One time the donkeys of Saul's father Kish went astray. Kish told his son Saul, “Please go and look for the donkeys. You can take one of the servants with you.”
Saul's uncle asked Saul and his servant, “Where have you been?” “We were looking for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we couldn't find them we went to Samuel.”
When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb in Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father isn't concerned about them but is worried about you. He's wondering, ‘What about my son?’
About the donkeys you lost three days ago—don't worry about them because they've been found. But now—doesn't the hope of all of Israel rest on you and your family line?”
Saul searched the hill country of Ephraim and then the land of Shalishah, but didn't find the donkeys. He and the servant searched the region of Shaalim, but they weren't there. Then they searched the land of Benjamin, and they still couldn't find them.