hardly prepared for the harshness of Samuel’s retort, nor does the accusation itself’ in v 13 clarify the situation since no commandment of Yahweh to Saul had previously been mentioned. Sacrifices were normally offered before a holy war (1 Sam 7:9), and God’s permission was frequently sought (cf. Judg 20:23, 27; 1 Sam 7:9; 14:8–10; 14:37; 23:2, 4, 9–12; 28:6; 30:7–8; 2 Sam 5:19, 23). G. Ernest Wright saw in vv 7b–15a a violation of the “Samuel compromise.” Samuel’s initial opposition to kingship