And when Saul inquired: literally “And Saul inquired.” The relationship between verses 5 and 6 may be made clearer by saying “and so,” as Good News Translation has done. The reason that Saul inquired of the LORD was that he was afraid of the Philistine army (see also verse 15). Many languages will require that translators either specify what Saul asked the LORD (Good News Translation “what to do”) or render the verb differently (New Century Version “prayed”).

By dreams: it was believed that God spoke to prophets in their dreams (for example, Num 12.6; Jer 23.25).

Urim: regarding Urim and Thummim, see the comment on 14.41. These were small objects used by Israelite priests to find out God’s will. It is not known precisely how they were used (see Exo 28.30; Num 27.21; Deut 33.8; Ezra 2.63; Neh 7.65). Though the Hebrew text says only by Urim, Good News Translation adds the words “and Thummin” because the two were often used together. Since the writer does not mention “Thummin,” there is no good reason to add it here. Since these objects were handled by priests, Contemporary English Version translates by Urim as “by a priest.”

Prophets: see the comments at 3.20 and 9.9.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .