The cook took up the thigh, and that which was on it, and set it before Saul. [Samuel] said, Behold, that which has been reserved! set it before you and eat; because to the appointed time has it been kept for you, for I said, I have invited the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
Saul’s unawareness is evident in that he did not know who Samuel was, even though Samuel was Israel’s leading judge and prophet. Evidently a dining hall stood near the high place (1 Samuel 9:22). It may have been a room in a larger religious building. [Note: Youngblood, pp. 622-23.] Giving the special leg of meat to Saul was a sign of special honor (1 Samuel 9:23-24). Before retiring for the night, Samuel and Saul continued their conversation on the typically flat roof of the house, probably for privacy as well as comfort (1 Samuel 9:25; cf. Acts 10:9).