שמואל א, פרק י׳, פסוק ט״ז

When returning home from a life-changing journey, a person might naturally share the most dramatic news first. Yet, during an encounter with his uncle, Saul reveals only the mundane details of his trip while keeping a monumental secret entirely to himself.

Saul shares that the lost donkeys have been found, emphasizing that Samuel delivered this news with absolute certainty. Initially, Saul and his servant might have suspected that Samuel was merely trying to ease their worry, prompting them to verify the matter again [אלשיך]. Once reassured, Saul passes this information on to his uncle exactly as Samuel had stated it [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

However, Saul remains completely silent about his recent appointment as king. The primary approach among commentators is that this silence stemmed from his deep modesty. Saul was still overwhelmed and embarrassed by the sudden event. He had not yet fully grasped the magnitude of what had happened and continued to view himself as an ordinary private citizen simply returning to his daily routine at his father's house [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Alternatively, this secrecy may not have been a personal choice at all. Given that Saul's uncle was as close to him as a father, it seems unlikely that Saul would withhold such a massive revelation without an external reason. This suggests that Samuel himself had explicitly instructed Saul to keep the kingship a secret until the prophet officially announced it to the public [אלשיך].