Kingship and deity were closely associated in the ancient
world—Egyptian Pharaohs and Assyrian emperors, for example; and
at a later date Roman Caesars. In Israel before the monarchy
there were no hereditary rulers and when the twelve tribes were
settled in Canaan they were ruled by local elders who invited
the ‘judges’ to gather an army for action when necessary.
Samuel's anointing of Saul is told (1 Sam. 8) as an act of
apostasy in one of the sources of the tradition; Samuel acted
reluctantly under popular pressure. There was also the threat
from the Philistines (1 Sam. 13: 19–21). On the other hand, a
second source (1 Sam. 9: 1–10: 16; 1 Sam. 11) is favourable to
the monarchy; Samuel, sought out by Saul to help in the recovery
of lost donkeys, anoints Saul, who is then possessed by the
‘Spirit of God’, like the ecstatic prophets. The monarchy in
Israel was never totally despotic, and it was subject to
restraints and to the judgement of the prophets (as when David,
reckoned to be the ideal king, was rebuked