1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.
6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can show us our way that we should go.
7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
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.
9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
1 Now there was a man H376 of Benjamin, H1144 whose name H8034 was Kish, H7027 the son H1121 of Abiel, H22 the son H1121 of Zeror, H6872 the son H1121 of Bechorath, H1064 the son H1121 of Aphiah, H647 a Benjamite, H1145 a mighty H1368 man H376 of power. H2428
2 And he had a son, H1121 whose name H8034 was Saul, H7586 a choice young man, H970 and a goodly: H2896 and there was not among the children H1121 of Israel H3478 a goodlier H2896 person H376 than he: from his shoulders H7926 and upward H4605 he was higher H1364 than any of the people. H5971
3 And the asses H860 of Kish H7027 Saul's H7586 father H1 were lost. H6 And Kish H7027 said H559 to Saul H7586 his son, H1121 Take H3947 now one H259 of the servants H5288 with thee, and arise, H6965 go H3212 seek H1245 the asses. H860
4 And he passed through H5674 mount H2022 Ephraim, H669 and passed through H5674 the land H776 of Shalisha, H8031 but they found H4672 them not: then they passed through H5674 the land H776 of Shalim, H8171 and there they were not: and he passed through H5674 the land H776 of the Benjamites, H1145 but they found H4672 them not.
5 And when they were come H935 to the land H776 of Zuph, H6689 Saul H7586 said H559 to his servant H5288 that was with him, Come, H3212 and let us return; H7725 lest my father H1 leave H2308 caring for the asses, H860 and take thought H1672 for us.
6 And he said H559 unto him, Behold now, there is in this city H5892 a man H376 of God, H430 and he is an honourable H3513 man; H376 all that he saith H1696 cometh H935 surely to pass: H935 now let us go H3212 thither; peradventure he can shew H5046 us our way H1870 that we should go. H1980
7 Then said H559 Saul H7586 to his servant, H5288 But, behold, if we go, H3212 what shall we bring H935 the man? H376 for the bread H3899 is spent H235 in our vessels, H3627 and there is not a present H8670 to bring H935 to the man H376 of God: H430 what have we?
8 And the servant H5288 answered H6030 Saul H7586 again, H3254 and said, H559 Behold, I have H4672 here at hand H3027 the fourth part H7253 of a shekel H8255 of silver: H3701 that will I give H5414 to the man H376 of God, H430 to tell H5046 us our way. H1870
9 (Beforetime H6440 in Israel, H3478 when a man H376 went H3212 to enquire H1875 of God, H430 thus he spake, H559 Come, H3212 and let us go H3212 to the seer: H7200 for he that is now H3117 called a Prophet H5030 was beforetime H6440 called H7121 a Seer.) H7200
10 Then said H1697 Saul H7586 to his servant, H5288 Well H2896 said; H559 come, H3212 let us go. H3212 So they went H3212 unto the city H5892 where the man H376 of God H430 was.
1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.
2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
4 And he passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be anxious for us.
6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.
7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
1 And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name `is' Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,
2 and he hath a son, and his name `is' Saul, a choice youth and goodly, and there is not a man among the sons of Israel goodlier than he -- from his shoulder and upward, higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish, father of Saul, are lost, and Kish saith unto Saul his son, `Take, I pray thee, with thee, one of the young men, and rise, go, seek the asses.'
4 And he passeth over through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passeth over through the land of Shalisha, and they have not found; and they pass over through the land of Shaalim, and they are not; and he passeth over through the land of Benjamin, and they have not found.
5 They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who `is' with him, `Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.'
6 And he saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, a man of God `is' in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.'
7 And Saul saith to his young man, `And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God -- what `is' with us?'
8 And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, `Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.'
9 Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, `Come and we go unto the seer,' for the `prophet' of to-day is called formerly `the seer.'
10 And Saul saith to his young man, `Thy word `is' good; come, we go;' and they go unto the city where the man of God `is'.
1 And there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a mighty man of wealth.
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, choice and comely; and there was not among the children of Israel a comelier person than he; from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take, I pray, one of the young men with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found [them] not; and they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there; and they passed through the land of Benjamin, and they found [them] not.
5 They had come to the land of Zuph when Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come and let us return; lest my father give up the asses, and be anxious about us.
6 And he said to him, Behold now, a man of God is in this city, and the man is held in honour; all that he says comes surely to pass. Let us now go thither: perhaps he will shew us the way that we should go.
7 And Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and we have no present to give to the man of God: what have we?
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.
9 (In former time in Israel, when a man went to ask counsel of God, he said, Come and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was in former time called a Seer.)
10 And Saul said to his servant, Well said: come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.
1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.
2 He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 The donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys.
4 He passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn't find them: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they weren't there: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they didn't find them.
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the donkeys, and be anxious for us.
6 He said to him, See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes surely to pass: now let us go there; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.
7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
8 The servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he who is now called a Prophet was before called a Seer.)
10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was.
1 Now there was a man of Benjamin named Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a man of wealth.
2 He had a son named Saul, a specially good-looking young man; there was no one better-looking among the children of Israel: he was taller by a head than any other of the people.
3 Now the asses of Saul's father Kish had gone wandering away. And Kish said to his son Saul, Take one of the servants with you, and get up and go in search of the asses.
4 So they went through the hill-country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they saw no sign of them: then they went through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there: and they went through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not come across them.
5 And when they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, Come, let us go back, or my father may give up caring about the asses and be troubled about us.
6 But the servant said to him, See now, in this town there is a man of God, who is highly honoured, and everything he says comes true: let us go there now; it may be that he will give us directions about our journey.
7 Then Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what are we to take the man? all our bread is gone, and we have no offering to take to the man of God: what are we to do?
8 But the servant said in answer, I have here a fourth part of a shekel of silver: I will give that to the man of God, and he will give us directions about our way.
9 (In the past in Israel, when a man went to get directions from God, he said, Come let us go to the Seer, for he who now is named Prophet was in those days given the name of Seer.)
10 Then Saul said to his servant, You have said well; come, let us go. So they went to the town where the man of God was.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 9
Commentary on 1 Samuel 9 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 9
1Sa 9:1-14. Saul, Despairing to Find His Father's Asses, Comes to Samuel.
1. a mighty man of power—that is, of great wealth and substance. The family was of high consideration in the tribe of Benjamin, and therefore Saul's words must be set down among the common forms of affected humility, which Oriental people are wont to use.
2. Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly—He had a fine appearance; for it is evident that he must have been only a little under seven feet tall. A gigantic stature and an athletic frame must have been a popular recommendation at that time in that country.
3. the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul … arise, go seek the asses—The probability is that the family of Kish, according to the immemorial usage of Oriental shepherds in the purely pastoral regions, had let the animals roam at large during the grazing season, at the close of which messengers were despatched in search of them. Such travelling searches are common; and, as each owner has his own stamp marked on his cattle, the mention of it to the shepherds he meets gradually leads to the discovery of the strayed animals. This ramble of Saul's had nothing extraordinary in it, except its superior directions and issue, which turned its uncertainty into certainty.
4, 5. he passed through mount Ephraim—This being situated on the north of Benjamin, indicates the direction of Saul's journey. The district explored means the whole of the mountainous region, with its valleys and defiles, which belonged to Ephraim. Turning apparently southwards—probably through the verdant hills between Shiloh and the vales of Jordan (Shalisha and Shalim)—he approached again the borders of Benjamin, scoured the land of Zuph, and was proposing to return, when his servant recollected that they were in the immediate neighborhood of the man of God, who would give them counsel.
6. there is in this city a man of God—Ramah was the usual residence of Samuel, but several circumstances, especially the mention of Rachel's sepulchre, which lay in Saul's way homeward [1Sa 10:2], lead to the conclusion that "this city" was not the Ramah where Samuel dwelt.
peradventure he can show us our way that we should go—It seems strange that a dignified prophet should be consulted in such an affair. But it is probable that at the introduction of the prophetic office, the seers had discovered things lost or stolen, and thus their power for higher revelations was gradually established.
7. Saul said to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man?—According to Eastern notions, it would be considered a want of respect for any person to go into the presence of a superior man of rank or of official station without a present of some kind in his hand, however trifling in value.
the bread is spent in our vessels—Shepherds, going in quest of their cattle, put up in a bag as much flour for making bread as will last sometimes for thirty days. It appears that Saul thought of giving the man of God a cake from his travelling bag, and this would have been sufficient to render the indispensable act of civility—the customary tribute to official dignity.
8. the fourth part of a shekel of silver—rather more than sixpence. Contrary to our Western notions, money is in the East the most acceptable form in which a present can be made to a man of rank.
9. seer … Prophet—The recognized distinction in latter times was, that a seer was one who was favored with visions of God—a view of things invisible to mortal sight; and a prophet foretold future events.
11-13. as they went up the hill—The modern village, Er-Rameh, lies on an eminence; and on their way they met a band of young maidens going out to the well, which, like all similar places in Palestine, was beyond the precincts of the town. From these damsels they learned that the day was devoted to a festival occasion, in honor of which Samuel had arrived in the city; that a sacrifice had been offered, which was done by prophets in extraordinary circumstances at a distance from the tabernacle, and that a feast was to follow—implying that it had been a peace offering; and that, according to the venerable practice of the Israelites, the man of God was expected to ask a special blessing on the food in a manner becoming the high occasion.
14. Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place—Such were the simple manners of the times that this prophet, the chief man in Israel, was seen going to preside at a high festival undistinguished either by his dress or equipage from any ordinary citizen.
1Sa 9:15-27. God Reveals to Samuel Saul's Coming, and His Appointment to the Kingdom.
15, 16. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before—The description of Saul, the time of his arrival, and the high office to which he was destined, had been secretly intimated to Samuel from heaven. The future king of Israel was to fight the battles of the Lord and protect His people. It would appear that they were at this time suffering great molestation from the Philistines, and that this was an additional reason of their urgent demands for the appointment of a king (see 1Sa 10:5; 13:3).
18-20. Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is—Satisfying the stranger's inquiry, Samuel invited him to the feast, as well as to sojourn till the morrow; and, in order to reconcile him to the delay, he assured him that the strayed asses had been recovered.
20, 21. on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?—This was a covert and indirect premonition of the royal dignity that awaited him; and, though Saul's answer shows that he fully understood it, he affected to doubt that the prophet was in earnest.
21. And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, &c.—By selecting a king from this least and nearly extinct tribe (Jud 20:46-48), divine wisdom designed to remove all grounds of jealousy among the other tribes.
22. Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour—The toil-worn but noble-looking traveller found himself suddenly seated among the principal men of the place and treated as the most distinguished guest.
24. the cook took up the shoulder … and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left; set it before thee, and eat—that is, reserved (see on Ge 18:7; Ge 43:34). This was, most probably, the right shoulder; which, as the perquisite of the sacrifice, belonged to Samuel, and which he had set aside for his expected guest. In the sculptures of the Egyptian shambles, also, the first joint taken off was always the right shoulder for the priest. The meaning of those distinguished attentions must have been understood by the other guests.
25-27. Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house—Saul was taken to lodge with the prophet for that night. Before retiring to rest, they communed on the flat roof of the house, the couch being laid there (Jos 2:6), when, doubtless, Samuel revealed the secret and described the peculiar duties of a monarch in a nation so related to the Divine King as Israel. Next morning early, Samuel roused his guest, and conveying him on his way towards the skirts of the city, sought, before parting, a private interview—the object of which is narrated in the next chapter.