1 Samuel 10 · a question people ask
Did "another heart" mean Saul was changed for good?
The chapter says what God did and what followed that day: Saul would "be turned into another man" (10:6), "God gave him another heart" (10:9), and "the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them" (10:10). It doesn't say what another heart was, or how long it would last. Christians read it in two main ways, each resting on verses. Both agree that it was God's doing (10:9), and that the book goes on to tell of Saul not keeping the LORD's commandment (13:13, 15:11). What the book says of the Spirit and Saul in 16:14 is a question of its own, taken up with that chapter.
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Made ready for the task
Those who read it this way point to what Samuel ties the signs to: "do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you" (10:7). The next time the Spirit comes mightily on Saul it is for battle: "God’s Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words" (11:6), and he leads Israel against the Ammonites (11:11). The same verb is used of Samson before his feats (Judges 14:6, 14:19). On this reading another heart fitted Saul for the work of a king, and the chapter doesn't say it made him faithful; three chapters later Samuel tells him, "You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God" (13:13).
1 Samuel 10:7 · 1 Samuel 11:6 · 1 Samuel 11:11 · Judges 14:6 · Judges 14:19 · 1 Samuel 13:13
A real change within
Those who read it this way point to the words the chapter chooses. It speaks of Saul himself, not only of what he would do: he would "be turned into another man" (10:6), and "God gave him another heart" (10:9). On this reading God truly changed him within, and the later chapters tell of a man who turned from what he had been given: the LORD says, "he has turned back from following me" (15:11), and Samuel tells him, "Because you have rejected the LORD’s word, he has also rejected you from being king" (15:23).
1 Samuel 10:6 · 1 Samuel 10:9 · 1 Samuel 15:11 · 1 Samuel 15:23
The verses
“Then the LORD’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.”
“It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day. When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.”
“Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom on Israel forever.”
““It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he cried to the LORD all night.”