Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked on my people, because their cry is come to me.
God referred to Saul as a "prince" (Heb. negid, 1 Samuel 9:16), a king-designate. Notwithstanding, Yahweh was Israel’s true "king." Also, in 1 Samuel 9:17, the Hebrew word translated "rule" (asar) usually means "restrain." Saul would not rule as most kings did, but would restrain the people as God’s vice-regent.