Searching for the lost donkeys (1 Sam 9)

The application of narrative analysis to the Books of Samuel makes it possible to see in a new light the ascent of Saul to the throne of Israel, i. e., to understand better the beginnings of monarchy as they are exposed by the omniscient narrator. The story about the lost donkeys plays a special role in the narrative, as it provides the background for introducing Saul to the prophetic world governed by Samuel. The divine pro-monarchic revelation to Samuel(1 Sam 9, 15–16) structurally represents the central part of the passage.