> *a band of prophets*. The hand that shaped the stories of Samuel and Saul viewed the prophet as a sober mediator between God and man, whose leadership responsibilities were unlimited except by the divine will itself and whose complete integration into the social structure could therefore be taken for granted. But here we encounter another aspect of the phenomenon of prophecy. These prophets, like Samuel, are recipients of divine inspiration, but in them it expresses itself in the form of ecstatic practices of an orgiastic type, which set them apart from other individuals. Examples of such supernormal group behavior abound in the annals of the religions of the world—the case of the various orders of dervishes in Islam is only the most obvious—and on the basis of these parallels one can fill out the scant biblical evidence to give a fairly complete description of an Israelite prophetic troop of the type Saul encounters. Expressions of possession by the spirit of God must have included singing and dancing to the accompaniment of such musical instruments as those listed here in v 5, and the rites may have involved self flagellation or mutilation as well (cf. 1 Kings 18:28). In addition we should think of more sedate displays of ecstasy, such as trances and ecstatic fits (cf. 19:22–24), among these several activities, which taken together are collectively called “prophesying” (mitnabbĕ’îm). By all accounts such behavior is highly contagious, as Saul himself discovers. > > *harps, tambourines, clarinets, and lyres.* All of these were commonly used in celebrations > > *and processions*. The harp (nēbel) and lyre (kinnôr) were the most popular stringed > instruments, while the tambourine (tōp), a small double-membraned drum that was > carried and beaten with the hand, was the most widely used percussion instrument. The clarinet (ḥālîl), though often wrongly translated “flute,” was in fact a primitive woodwind, especially associated with occasions of extreme emotionalism. See further E. Werner, IDB, s.v. “Musical Instruments.” > > *6\. the spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you.* Hebrew wĕṣālĕḥâ ʿālêkā rûaḥ yahweh, a > stereotyped expression for divine inspiration in the stories of the martial exploits of > Samson and Saul (Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Sam 11:6), where the hero is empowered by > virtue of Yahweh’s spirit to perform wondrous feats of arms. The “spirit of Yahweh” (rûaḥ yahweh, more properly the “breath of Yahweh”) refers in such a situation to the vital force of the deity, that is, to the invigorating power of God as experienced by a human being. > > In the passages just noted, therefore, the hero experiences the spirit as an explosive surge of strength. The present case, though it shares the formulaic terminology, is somewhat different, insofar as the onrush of spirit finds expression not in the heroic animation of the warrior but in prophetic ecstasy instead (so 10:10; cf. also 16:14 and the Note there). See further the Note at 16:13. On ṣlḥ, “rush (upon),” see H. Tawil in JBL 95 (1976) 405–413. *(Anchor Bible, P. Kyle McCarter)*