The Spirit of God came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger was kindled greatly.
"Saul’s slaughter and dissection of his oxen is reminiscent of the Levite’s treatment of his murdered concubine and clearly is designed to connect the commencement of his reign with the historical event which accounts for his Jabesh-Gilead maternal roots." [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "The Book of Ruth: Narration and Shared Themes," Bibliotheca Sacra 142:566 (April-June 1985):140, n. 13.] 