1 Samuel 9:8
And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
This verse belongs to the history of Israel's first demand for a king. Samuel's sons judged unjustly, creating dissatisfaction that gave a pretext for what the people had long secretly desired, so all the elders gathered to Samuel at Ramah and asked for a king to judge them like all the nations. No complaint was made against Samuel himself, whose integrity and wisdom were acknowledged, and the abuses were never brought to him so that he could have removed his sons at once. The demand came from discontent and pride and deliberate purpose, which Samuel felt as censure upon himself and an effort to set him aside, yet he uttered no reproach but carried the matter to the Lord in prayer and sought counsel from Him alone.
In the verse Saul's servant offers the fourth part of a shekel of silver, a small gift, to the man of God to tell them their way, seeking direction about the lost animals. Giving such a modest present when approaching someone of higher rank or office was a custom of the time and an expression of courtesy and respect. The gift was not a bribe.