Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Isn't it that Yahweh has anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
"The anointing of kings was not peculiarly an Israelite custom.  The Tel el-Amarna Letters indicate that both in Egypt and in Canaan (prior to the Conquest) kings were regularly anointed."[3]