This is another way of expressing what we already read in chapter 24.

{N}28,{/}1:. Nowhere else does Saul appear so human and so close to us. While David, trusting in Yahweh and loved by all, courts danger with the utmost serenity, Saul carries all by himself the burden of his anxiety. His opponent, Samuel, with whom he could at least discuss and quarrel is no longer there. God himself does not speak, and the man remains alone, facing hostile circumstances, tortured by his own doubts and anxieties.
Saul wanted to wrest from God a favorable response. He gets a death sentence from Samuel, and then leaves peacefully since what weighed on him was not so much the fear of death as the solitude which was his lot while he was in power. The man who "surpassed everyone in height from the shoulders upwards" has become like all the rest and depends on the assistance of a poor woman, a sinner according to God's law, but someone full of understanding.

{N}30,{/}1: This is one of those events in which David appears totally crushed.
{C}But David found comfort in Yahweh, his God. {/}Even when he has reached the bottom of the pit, he does not lose hope.
{C}The share of those who go down to battle and of those who remain with the baggage shall be the same.{/} David refuses to allow that kind of distribution which we sometimes make, distinguishing between those who serve and those who do not serve. This concept of social solidarity is the very thing which animates all of Deuteronomy's legislation.

{N}31,{/}1: There will be no further question of Saul in the Bible: no competition with David. But it had to be a respectful silence. All his people shared the responsibility of his failure because of the little support they had given him, and could they condemn him without accusing God and Samuel?

