There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.
As Kish lay in his hut, one of his servants came to deliver terrible news. "Master, master!" the servant shouted.
"What is it?" Kish asked.
"Master, the donkeys have gone missing from the farm," the servant answered.
"What!" Kish exclaimed. "How did this happen? Call me Saul!" He felt confused and frustrated.
Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys."
"But father, what happened?" Saul enquired.
"I don't know. We'll find out soon. In the meantime, take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys."
"Yes, father. Let's go," Saul said, referring to the servants.
So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. On their way, Saul thought to himself, *"Where have those donkeys run off to? We've been walking for hours under the scorching sun,"* he murmured. He then asked one of the servants, "Have we got any clues yet?"
"No, sir," the servant replied.
They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
*"But young master, we've come too far to quit here,"* the servant suggested, trying to encourage his young master. *"We won't find those donkeys at this rate,"* Saul scoffed.
But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to take."
(Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say,
"Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)"Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of God was.
As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. Saul decided to ask the women about the seer's whereabouts. and they(Saul and his servant) asked them, "Is the seer here?"
"He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place.As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.
"They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel:"About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me."
When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people." "how do I say this Samuel Lord? " he thought to himself. Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"