A verse by verse commentary on 1 Samuel 9 dealing with Samuel anointing Saul as the first king of Israel.

1. 1 SAMUEL 9 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Samuel Anoints Saul
1 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing,
whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of
Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of
Benjamin.
BARNES, "The genealogy of Saul is here given as far as Aphiah (“Abiah,” 1Ch_7:8),
who was of the house of Becher the son of Benjamin Gen_46:21. “Kish” 1Ch_9:35-39
was the son of “Ner” the son of “Jehiel,” (or, “Abiel” here and 1Sa_14:51), the first settler
(“father,” 1Ch_9:35) at Gibeon, or Gibeah of Saul, and who married “Maachah,” a
daughter or granddaughter of Caleb. If so, it is obvious that the names of several
generations are omitted between Kish and Abiel, and among them that from which the
family of Matri 1Sa_10:21 was called.
CLARKE, "A mighty man of power - Literally, a strong man; this appears to be
the only power he possessed; and the physical strength of the father may account for the
extraordinary size of the son. See 1Sa_9:2.
GILL, "Now there was a man of Benjamin,.... Of the tribe of Benjamin, which had
its name from the youngest son of Jacob, and one of this tribe was the first king of Israel:
whose name was Kish: whom the apostle calls Cis, Act_13:21, and Josephus (i) Cises;
his name, according to Hillerus (k), signifies "ensnared"; for what reason it was given
him is not certain:
the son of Abiel; in 1Ch_8:33, he is called Ner that begat Kish; and in this book, 1Sa_
1

2. 14:50 Ner and Kish are represented as brethren, the sons of Abiel: to reconcile this, it
may be observed, that Ner being the elder brother, on the death of his father Abiel, had
the care and bringing up of his younger brother Kish; and therefore when he is said to
beget him, the meaning is, not that he was the parent of him, but the bringer up of him;
or rather, as Kimchi thinks, Abiel had two sons, one of which was Ner; and that he had
two sons, one that was called after his own name Ner, who was the father of Abner; and
the other Kish, the father of Saul:
the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite; of
these persons we nowhere else read:
a mighty man of power; not a man of riches, or of authority, neither a wealthy man,
nor a magistrate, for his family was mean and contemptible, 1Sa_9:21 but a man of great
strength, an able bodied man, and of great natural fortitude, and courage of mind.
HENRY 1-2, "We are here told, 1. What a good family Saul was of, 1Sa_9:1. He was of
the tribe of Benjamin; so was the New Testament Saul, who also was called Paul, and he
mentions it as his honour, for Benjamin was a favourite, Rom_11:1; Phi_3:5. That tribe
had been reduced to a very small number by the fatal war with Gibeah, and much ado
there was to provide wives for those 600 men that were the poor remains of it out of that
diminished tribe, which is here called, with good reason, the smallest of the tribes of
Israel, 1Sa_9:21. Saul sprang as a root out of a dry ground. That tribe, though fewest in
number, was first in dignity, God giving more abundant honour to that part which
lacked, 1Co_12:24. His father was Kish, a mighty man of power, or, as the margin reads
it, in substance; in spirit bold, in body strong, in estate wealthy. The whole lot of the
tribe of Benjamin coming to be distributed among 600 men, we may suppose their
inheritances were much larger than theirs who were of other tribes, an advantage which
somewhat helped to balance the disadvantage of the smallness of their number. 2. What
a good figure Saul made, 1Sa_9:2. No mention is here made of his wisdom or virtue, his
learning or piety, or any of the accomplishments of his mind, but that he was a tall,
proper, handsome man, that had a good face, a good shape, and a good presence,
graceful and well proportioned: Among all the children of Israel there was not a
goodlier person than he; and, as if nature had marked him for preeminence and
superiority, he was taller by the head and shoulders than any of the people, the fitter to
be a match for the giants of Gath, the champions of the Philistines. When God chose a
king after his own heart he pitched upon one that was not at all remarkable for the
height of his stature, nor any thing in his countenance but the innocence and sweetness
that appeared there, 1Sa_16:7, 1Sa_16:12. But when he chose a king after the people's
heart, who aimed at nothing so much as stateliness and grandeur, he pitched upon this
huge tall man, who, if he had no other good qualities, yet would look great. It does not
appear that he excelled in strength so much as he did in stature; Samson did, and him
they slighted, bound, and betrayed into the hands of the Philistines; justly therefore are
they now put off with one who, though of uncommon height, is weak as other men. They
would have a king like the nations, and the nations commonly chose portly men for their
kings.
JAMISON, "1Sa_9:1-14. Saul, despairing to find his father’s asses, comes to Samuel.
2

3. 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.
K&D, "When the Lord had instructed Samuel to appoint a king over the nation, in
accordance with its own desire, He very speedily proceeded to show him the man whom
He had chosen. Saul the Benjaminite came to Samuel, to consult him as a seer about his
father's she-asses, which had been lost, and for which he had been seeking in all
directions in vain (1Sa_9:1-14). And the Lord had already revealed to the prophet the
day before, that He would send him the man who had been set apart by Him as the king
of Israel; and when Samuel met with Saul, He pointed him out as the man to whom He
had referred (1Sa_9:15-17). Accordingly, Samuel invited Saul to be his guest at a
sacrificial meal, which he was about to celebrate (1Sa_9:18-24). After the meal he made
known to him the purpose of God, anointed him as king (1Sa_9:25-27; 1Sa_10:1), and
sent him away, with an announcement of three signs, which would serve to confirm his
election on the part of God (1Sa_10:2-16). This occurrence is related very
circumstantially, to bring out distinctly the miraculous interposition of God, and to show
that Saul did not aspire to the throne; and also that Samuel did not appoint of his own
accord the man whom he was afterwards obliged to reject, but that Saul was elected by
God to be king over His people, without any interference on the part of either Samuel or
himself.
(Note: There is no tenable ground for the assumption of Thenius and others, that
this account was derived from a different source from 1 Samuel 8, 1Sa_10:17-27, and
1Sa_10:11.; for the assertion that 1Sa_10:17-27 connects itself in the most natural
way with 1 Samuel 8 is neither well-founded nor correct. In the first place, it was
certainly more natural that Samuel, who was to place a king over the nation
according to the appointment of God, should be made acquainted with the man
whom God had appointed, before the people elected him by lot. And secondly, Saul's
behaviour in hiding himself when the lots were cast (1Sa_10:21.), can only be
explained on the supposition that Samuel had already informed him that he was the
appointed king; whereas, if this had not been the case, it would be altogether
incomprehensible.)
1Sa_9:1-2
Saul searches for his father's asses. - 1Sa_9:1, 1Sa_9:2. The elaborate genealogy of the
Benjaminite Kish, and the minute description of the figure of his son Saul, are intended
to indicate at the very outset the importance to which Saul attained in relation to the
people of Israel, Kish was the son of Abiel: this is in harmony with 1Sa_14:51. But when,
on the other hand, it is stated in 1Ch_8:33; 1Ch_9:39, that Ner begat Kish, the
difference may be reconciled in the simplest manner, on the assumption that the Ner
mentioned there is not the father, but the grandfather, or a still more remote ancestor of
Kish, as the intervening members are frequently passed over in the genealogies. The
other ancestors of Kish are never mentioned again. ‫ל‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ח‬ ‫ר‬ ‫בּ‬ִ‫גּ‬ refers to Kish, and signifies
not a brave man, but a man of property, as in Rth_2:1. This son Saul (i.e., “prayed for:”
for this meaning of the word, comp. 1Sa_1:17, 1Sa_1:27) was “young and beautiful.” It is
true that even at that time Saul had a son grown up (viz., Jonathan), according to 1Sa_
13:2; but still, in contrast with his father, he was “a young man,” i.e., in the full vigour of
3

4. youth, probably about forty or forty-five years old. There is no necessity, therefore, to
follow the Vulgate rendering electus. No one equalled him in beauty. “From his shoulder
upwards he was higher than any of the people.” Such a figure as this was well adapted
to commend him to the people as their king (cf. 1Sa_10:24), since size and beauty were
highly valued in rulers, as signs of manly strength (see Herod. iii. 20, vii. 187; Aristot.
Polit. iv. c. 24).
BENSON, "1 Samuel 9:1-2. A mighty man of power — This seems not to be meant
of his wealth or interest in his country, for Saul himself says he was of a mean
family, 1 Samuel 9:21; but of his great strength, courage, and fortitude. A choice
young man and goodly — Comely and personable. Higher than any of the people —
A tall stature was much valued in a king in ancient times, and in the eastern
countries,
COFFMAN, "GOD DESIGNATES THE FUTURE KING OF ISRAEL; THE
GENEALOGY OF SAUL
"There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of
Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth; and he had a
son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the
people of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders upward he was taller
than any of the people."
The appearance of this genealogy at this point in the narrative is the clear signal
that Saul the son of Kish was God's choice to be the king of Israel.
What a marvel is this! God used a search for lost donkeys to bring the Divine
designate face-to-face with the prophet Samuel even BEFORE Samuel had ever met
him. The narrative here is very skillfully presented.
Three valid reasons why the heavenly choice fell upon Saul are discernible, as
pointed out by Philbeck.[1] (1) Saul came from a very wealthy and powerful family;
(2) the tribe of Benjamin was centrally located between the rival tribes of Judah and
Benjamin and thus strategically located to achieve the unity of the northern and
southern tribes. (3) Furthermore, Saul certainly looked like a king. His being head
and shoulders taller than the rest of the people is mentioned again in 1 Samuel
10:23.
"A king chosen from either Judah or Ephraim, the two largest tribes, would have
aroused the bitterest feelings in the other."[2]
4

5. Students who are particularly interested in genealogies will discern that the
genealogies of Saul as given here and in 1Chr. 8:33,1 Chronicles 9:39 do not agree,
and Willis has a thorough discussion of this.[3] The variations are meaningless,
because the Hebrew word for father also means grandfather, or simply ancestor.
For example, Jesus Christ is called the son of David the son of Abraham (Matthew
1:1). Thus, there are all kinds of skips in genealogical tables.
The allegations of some critics that we have different sources for this narrative,
"rest upon no tenable ground";[4] and we shall omit any discussion of them.
A handsome young man (1 Samuel 9:2) "The word in Hebrew rendered `young
man' means a man in the prime of life. Saul was not a teenager, for he had a son
(Jonathan) at the time of this narrative."[5]
CONSTABLE, "Verse 1-2
Saul's background 9:1-2
Saul ("Asked [of God]," cf. 1 Samuel 8:10) came from good Benjamite stock. His
father was a man of property and influence. The same Hebrew expression, gibbor
hayil, translated "valor," describes Boaz in Ruth 2:1 and King Jeroboam I in 1
Kings 11:28 (cf. 1 Samuel 16:18). Saul himself was physically impressive, tall, and
handsome. At this time he would have been in his late 20s (cf. 1 Samuel 13:1). God
gave the people just what they wanted.
Verses 1-16
2. The anointing of Saul 9:1-10:16
In chapters 9-11 the writer painted Saul as the ideal man to serve as king from the
human viewpoint. This pericope (1 Samuel 9:1 to 1 Samuel 10:16) sets forth his
personal conduct. [Note: See the series of three articles on Saul by W. Lee
Humphries listed in the bibliography of these notes. Especially helpful is, "The
Tragedy of King Saul: A Study of the Structure of 1 Samuel 9-31."]
ELLICOTT, " (1) Saul.—The inspired compiler of these books—having related the
circumstances which accompanied the people’s request to the last of the judges for a
king—closed the first part of the story of this momentous change in the fortunes of
the chosen people with the words of the prophet-judge, bidding the representative
elders to return to their homes, and wait the result of his solemn communing with
the Eternal Friend of Israel on the subject of this king they so earnestly desired.
The Eternal answered His servant either in a vision, or by Urim, or by an angel
5

6. visitant. We are in most cases left in ignorance respecting the precise method by
which God communicated with these highly-favoured men—His elect servante. The
chosen Israelite whom Samuel was to anoint as the first king in Israel would meet
the prophet—so said the “word of the Lord” to Samuel—on a certain day and hour,
at a given place. The ninth chapter begins with a short account of the family of this
man chosen for so high an office, and after a word or two of personal description,
goes on to relate the circumstances under which he met Samuel. Saul, a man in the
prime of manhood, distinguished among his fellows by his great stature, and for his
grace and manly beauty, was the son of a noble and opulent Benjamite of Gribeah, a
small city in the south of the Land of Promise.
The whole of this episode in our ancient book is singularly picturesque. We see the
yet unproclaimed king occupied in his father’s business, and throwing his whole
powers into the every-day transactions of the farm on the slopes of Mount Ephraim.
In a few words the historian describes how the modest and retiring Saul was roused
from the quiet pastoral pursuits in which his hitherto uneventful life had been spent.
The reverent, perhaps slightly reluctant, admiration with which the seer of God
gazed at the future king of Israel; the prophet’s significant address, the symbol gifts,
the graceful hospitality, and, above all, the solemn and, no doubt, burning words of
the generous old man, woke up the sleeping hero-spirit, and prepared the young
Benjamite for his future mighty work. But there was no vulgar elation at the
prospect which lay before him, no hurried grasping at the splendid prize which the
seer told him the God of his fathers had destined for him. Quietly he took leave of
the famous Samuel; the predicted signs of his coming greatness one by one were
literally fulfilled; but Saul returned to the ancestral farm in the hills of Benjamin,
and was subject to his father, as in old days; and when at last the public summons to
the throne came to him, he seems to have accepted the great office for which he had
been marked with positive reluctance and shrinking, nor does he appear materially
to have altered his old simple way of living until a great national disgrace called for
a devoted patriot to avenge it. Then the heroic heart of the Lord’s anointed awoke,
and Saul, when the hour came, showed himself a king indeed.
Kish, the son of Abiel.—On comparison with the genealogical summaries given in
Genesis 46:21; 1 Samuel 9:1; 1 Samuel 14:51; 1 Chronicles 7:6-8, &c, the line of
Samuel appears as follows:—
BENJAMIN BECHER
APHIAH (qu. ABIAH)
BECHORAH
6

7. ZEROR (qu. ZUR)
ABIEL
NER
KISH
SAUL.
Yet even here certain links are omitted, for we hear of one Matri in 1 Samuel 10:21,
and Jehiel in 1 Chronicles 9:35.
The truth is that in each of the genealogical summaries the transcriber of the
original family document left out certain names not needed for his special purpose.
The names omitted are not always the same; hence, often in these tables, the
apparent discrepancies.
Dean Payne Smith, too, suggests, that the hopeless entanglement in the Benjamite
genealogies is in a measure due to the terrible civil war which resulted from the
crime related in Judges 20. In the confusion which naturally resulted from the
massacres and ceaseless wars of this early period, many of the older records of the
tribes must have perished.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:1
A man … whose name was Kish. The genealogy of Saul is rendered obscure by the
Hebrew custom of abbreviating such records by the omission of names. The family
documents were no doubt kept in full, but when transcribed, as here and in the First
Book of Chronicles, only a summary is given, and as the omitted links are not always the
same, great difficulty is necessarily the result. The most satisfactory genealogy is that
given by Schaff from a comparison of Gen_46:21; 1Sa_9:1; 1Sa_14:51; 1Ch_7:6-8; 1Ch_
8:29-33; 1Ch_9:35-39, and is as follows:
1. Benjamin;
2. Becher;
3. Aphish, perhaps same as Abiah;
4. Bechorath;
5. Zeror, or Zur;
7

8. 6. Abiel;
7. Ner;
8. Kish;
9. Saul.
Very many links, however, are omitted, among whom must be placed Matri, mentioned
in 1Sa_10:21; and Jehiel, mentioned in 1Ch_9:35 (and see ibid. 1Ch_8:29). He is
described as the first settler and coloniser of Gibeon, and as husband of Maachah, a
daughter or granddaughter of Caleb. The spelling of his name with an ’ain forbids our
confounding him with Abiel, as is done by Schaff and most commentators, and whom,
apparently, he preceded by many generations. In the two places referred to above a large
family of sons is ascribed to him; but as, first of all, the lists do not agree, as, moreover,
they are said to dwell with their brethren in Jerusalem (1Ch_8:32), and as Ner, the
father of Kish, is mentioned in the second list, it is pretty certain that we are not to
regard, them as his actual children, but as the leading names among his posterity. The
fearful cruelty recorded in Jdg_20:48 may well account for the hopeless entanglement of
Benjamite genealogies. An ancestor of Saul must, of course, have been among the 600
who escaped to the rock Rimmon, but he could have saved only his own life. A mighty
man of power. Really, "of wealth." Saul, like David afterwards, was sprung from an
affluent family, whose landed property was situated at Gibeah, about four miles north of
Jerusalem, afterwards known as Gibeah of Saul.
2 Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a
young man as could be found anywhere in Israel,
and he was a head taller than anyone else.
CLARKE, "From his shoulders and upwards - It was probably from this very
circumstance that he was chosen for king; for, where kings were elective, in all ancient
times great respect was paid to personal appearance.
GILL, "And he had a son whose name was Saul,.... Of this name was the great
8

9. apostle of the Gentiles before his conversion, and was of the same tribe also; but very
different in stature; he was a little man, this a large tall man, like his father perhaps:
a choice young man, and a goodly; 1Sa_2:1 of a goodly aspect, a comely man, tall
and well shaped, in the prime of his age, a very agreeable person, one among a thousand:
and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he;
meaning not for the endowments of his mind, or his moral character and behaviour.
There might be as good, or better men than he, on such accounts, but for his outward
appearance, his bodily shape, and the dignity of his person:
from his shoulders and upwards he was higher than any of the people; this
description of him is enlarged upon and explained, to show that he was just such a
person the people were desirous of having king over them, such an one as the nations
about them had; and it was usual with the eastern people, and so with the Greeks and
Romans, to choose persons to the highest offices of magistracy that made a personable
appearance superior to others, and is what they often take notice of, as a
recommendation of them as princes. Herodotus (l) reports of the Ethiopians, that they
judged the largest of the people, and him who had strength according to his size, most
worthy to be king. And the same writer observes (m), that among the many thousands of
men of the army of Xerxes, there was not one who for comeliness and largeness was so
worthy of the empire as Xerxes himself; so Ulysses, because of his height, was the more
acceptable to the people of Corfu (n); so Alexander's captains, it is said (o), might be
thought to be kings for their beautiful form, height of body, and greatness of strength
and wisdom. Julius Caesar is said to be of high stature; and so Domitian (p); Virgil (q)
represents Turnus as in body more excellent than others, and by the entire head above
them; and Anchises as walking statelier and higher than the rest (r); among the many
encomiums Pliny (s) gives of Trajan, as to his outward form and appearance, this is one,
"proceritas corporis", height of body, being higher than others; the Gentiles had a notion
that such men came nearer to the deities, and looked more like them; so Diana is
described as taller than any of the nymphs and goddesses (t). Solomon, according to
Josephus (u), chose such young men to ride horses, and attend his person, when he
himself rode, who were conspicuous for their height, and greatly above others.
JAMISON, "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.
ELLICOTT, " (2) A choice young man, and a goodly.—The Hebrew word which is
rendered in English by “a choice young man” cannot signify both these epithets.
The translators were probably influenced by the Vulg. (Latin) Version, which
translates the Hebrew word by electus, “chosen, or choice,” the more common
signification of the Hebrew word being avoided, owing to the fact that at this time
Saul appears to have had a son (Jonathan) who must have well-nigh reached his
9

10. maturity. But the term young was not inappropriate to Saul, who was still in the full
vigour of manhood as contrasted with the old age of Samuel, being about forty to
forty-five years old. Translate then simply, “a young man,” &c. In the childhood of
nations heroic proportions were highly valued, and the gigantic stature and the
remarkable beauty of the king, no doubt contributed to the ready acceptance on the
part of the still semi-barbarous Israel of the young man Saul. (Comp. Herodotus, ,
7:187; Aristotle, Polit., 4:29; and Virgil’s description of Turnus, Æneid, 7:650, 783;
and Homer’s words about Ajax, Iliad, iii. 226.)
The asses.—Literally, And the she-asses. At this period of Jewish history asses were
much used by the people. The horse was forbidden by the Law. Asses were used not
only for purposes of agriculture, but also for riding; so in the song of Deborah we
find, “Speak, ye that ride on white asses” (Judges 5:10); and again we read of the
thirty sons of Jair, the Gileadite judge, each one ruler of a city, who rode on thirty
ass colts (Judges 10:4). These belonging to the farm of Kish, being probably kept for
breeding purposes, were untethered, and so strayed from the immediate
neighbourhood, and were lost.
The whole of this chapter and part of the following is full of picturesque details of
the pastoral life of the people. In many of the little pictures we see how strongly at
this early period the religion of the Eternal coloured almost all parts of the every-
day life of Israel.
One of the servants.—The “servant,” not “slave;” the Hebrew word for the latter
would be different. The servant was evidently a trusty dependant of the house of
Saul’s father, and was on familiar terms with his young master. We hear of his
giving wise advice in the course of the search (1 Samuel 9:6); he was the one in
charge of the money (1 Samuel 9:8); and this servant, we are especially told, was
treated by Samuel the judge as an honoured guest at the sacrificial feast at Ramah.
He was traditionally believed to have been Doeg the Edomite, afterwards so famous
as one of the most ruthless of the great captains of King Saul. (See 1 Samuel 22:18.)
TRAPP, "1 Samuel 9:2 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.
Ver. 2. And he had a son, whose name was Saul.] Which signifieth desired or sought
after: Nomen, Omen.
A choice young man, and a goodly.] Heb., Good. That is of a good nature and
disposition, saith Lyra. So perhaps he was at first: as was also Nero for the first five
10

11. years of his reign, so that Seneca sets him forth for a singular example of clemency.
Saul proved to be the reigning hypocrite, by whom "the people were ensnared."
[Job 34:30] It is threatened as a heavy curse, "If you still trespass against me, I will
set princes over you that shall hate you." [Leviticus 26:17]
There was none … a goodlier person than he.] This won him much respect with the
vulgar, that he was Os humerosque Deo similis, proper and comely, looking like a
prince, (a) as the tragedian noteth of Priamus: for want of which, Agesilaus, that
gallant man, was much slighted by the Persians. The French had a Philip the Fair:
and Artaxerxes Longimanus was omnium hominum pulcherrimus, saith Emilius
Probus, the comliest man alive.
K&D, "1Sa_9:2
He had a son, whose name was Saul. I.e. asked, a name usually given to a firstborn
son. A choice young man. This is a double translation of the Hebrew word, and
consequently one half or other must be wrong. It may either be a participle, elect or
choice, and is so rendered by the Syriac and Vulgate; or an adjective, young, the
rendering of the Chaldee, and virtually of the Septuagint, which gives well grown. This is
the preferable translation; for the word constantly occurs coupled with virgin (Deu_
32:25; Isa_62:5, etc.), for one in the full flower of manhood. Saul could not, therefore,
have been the runner of 1Sa_5:12, though, as we read that Jonathan his son was a grown
man two or three years afterwards (1Sa_13:2), he must have been at least thirty-five
years of age, after making allowance for the early period at which the Jews married. His
noble appearance and gigantic stature were well fitted to impress and overawe a semi-
barbarous people, who were better able to form an estimate of his physical qualities than
of the high mental and moral gifts possessed by Samuel.
3 Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish
were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one
of the servants with you and go and look for the
donkeys.”
11

12. CLARKE, "The asses of Kish - were lost - What a wonderful train of occurrences
were connected in order to bring Saul to the throne of Israel! Every thing seems to go on
according to the common course of events, and yet all conspired to favor the election of a
man to the kingdom who certainly did not come there by the approbation of God.
Asses grow to great perfection in the East; and at this time, as there were no horses in
Judea, they were very useful; and on them kings and princes rode.
GILL, "And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost,.... Had got out of the
stables or fields, in which they were kept, and strayed from thence:
and Kish said to Saul his son, take now one of the servants with thee, and
arise, go seek the asses; he chose not to send his servants only, who might not be so
careful and diligent in searching for them, but his son, and not him alone, but a servant
with him to wait upon him, and assist him. And it was quite agreeable to the simplicity
of those times for persons of equal or greater substance to be employed in such an affair;
asses made a considerable part of the wealth and riches of men, were rode upon by
persons of quality, and were fed and taken care of by the sons of dukes and princes; see
Job_1:3. The Jews (w) have a tradition, that this servant was Doeg the Edomite.
HENRY 3-4, "Here is, I. A great man rising from small beginnings. It does not appear
that Saul had any preferment at all, or was in any post of honour or trust, till he was
chosen king of Israel. Most that are advanced rise gradually, but Saul, from the level with
his neighbours, stepped at once into the throne, according to that of Hannah, He raiseth
up the poor out of the dust, to set them among princes, 1Sa_2:8. Saul, it should seem,
though he was himself married and had children grown up, yet lived in his father's
house, and was subject to him. Promotion comes not by chance nor human probabilities,
but God is the Judge.
II. A great event arising from small occurrences. How low does the history begin!
Having to trace Saul to the crown, we find him first employed as meanly as any we meet
with called out to preferment.
1. Saul's father sends him with one of his servants to seek some asses that he had lost.
It may be they had no way then to give public notice of such a number of asses strayed or
stolen out of the grounds of Kish the Benjamite. A very good law they had to oblige men
to bring back an ox or an ass that went astray, but it is to be feared that was, as other
good laws, neglected and forgotten. It is easy to observe here that those who have must
expect to lose, that it is wisdom to look after what is lost, that no man should think it
below him to know the state of his flocks, that children should be forward to serve their
parents' interests. Saul readily went to seek his father's asses, 1Sa_9:3, 1Sa_9:4. His
taking care of the asses is to be ascribed, not so much to the humility of his spirit as to
the plainness and simplicity of those times. But his obedience to his father in it was very
12

13. commendable. Seest thou a man diligent in his business, and dutiful to his superiors,
willing to stoop and willing to take pains? he does as Saul stand fair for preferment. The
servant of Kish would be faithful only as a servant, but Saul as a son, in his own
business, and therefore he was sent with him. Saul and his servants travelled far
(probably on foot) in quest of the asses, but in vain: they found them not. He missed of
what he sought, but had no reason to complain of the disappointment, for he met with
the kingdom, which he never dreamed of.
JAMISON, "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 dispatched 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.
K&D, "1Sa_9:3-5
Having been sent out by his father to search for his she-asses which had strayed, Saul
went with his servant through the mountains of Ephraim, which ran southwards into the
tribe-territory of Benjamin (see at 1Sa_1:1), then through the land of Shalishah and the
land of Shaalim, and after that through the land of Benjamin, without finding the asses;
and at length, when he had reached the land of Zuph, he determined to return, because
he was afraid that his father might turn his mind from the asses, and trouble himself
about them (the son and servant). ‫ן‬ ִ‫מ‬ ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ָ‫,ח‬ to desist from a thing, to give it up or
renounce it.
As Saul started in any case from Gibeah of Benjamin, his own home (1Sa_10:10., 1Sa_
10:26, 1Sa_11:4; 1Sa_15:34; 1Sa_23:19; 1Sa_26:1), i.e., the present Tuleil el Phul, which
was an hour or an hour and a half to the north of Jerusalem (see at Jos_18:28), and
went thence into the mountains of Ephraim, he no doubt took a north-westerly
direction, so that he crossed the boundary of Benjamin somewhere between Bireh and
Atarah, and passing through the crest of the mountains of Ephraim, on the west of
Gophnah (Jifna), came out into the land of Shalishah. Shalishah is unquestionably the
country round (or of) Baal-shalishah (2Ki_4:42), which was situated, according to
Eusebius (Onom. s.v. Βαιθσαρισάθ: Beth-sarisa or Beth-salisa), in regione Thamnitica,
fifteen Roman miles to the north of Diospolis (Lydda), and was therefore probably the
country to the west of Jiljilia, where three different wadys run into one large wady, called
Kurawa; and according to the probable conjecture of Thenius, it was from this fact that
the district received the name of Shalishah, or Three-land. They proceeded thence in
their search to the land of Shaalim: according to the Onom. (s.v.), “a village seven miles
off, in finibus Eleutheropoleos contra occidentem.” But this is hardly correct, and is
most likely connected with the mistake made in transposing the town of Samuel to the
neighbourhood of Diospolis (see at 1Sa_1:1). For since they went on from Shaalim into
the land of Benjamin, and then still further into the land of Zuph, on the south-west of
Benjamin, they probably turned eastwards from Shalishah, into the country where we
13

14. find Beni Mussah and Beni Salem marked upon Robinson's and v. de Velde's maps, and
where we must therefore look for the land of Shaalim, that they might proceed thence to
explore the land of Benjamin from the north-east to the south-west. If, on the contrary,
they had gone from Shaalim in a southerly or south-westerly direction, to the district of
Eleutheropolis, they would only have entered the land of Benjamin at the south-west
corner, and would have had to go all the way back again in order to go thence to the land
of Zuph. For we may infer with certainty that the land of Zuph was on the south-west of
the tribe-territory of Benjamin, from the fact that, according to 1Sa_10:2, Saul and his
companion passed Rachel's tomb on their return thence to their own home, and then
came to the border of Benjamin. On the name Zuph, see at 1Sa_1:1.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:3
The asses of Kish...were lost. So strangely is the trivial ever united with events most
solemn and weighty, that Saul set out upon this journey, in which he was to find a
kingdom, with no other object than to look for some lost asses—Hebrew, "she-asses." As
used for riding (Jdg_10:4), the ass was valuable, and as these were probably kept for
breeding, they were allowed more liberty than the males, and so strayed away.
BENSON, "1 Samuel 9:3. The asses of Kish were lost — Asses were there of great
price, because of the scarcity of horses, and therefore were not thought unworthy to
be sought by Saul, especially in these ancient times, when simplicity, humility, and
industry were in fashion among persons of quality,
COFFMAN, "SAUL'S SEARCH FOR THE LOST DONKEYS
"Now the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, "Take
one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the asses." And they passed
through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but
they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were
not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them."
There are a great many "chances" or "accidents," as we might call them, in this
narrative, but none of them could be anything other than the providential
intervention of God in human affairs in order to achieve the divine purpose. The
straying away of Kish's donkeys, Saul's futile search for them, and his "accidental"
arrival at the city where Samuel was - who can believe that any of these occurrences
was "by chance"?
"Shalishah ... and Shaalim" (1 Samuel 9:4). "These names are unknown";[6] and it
is impossible to trace exactly the course of Saul's journey hunting for the lost
animals.
14

15. COKE, "1 Samuel 9:3. Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with
thee— This commission was but mean, if we are to judge of it by our manners; but
in ancient times every thing which pertained to rural life was honourable. We see in
Homer, gods, heroes, and princes keeping flocks: such was the occupation of the
patriarchs. The Scripture speaks of a prince descended from Esau, who kept the
asses of his father. Genesis 36:24. Asses were a considerable part of their substance
in Judaea, and persons of the first distinction there commonly rode upon them till
the time of Solomon. See Judges 10:4.
CONSTABLE, "Verses 3-14
Saul's personal traits 9:3-14
Saul's concern for his father's peace of mind was commendable. It shows a
sensitivity that would have been an asset in a king (1 Samuel 9:5). Likewise his
desire to give Samuel a present for his help was praiseworthy (1 Samuel 9:7; cf. 1
Kings 14:3; 2 Kings 8:8-9). Saul had some appreciation for social propriety. He was
also humble enough to ask directions from a woman (1 Samuel 9:11-14). Years later,
at the end of the story of Saul's reign, the king asked directions from another
women, but she was a forbidden witch (ch. 28).
The high place (1 Samuel 9:12) was a hilltop on which the people offered sacrifices
and may have been Mizpah (lit. watchtower; cf. 1 Samuel 7:9), or a town near
Bethlehem (lit. house of bread, i.e., granary). [Note: Wood, Israel's United ..., p. 78,
n. 12.]
4 So he passed through the hill country of
Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha,
but they did not find them. They went on into the
district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not
there. Then he passed through the territory of
Benjamin, but they did not find them.
15

16. BARNES, "The land of Shalisha was somewhere near Gilgal, i. e., Jiljulieh. It is
thought to derive its name from “three” (Shalosh) wadys which unite in the wady of
Karawa. The situation of Shalim is not known: its etymology connects it more probably
with the land of Shual 1Sa_13:17, apparently round Taiyibeh, which was about nine
miles from Gibeah.
Zuph - 1Sa_9:5, see 1Sa_1:1 note.
GILL, "And they passed through Mount Ephraim,.... The mountainous part of
that tribe, which lay contiguous to the tribe of Benjamin, where it might be supposed the
asses had strayed to:
and passed through the land of Shalisha; a tract in the tribe of Benjamin, so called
from some illustrious person, prince, and duke of it; in it very probably was the place
called Baalshalisha; 2Ki_4:42 and which perhaps is the same Jerom calls (x)
Bethshalisha; and says there was a village of this name in the borders of Diospolis,
almost fifteen miles distance from it to the north, in the Tamnitic country; though
Bunting (y) says it was situated in Mount Ephraim, eight miles from Jerusalem to the
northwest:
but they found them not; the asses, neither in Mount Ephraim, nor in the land of
Shalisha:
then they passed through the land of Shalim which some take to be the same with
Salim, where John was baptizing, Joh_3:23 but Jerom says (z) it was a village on the
borders of Eleutheropolis, to the west, seven miles distant from it:
and there they were not; the asses could not be found there:
and he passed through the land of the Benjamites; or rather of Jemini, which
was in Benjamin, so called from a famous man of that name; for it cannot be thought
they should pass through the whole tribe of Benjamin in one day. And, according to
Bunting (a), from Gibeah, the native place of Saul, through the mountain of Ephraim,
and the land of Shalisha, to the borders of Shalim, were sixteen miles; and from thence
to Jemini, in the tribe of Benjamin, sixteen more:
but they found them not; the asses.
JAMISON, "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
16

17. 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.
K&D, "1Sa_9:4
Mount Ephraim. Though Gibeah, Saul’s home, was in Benjamin, it was situated on
this long mountain range (1Sa_1:1). The land of Shalisha. I.e. Three-land, and
probably, therefore, the region round Baal-shalisha. It takes its name from the three
valleys which there converge in the great Wady Kurawa, The land of Shalim. I.e. of
jackals; probably the same as the land of Shual, also = jackal-land (1Sa_13:17). The very
name shows that it was a wild, uninhabited region. The derivation hollow-land is
untenable.
ELLICOTT, " (4) And he passed through mount Ephraim. The chain of the
mountains of Ephraim ran southward into the territory of Benjamin, where were
situated the patrimonial possessions of Saul’s house.
And passed through the land of Shalisha.—Or land “of the Three;” so called
because three valleys there united in one, or one divided into three. It is believed to
be the region in which Baal-shalisha lay (2 Kings 4:42), fifteen miles north of
Diospolis, or Lydda.
The land of Shalim.—Probably a very deep valley, derived from a Hebrew word,
signifying “the hollow of the hand.”
5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul
said to the servant who was with him, “Come,
let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking
about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”
17

18. CLARKE, "Were come to the land of Zuph - Calmet supposes that Saul and his
servant went from Gibeah to Shalisha, in the tribe of Dan; from thence to Shalim, near to
Jerusalem; and thence, traversing the tribe of Benjamin, they purposed to return to
Gibeah; but passing through the land of Zuph, in which Ramatha, the country of Samuel,
was situated, they determined to call on this prophet to gain some directions from him;
the whole of this circuit he supposes to have amounted to no more than about twenty-
five leagues, or three days’ journey. We do not know where the places were situated
which are here mentioned: the Targum translates thus: “And he passed through the
mount of the house of Ephraim, and went into the southern land, but did not meet with
them. And he passed through the land of Mathbera, but they were not there; and he
passed through the land of the tribe of Benjamin, but did not find them; then they came
into the land where the prophet of the Lord dwelt. And Saul said to his servant,” etc.
GILL, "And when they were come to the land of Zuph,.... In which was
Ramathaimzophim, the native place of Samuel, 1Sa_1:1 and so the Targum here,"the
land in which was the prophet"
Saul said to the servant that was with him, come, and let us return; home,
despairing of finding the asses after so long a search in divers places:
lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us; fearing some
evil should have befallen his son and his servant, in comparison of whom, and especially
his son, the asses would be of no account, and so give himself no concern for them, but
be in great care and uneasiness for his son and servant; wherefore Saul thought it most
advisable to return home as soon as possible, lest his father should be overwhelmed with
grief and trouble.
HENRY, "2. When he could not find them, he determined to return to his father
(1Sa_9:5), in consideration of his father's tender concern for him, being apprehensive
that if they staid out any longer his aged father would begin to fear, as Jacob concerning
Joseph, that an evil beast had devoured them or some mischief had befallen them; he
will leave caring for the asses, as much as he was in care about them, and will take
thought for us. Children should take care that they do nothing to grieve or frighten their
parents, but be tender of their tenderness.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:5
The land of Zuph. See on 1Sa_1:1. This Levite ancestor of Samuel had probably
occupied and colonised this district after the disasters recorded in the last chapters of
the Book of Judges. Lest my father, etc. A mark of good feeling on Saul’s part, and a
18

19. proof of the affectionate terms on which Kish and his family lived.
COFFMAN, "SAUL DECIDES TO CONSULT THE MAN OF GOD
"When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him,
"Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the asses and become
anxious about us." But he said to him, "Behold, there is a man of God in this city,
and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he says comes true. Let us go there;
perhaps he can tell us about the journey on which we have set out." Then Saul said
to his servant, "But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks
is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we"? The
servant answered Saul again, "Here I have with me the fourth part of a shekel of
silver, and I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way." (Formerly in Israel,
when a man went to inquire of God, he said, "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he
who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer). And Saul said to his
servant, "Well said; come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God
was."
"When they came to the land of Zuph" (1 Samuel 9:5). "This was the territory in
which Ramah was located."[7] It is assumed by most commentators that Samuel's
home town of Ramah was the city to which Saul and his servant came on this
journey; however, Keil denied this, pointing out that the text nowhere mentions
`Ramah,' also writing that, "What town it really was cannot be determined."[8] Keil
based his opinion upon the failure of the text specifically to mention the town's
name; but Payne gives an adequate reason for that omission. He stressed the artistry
of the narrator here and stated that, "The name `Ramah' was deliberately avoided,
because the narrator did not wish to give it away too soon that a meeting with
Samuel was about to take place."[9]
"All that he says comes true" (1 Samuel 9:6). "This was one of the two tests of a true
prophet; the other was that the teaching of the prophet must be in keeping with the
faith of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:21-22; 13:1-3)."[10]
"The fourth part of a shekel of silver" (1 Samuel 9:8). The silver shekels were
sometimes cut into halves or quarters; and a quarter of this coin, much more
valuable then than now, "Weighed approximately 2.5 grams, or one-tenth of an
ounce,"[11] of pure silver.
"He who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer" (1 Samuel 9:9). This
has nothing whatever to do with a late date for this narrative, because 1 Samuel 9:9
19

20. is freely admitted by all scholars to be a gloss, once a marginal comment that was
accidentally included in the text. "The word `prophet' is the older and established
word from the beginning of the O.T. to the end of it."[12]
Some writers have marveled that Saul's servant knew that a `man of God' was
available in that city, whereas Saul seemed to be totally ignorant of it. This is easily
explained. Saul and his servant were searching for lost animals, and there is no way
that they would have remained side by side walking together in such a search. They
would have separated in order to cover more area in their search.
Evidently, the servant had already encountered some of the citizens of that town
(very probably Ramah), who had told him of Samuel's recent arrival in Ramah. He
could hardly have known of `a man of God's' being there unless that had indeed
happened. Of course, Saul did not know that, so his servant told him. It is amazing
how often writers forget the abbreviated nature of such narratives as this.
6 But the servant replied, “Look, in this town
there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and
everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now.
Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.”
GILL, "And he said unto him,.... That is, the servant of Saul:
behold, now, there is in this city a man of God; a prophet of the Lord, as the
Targum; such were called men of God, because not only partakers of the grace of God,
but of extraordinary gifts, which qualified them for the office of prophets. The city near
to which they now were was Ramah, the place where Samuel lived, and he is the man of
God here meant:
and he is an honourable man; of great esteem among men for his wisdom and
knowledge, integrity and faithfulness, and particularly for his gift of prophecy, being a
20

21. true prophet of the Lord; so the Targum,"and he is a man that prophesies truth,''and
that made him honourable, and gave him great credit:
all that he saith cometh surely to pass; as his prophecies concerning Eli's family,
and other things, which were well known to have had their accomplishment, and this
had gained him universal esteem, see 1Sa_3:19,
now let us go thither; being very near it, within sight of it, insomuch that the servant
could point at it, and say "this city", as in the preceding part of the verse:
peradventure he can show us our way that we should go; to find the asses; he
was not certain he could or would, but thought it possible and probable he might.
HENRY 6-10, "3. His servant proposed (for, it should seem, he had more religion in
him than his master) that, since they were now at Ramah, they should call on Samuel,
and take his advice in this important affair. Observe here, (1.) They were close by the city
where Samuel lived, and that put it into their heads to consult him (1Sa_9:6): There is in
this city a man of God. Note, Wherever we are we should improve our opportunities of
acquainting ourselves with those that are wise and good. But there are many that will
consult a man of God, if he comes in their way, that would not go a step out of their way
to get wisdom. (2.) The servant spoke very respectfully concerning Samuel, though he
had not personal knowledge of him, but by common fame only: He is a man of God, and
an honourable man. Note, Men of God are honourable men, and should be so in our
eyes. Acquaintance with the things of God, and serviceableness to the kingdom of God,
put true honour upon men, and make them great. This was the honour of Samuel, as a
man of God, that all he saith comes surely to pass. This was observed concerning him
when he was a young prophet (1Sa_3:19), God did let none of his words fall to the
ground; and still it held true. (3.) They agreed to consult him concerning the way that
they should go; peradventure he can show us. All the use they would make of the man of
God was to be advised by him whether they should return home, or, if there were any
hopes of finding the asses, which way they must go next - a poor business to employ a
prophet about! Had they said, “Let us give up the asses for lost, and, now that we are so
near the man of God, let us go and learn from him the good knowledge of God, let us
consult him how we may order our conversations aright, and enquire the law at his
mouth, since we may not have such another opportunity, and then we shall not lose our
journey” - the proposal would have been such as became Israelites; but to make
prophecy, that glory of Israel, serve so mean a turn as this, discovered too much what
manner of spirit they were of. Note, Most people would rather be told their fortune than
told their duty, how to be rich than how to be saved. If it were the business of the men of
God to direct for the recovery of lost asses, they would be consulted much more than
they are now that it is their business to direct for the recovery of lost souls; so
preposterous is the care of most men! (4.) Saul was thoughtful what present they should
bring to the man of God, what fee they should give him for his advice (1Sa_9:7): What
shall we bring the man? They could not present him, as Jeroboam's wife did Ahijah,
with loaves and cakes (1Ki_14:3), for their bread was spent; but the servant bethought
himself that he had in his pocket the fourth part of a shekel, about seven-pence
halfpenny in value, and that he would give to the man of God to direct them, 1Sa_9:8.
“That will do,” says Saul; “let us go,” 1Sa_9:10. Some think that when Saul talked of
21

22. giving Samuel a fee he measured him by himself, or by his sons, as if he must be hired to
do an honest Israelite a kindness, and was like the false prophets, that divined for
money, Mic_3:11. He came to him as a fortune-teller, rather than as a prophet, and
therefore thought the fourth part of a shekel was enough to give him. But it rather seems
to be agreeable to the general usage of those times, as it is to natural equity, that those
who sowed spiritual things should reap not only eternal things from him that employs
them, but temporal things from those for whom they are employed. Samuel needed not
their money, nor would he have denied them his advice if they had not brought it (it is
probable, when he had it, he gave it to the por); but they brought it to him as a token of
their respect and the value they put upon his office; nor did he refuse it, for they were
able to give it, and, though it was but little, it was the widow's mite. But Saul, as he never
thought of going to the man of God till the servant proposed it, so, it should seem, he
mentioned the want of a present as an objection against their going; he would not own
that he had money in his pocket, but, when the servant generously offered to be at the
charge, then, “Well, said,” says Saul; “come, let us go.” Most people love a cheap religion,
and like it best when they can devolve the expense of it on others. (5.) The historian here
takes notice of the name then given to the prophets: they called them Seers, or seeing
men (1Sa_9:9), not but that the name prophet was then used, and applied to such
persons, but that of seers was more in use. Note, Those that are prophets must first be
seers; those who undertake to speak to others of the things of God must have an insight
into those things themselves.
JAMISON, "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.
K&D, "1Sa_9:6
When Saul proposed to return home from the land of Zuph, his servant said to him,
“Behold, in this city ('this,' referring to the town which stood in front of them upon a
hill) is a man of God, much honoured; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now we
will go thither; perhaps he will tell us our way that we have to go” (lit. have gone, and
still go, sc., to attain the object of our journey, viz., to find the asses). The name of this
town is not mentioned either here or in the further course of this history. Nearly all the
commentators suppose it to have been Ramah, Samuel's home. But this assumption has
no foundation at all in the text, and is irreconcilable with the statements respecting the
return in 1Sa_10:2-5. The servant did not say there dwells in this city, but there is in this
city (1Sa_9:6; comp. with this 1Sa_9:10, “They went into the city where the man of God
was,” not “dwelt”). It is still more evident, from the answer given by the drawers of
water, when Saul asked them, “Is the seer here?” (1Sa_9:11), - viz., “He came to-day to
the city, for the people have a great sacrifice upon the high place” (1Sa_9:12), - that the
seer (Samuel) did not live in the town, but had only come thither to a sacrificial festival.
22

23. Moreover, “every impartial man will admit, that the fact of Samuel's having honoured
Saul as his guest at the sacrificial meal of those who participated in the sacrifice, and of
their having slept under the same roof, cannot possibly weaken the impression that
Samuel was only there in his peculiar and official capacity. It could not be otherwise than
that the presidency should be assigned to him at the feast itself as priest and prophet,
and therefore that the appointments mentioned should proceed from him. And it is but
natural to assume that he had a house at his command for any repetition of such
sacrifices, which we find from 2 Kings 4 to have been the case in the history of Elisha”
(Valentiner). And lastly, the sacrificial festival itself does not point to Ramah; for
although Samuel had built an altar to the Lord at Ramah (1Sa_7:17), this was by no
means the only place of sacrifice in the nation. If Samuel offered sacrifice at Mizpeh and
Gilgal (1Sa_7:9; 1Sa_10:8; 1Sa_13:8.), he could also do the same at other places. What
the town really was in which Saul met with him, cannot indeed be determined, since all
that we can gather from 1Sa_10:2, is, that it was situated on the south-west of
Bethlehem.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:6
In this city. Probably Ramathaim-zophim, i.e. Ramah, Samuel’s dwelling place and
property. Confessedly, however, Saul’s route hither and thither in search of lost cattle is
very obscure, and it is difficult to reconcile this identification with the statement in 1Sa_
10:2, that Rachel’s sepulchre lay on the route between this city and Gibeah of Saul.
Nevertheless, Ramah was certainly in the land of Zuph, whence too it took its longer
name (see on 1Sa_1:1); and it is remarkable that Jeremiah (1Sa_31:1-13:15) describes
Rachel’s weeping as being heard in Ramah. It seems extraordinary that Saul should have
known nothing of Israel’s chief ruler, and that his servant was acquainted with him only
in his lower capacity as a person to be consulted in private difficulties. He describes him,
nevertheless, as an honourable man, or, more literally, an honoured man, one held in
honour.
BENSON, "1 Samuel 9:6. A man of God and an honourable man — One of great
reputation for his skill and faithfulness. Acquaintance with God and serviceableness
to the kingdom of God make men truly honourable. He can show us our way — The
course we should take to find the asses. He saith peradventure, because he doubted
whether so great a prophet would seek, or God would grant him, a revelation
concerning such mean matters; although sometimes God was pleased herein to
condescend to his people, to cut off all pretence or occasion of their seeking to
heathenish divination/
ELLICOTT, " (6) A man of God.—When Saul determined to give up the search for
his father’s asses, he was in the neigh. bourhood of the city of Samuel the seer—
“Raman of the Watchers.” The servant points out to him the tower of the then
famous residence of the seer and judge, Samuel. “Will you not ask him,” suggests
the servant, “about the missing beasts?”—the young countryman, in the simplicity
23

24. of his heart, thinking the occasion of the loss of his master’s asses a sufficient one to
warrant an intrusion upon the prophet-judge of Israel. The relation, however,
between Samuel and the people must have been of a very close and friendly nature,
else it would never have occurred, even to a simple countryman—as probably then
Saul’s servant was—to have sought the advice of one so great as Samuel in such a
matter. It says, too, much for the old prophet’s kindly, unselfish disposition that his
name was thus loved and honoured, even in the secluded farms of the Land of
Promise.
An honourable man.—Better rendered, one held in honour.
TRAPP, "1 Samuel 9:6 And he said unto him, Behold now, [there is] in this city a
man of God, and [he is] an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass:
now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.
Ver. 6. A man of God.] A prophet: this title is also given to ministers of the gospel. [2
Timothy 3:16-17]
And he is an honourable man.] Any relation to God ennobleth, and must be highly
esteemed. King Zedekiah is blamed for not humbling himself before Jeremiah the
prophet, [2 Chronicles 36:12] who was "precious in God’s sight," and therefore
"honourable." [Isaiah 43:4]
Peradventure he can show us our way.] Tell us whether we shall, and where we may
find our lost asses. So low did the high God stoop sometimes to his people’s
meanness: to keep them from seeking to sorcerers and idol priests. [1 Kings 14:2 2
Kings 1:3]
BI 6-10, "And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God.
Saul brought to Samuel
God’s Providence is a wonderful scheme; a web of many threads, woven with marvellous
skill. The meeting of two convicts in an Egyptian prison is a vital link in the chain of
events that makes Joseph governor of Egypt; a young lady coming to bathe in the river
preserves the life of Moses, and secures the escape of the Israelites; the thoughtful
regard of a father for the comfort of his sons in the army brings David into contact with
Goliath, and prepares the way for his elevation to the throne; the beauty of a Hebrew girl
fascinating a Persian king saves the whole Hebrew race from massacre and
extermination. So in the passage now before us. The straying of some asses from the
pastures of a Hebrew farmer brings together the two men, of whom the one was the old
ruler, and the other was to be the new ruler of Israel, But of all the actors in the drama,
not one ever feels that his freedom is in any way interfered with. All of them are at
perfect liberty to follow the course that commends itself to their own minds. Thus
wonderfully do the two things go together—Divine ordination and human freedom. How
it should be so, it baffles us to explain. But that it is so, must be obvious to every
24

25. thoughtful mind. It seemed desirable that in the first king of Israel, two classes of
qualities should be united, in some degree contradictory to one another. First, he must
possess some of the qualities for which the people desire to have a king; while at the
same time, from God’s point of view, it is desirable that under him the people should
have some taste of the evils which Samuel had said would follow from their choice. It
was his servant that knew about, Samuel, and that told Saul of his being in the city, in
the land of Zuph (1Sa_9:6). This cannot but strike us as very strange. We should have
thought that the name of Samuel would have been as familiar to all the people of Israel
as that of Queen Victoria to the people of Great Britain. But Saul does not appear to have
heard it, as in any way remarkable. Does not this indicate a family living entirely outside
of all religious connections, entirely immersed in secular things, hearing nothing about
godly people, and hardly ever even pronouncing their name? It is singular how utterly
ignorant worldly men are of what passes in religious circles, if they happen to have no
near relative or familiar acquaintance in the religious world to carry the news to them
from time to time. And as Saul thus lived outside of all religious circles, so he seems to
have been entirely wanting in that great quality which was needed for a king of Israel—
loyalty to the Heavenly King. Here it was that the difference between him and Samuel
was so great. Loyalty to God and to God’s nation was the very foundation of Samuel’s
life. Anything like self-seeking was unknown to him. It, was this that gave such solidity
to Samuel’s character, and made him so invaluable to his people. In every sphere of life it
is a precious quality. But in these high qualities Saul seems to have been altogether
wanting. It was not the superficial qualities of Saul that would be a blessing to the
nation. It was not a man out of all spiritual sympathy with the living God that would
raise the standing of Israel among the kingdoms around, and bring them the submission
and respect of foreign kings. The intense and consistent godliness of Samuel was
probably the quality that was not popular among the people. In the worldliness of his
spirit, Saul was probably more to their liking. Yet it was this unworldly but godly Samuel
that had delivered them from the bitter yoke of the Philistines, and it was this handsome
but unspiritual Saul that was to bring them again into bondage to their ancient foes. This
was the sad lesson to be learned from the reign of Saul. But let us now come to the
circumstances that led to the meeting of Saul and Samuel. The asses of Kish had strayed.
From this part of the narrative we may derive two great lessons, the one with reference
to God, and the other with reference to man.
1. As it regards God, we cannot but see how silently, secretly, often slowly, yet surely,
He accomplishes His purposes. There are certain rivers in nature that flow so gently,
that when looking at the water only, the eye of the spectator is unable to discern any
movement at all. Often the ways of God resemble such riverses Looking at what is
going on in common life, it is so ordinary, so absolutely quiet, that you can see no
trace whatever of any Divine plan. And yet, all the while, the most insignificant of
them is contributing towards the accomplishment of the mighty plans of God. Men
may be instruments in God’s hands without knowing it. When Cyrus was moving his
armies towards Babylon he little knew that he was accomplishing the Divine purpose
for the humbling of the oppressor and the deliverance of His oppressed people. And
in all the events of common life, men seem to be so completely their own masters,
there seems such a want of any influence from without, that God is liable to slip
entirely out of sight. And yet, as we see from the chapter before us, God is really at
work.
2. But again, there is a useful lesson in this chapter for directing the conduct of men.
You see in what direction the mind of Saul’s servant moved for guidance in the day of
25

26. difficulty. It, was toward the servant of God. And you see likewise how, when Saul
and he had determined to consult the man of God, they were providentially guided to
him. To us, the way is open to God Himself, without the intervention of any prophet.
Let us in every time of trouble seek access to God. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
Saul among the prophets
The threads of our daily life often appear to be either loose and unrelated or hopelessly
entangled. At times we seem to have nothing to do with each other. We go on our
separate ways, It is only now and then that we find lines touching each other. A man
climbs a hill that he may in solitude revel in the delights of the landscape, and, lo, a little
child meets him there, and the supposed accident is the turning point in his life. A
traveller turns aside that he may drink of the well by the way, and, behold, the stranger
who was there before him, and who would have gone in one moment more, becomes the
chief joy of his life, the ruler of his fortunes, the sovereign of his destiny. Thus our life is
a mystery; we are strangers, yet friends. We live for many years apart, and by-and-by
there comes a moment which unites us in holy confidence, giving all mysteries a
meaning, and showing all difficulties to be but steps up to heaven. I have been led into
this strain of animating, yet tranquillising, reflection by the circumstances in connection
with which the text is found. The asses were lost, what then? Who cares? Yet out of this
simple circumstance there may arise events which shall startle the most indifferent
reader. The asses being lost, Kish commanded his son Saul to take with him a servant,
and go in pursuit. The filial spirit never sees anything contemptible in the paternal
desire. Men should rule their lives not by the insignificance of the service, but by the
sublimity of the one Ruler in whose hands are the laws and destinies of life. Saul might
have looked at the object alone; instead of that he looked at his father, in that look we
find the secret of his obedience and alacrity. When the disciples went to seek the ass for
Jesus Christ, they thought not of the meanness of the duty, but of the dignity of the
Master. In this verse there is nothing but the hollow sound of repeated disappointment.
It emphatically describes the negative side of life. There are men today who are repeating
this experience with most painful faithfulness. Go whither they may they find not the
object of their pursuit. They climb the hill of difficulty, and, behold, their errand is lost.
Many of us may be said to be within the limits of this dreary verse today. Life is to us
hollow, empty, and mocking. The lifting up of our hand doth but bring us weariness, and
the putting forth of our strength only adds to the vexation of our spirit Is there not a
meaning in all this? Is it possible that God can be taking any man along so painful and
barren a road to an end which shall bring elevation and gladness? The road to honour is
often long and hard. Men have to endure the discipline of disappointment before they
can bear the reward of success. The great advantage of having a man of God in every city!
The man of God makes his influence felt for good, and becomes honoured and trusted in
matters which are not strictly religious. Two travellers have lost their way, and, behold,
they inquire of a man of God! A very beautiful image is this of the position of Samuel.
What is the vocation of the man of God? It is to tell other men their way! All men are
morally lost; the man of God points out the way of recovery: all men are in intellectual
confusion by reason of their moral depravity; the man of God shows the way to the light!
As ministers of the Gospel we are appointed to tell men the way. This, too, is the
appointment of heads of houses, conductors of educational institutions, and those who
mould and lead the sentiment of the times. Saul was a gentleman, every whit! Eastern
customs aside altogether, there was a vein of gentlemanliness in the nature of Saul. He
26

27. was about to ask a favour, but a preliminary question arose in his mind. Absurd indeed
is the idea of giving anything to the man of God for his services! George Whitefield,
when he had but a cow-heel for dinner, would have the frugal meal set out with as much
care as if it had been a banquet. There are two ways of doing everything. It was but little
that Saul had to give, yet he gave it of his own free will, and with all the grace of a natural
king. We are not to pay mere prices for knowledge and direction in life; we are to give
gifts of the heart,—such donations as are inspired by our love, though they may be
limited by our poverty. It should be noted that this little arrangement was made before
the lost travellers went into the presence of Samuel. It came of the spontaneous motion
of their own hearts. The question was not, What dost thou charge? What shall we give
thee? But a plan was laid beforehand, and Samuel was not subjected to the indignity of a
commercial inquiry. Christian churches might learn a great lesson from this example.
Modern gentlemen may learn something from the ancient aristocracy. A wonderful
kingdom is the kingdom of God! Though Samuel had before him the future king of
Israel, and he himself was about to be deposed from his own supremacy, yet he
communicated to Saul intelligence of the lost asses! Doth anything escape the care of
God? Doth not God care for oxen? Doth a sparrow fall to the ground without our
Father’s notice? If we give the great concerns of our life into the hands of God, nothing
that belongs to us shall be accounted unworthy of His notice. A man should inquire what
background he has when a voice like Samuel’s sounds in his ear. Saul was informed that
on him was set all the desire of Israel: under such an announcement it was natural and
proper that he should look to his antecedents, that, so to speak, he should gather himself
up, and take correct measure of his manhood. A word of caution must be spoken here.
Inquiry into our antecedents and resources should never be made with a fear of evading
duty and difficulty. A very subtle temptation assails us from this side. Spurious modesty
may reduce to the uttermost poverty and insufficiency, in order that by so doing it may
lure us from paths of difficulty and hard service. When humility is saved from
degenerating into fear, it becomes a source of strength. Moses complained that he was a
man of slow speech; he desired that God would send His word by some other messenger,
because of his incapacity and unworthiness. Jeremiah urged in response to the call of
God, that he was but a little child. Saul declared that he was of the smallest of the tribes
of Israel, and sought to escape the duty of the hour through a sense of personal
inadequacy to fulfil its demands. There is a medium between spurious self-depreciation
and presumptuous boastfulness. That medium is reliance upon the sufficiency of God.
Whom God calls He also qualifies. Observe, not increased intelligence, not additional
personal stature, not any outward sign and proof that he was elected to be king of Israel;
God gave him another heart. The question of life is often a question of feeling. What you
want is another heart. Your life requires to be sob on fire with the love of God. “With the
heart man believeth unto righteousness.” “Son, give me thine heart!” Thou wilt be saved
because thou hast cast thy whole heart at the feet of the Saviour of the world, who came
to teach men the love of God. The cry arose amongst the people, “Is Saul also among the
prophets?” We may, by increasing our devotion, by multiplying our beneficent labours,
by courageous service in the kingdom of God, excite a surprise which shall indicate that
we are no longer amongst those who live only for this world, “whose god is their belly,
and who glory in their shame.” (J. Parker, D. D.)
27

28. 7 Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we
give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We
have no gift to take to the man of God. What do
we have?”
BARNES, "Presents of bread or meat were as common as presents of money.
(Compare Eze_13:19; Hos_3:2.)
CLARKE, "There is not a present to bring to the man of God - We are not to
suppose from this that the prophets took money to predict future events: Saul only
refers to an invariable custom, that no man approached a superior without a present of
some kind or other. We have often seen this before; even God, who needs nothing, would
not that his people should approach him with empty hands. “It is very common in
Bengal for a person, who is desirous of asking a favor from a superior, to take a present
of fruits or sweetmeats in his hand. If not accepted, the feelings of the offerer are greatly
wounded. The making of presents to appease a superior is also very common in
Bengal.” - Ward’s Customs.
GILL, "Then Saul said to his servant, but behold, if we go,.... The Targum is,"if
he receives money,''which it seems Saul was not clear in; some sort of persons that set up
for prophets, and a sort of diviners and fortune tellers, did; but he could not tell whether
so eminent and honourable a person as Samuel was, did; in as much he was not better
known by him, who had been so many years a judge in Israel:
what shall we bring the man? it being usual, when persons addressed great men for
a favour, to carry a present with them; or a man of God, a prophet of the Lord, to inquire
of the Lord by him concerning any thing, see 1Ki_14:2,
for the bread is spent in our vessels; the food they brought with them in their bags
or scrips for their journey, this was all exhausted; not that he meant by it, that if they
had had any quantity, they might present it to the man of God, though yet sometimes
such things were done, as the instances before referred to show; but that since their
28

29. stock of bread was gone, what money they had, if they had any, must be spent in
recruiting themselves, and therefore could have none to spare to give to the man:
and there is not a present to bring to the man of God; neither bread nor money,
without which he seems to intimate it would be to no purpose to go to him:
what have we? Saul knew he had none, he had spent what he brought out, with him for
the journey, and he put this question to try what his servant had; unless it can be
supposed it was the custom now, as afterwards among the Romans (b), for servants to
carry the purse, and as it was with the Jews in Christ's time, Joh_12:6 though this may
have respect not to a price of divination, but to the common custom in eastern countries,
and which continues to this day with the Turks, who reckon it uncivil to visit any person,
whether in authority, or an inferior person, without a present; and even the latter are
seldom visited without presenting a flower, or an orange, and some token of respect to
the person visited (c).
JAMISON, "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.
K&D 7-8, "1Sa_9:7-8
Saul's objection, that they had no present to bring to the man of God, as the bread was
gone from their vessels, was met by the servant with the remark, that he had a quarter of
a shekel which he would give.
BENSON, "1 Samuel 9:7-8. Behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man — It was
a part of the honour they did great men, in those countries, to make them a present
when they had occasion to address themselves to them. Particularly their prophets
were thus honoured; being men of God, before whom they judged they ought not to
appear empty, but to bring them presents, either as a testimony of respect, or as a
grateful acknowledgment, or for the support of the prophets themselves, or of the
sons of the prophets, or of other persons in want known to them. Thus, also, it was
usual to show their respect to their king, 1 Samuel 10:27. The fourth part of a shekel
of silver — A small present, but as acceptable as the widow’s mite, being all they
had left on their journey.
COKE, "1 Samuel 9:7. But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man?— Such
29

30. as are prejudiced against the sacred history, and unacquainted with eastern
customs, may be ready, from the donations to the prophets, to imagine that they
were a mercenary set of people, and rudely to rank them with cunning men and
fortune-tellers, who will not from principles of benevolence reveal those secrets, or
foretel those future events, of the perfect knowledge of which they are supposed to
be possessed, without demanding of the anxious inquirer a large reward. This,
however, will make impressions on none but those who know not the Oriental
usages, which Maundrell long since applied with such clearness and force to the
present passage, that he has sufficiently satisfied my mind upon this point. I shall
first give Maundrell's words, and then add a few remarks of my own. "Thursday,
March 11. This day we all dined at Consul Hastings' house, and after dinner went to
wait upon Ostan, the bassa of Tripoli, having first sent our present, as the manner is
among the Turks, to procure a propitious reception. It is counted uncivil to visit in
this country without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a kind of tribute
due to their character and authority, and look upon themselves as affronted, and
even defrauded, when this compliment is omitted. Even in familiar visits amongst
inferior people, you shall seldom have them come without bringing a flower, or an
orange, or some other such token of their respect to the person visited; the Turks in
this point keeping up to the ancient Oriental custom, hinted 1 Samuel 9:7. If we go
(says Saul), what shall we bring the man of God? there is not a present, &c. which
words are questionless to be understood in conformity to this eastern custom, as
relating to a token of respect, and not a price of Divination." See Journey from
Aleppo, p. 26. Maundrell does not tell us what the present was which they made
Ostan. It will be more entirely satisfying then to the mind to observe, that in the
East they not only universally send before them a present, or carry one with them,
especially when they visit superiors, either civil or ecclesiastical; but that this
present is frequently a piece of money, and that of no very great value. So Bishop
Pococke tells us, that he presented an Arab sheik of an illustrious descent, on whom
he waited, and who attended him to the ancient Hierapolis, with a piece of money
which he was told he expected; and that in Egypt an aga being dissatisfied with the
present he made him, he sent for the bishop's servant, and told him, that he ought to
have given him a piece of cloth; and if he had none, two sequins, worth about a
guinea, must be brought to him, otherwise he should see him no more: with which
demand he complied. In the one case a piece of money was expected, in the other
two sequins demanded. A trifling present of money to a person of distinction among
us would be an affront: it is not so, it seems, in the East. Agreeably to these accounts
of Dr. Pococke, we are told in the Travels of Egmont and Heyman, that the well of
Joseph in the castle of Cairo was not to be seen without leave from the commandant;
which having obtained, they in return presented him with a sequin. See
30

31. Observations, p. 233.
ELLICOTT, "(7) What shall we bring?—It would seem at first strange that one like
Samuel should be approached by presents, but the custom of offering gifts was in
many cases an act of respectful homage to a superior rather than a mere fee.
Compare, for instance, the many detailed accounts of presents offered and accepted,
chronicled in the varied sacred records—such as the little present of spicery, &c,
sent by Jacob to the great minister or vizier of the Pharaoh of Egypt (Genesis 43:11),
and the ten cheeses Jesse gave to the captain of the thousand in which his sons were
serving, and in the days of the highest civilisation and culture known in Israel, the
gifts offered by the Queen of Sheba to the magnificent Solomon (1 Kings 10:10).
TRAPP, "1 Samuel 9:7 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?
Ver. 7. What shall we bring the man?] q.d., Incivile esset sine honorario eum
accedere antea ignotum: It would be no good manners to go empty handed. See 1
Kings 14:3, 2 Kings 4:42, and learn to show all thankful respects to God’s faithful
ministers. But the word and the world is now altered. Once it was, What shall we
bring the man? what have we? Now it is, What shall we take, or keep back from the
man? and to rob a minister, is held neither sin nor pity.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:7
The bread is spent in our vessels. In the East a great man is always approached
with a present, and offerings of food were no doubt the most usual gifts (1Sa_16:20).
Those made to the false prophets are contemptuously described in Eze_13:19 as
"handfuls of barley and pieces of bread." A present. The word is rare, and apparently is
the technical name for a fee of this kind, half payment and half gift.
8 The servant answered him again. “Look,” he
said, “I have a quarter of a shekel[a] of silver. I
will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us
what way to take.”
31

32. BARNES, The fourth part of a shekel - In value about sixpence. Probably the
shekel, like our early English silver coins, was divided into four quarters by a cross, and
actually subdivided, when required, into half and quarter shekels.
CLARKE, "The fourth part of a shekel of silver - We find from the preceding
verse, that the bread or provisions which they had brought with them for their journey
was expended, else a part of that would have been thought a suitable present; and here
the fourth part of a shekel of silver, about ninepence of our money, was deemed
sufficient: therefore the present was intended more as a token of respect than as an
emolument.
GILL, "And the servant answered Saul again, and said,.... As he had answered
him before, when Saul proposed to return home, by telling him there was an honourable
man of God in the city near at hand, that might possibly be able to direct them which
way they should go to find the asses: so he answers him again with respect to the present
it was proper to carry with them, and what he had in his hands to make:
behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: a "zuze" of
silver, as the Targum, four of which made a shekel, about seven pence halfpenny of our
money, and scarce so much:
that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way; that they should go to find
the asses: which he would give him very freely for that purpose: both Saul and his
servant must entertain a mean opinion of prophets, and men of God, and especially of so
great a man as Samuel, that he should be employed at any time in directing persons in
such cases, and take money for so doing, and so small a gratuity as this before
mentioned; though it seems as if, at some times, something of this kind was done by
prophets, and men of God, which might be permitted to keep the people from going to
diviners and soothsayers.
JAMISON, "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.
TRAPP, "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
32

33. God, to tell us our way.
Ver. 8. Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel.] That was but a little,
to the value of about our fivepence. But they knew that thankfulness was not to be
measured of good men by the weight, but by the will of the retributor. That Persian
monarch took in good part a handful of water presented to him by a poor peasant
his subject, who had no better. Queen Elizabeth cheerfully received nosegays, {A
bunch of flowers or herbs, esp. sweet-smelling flowers; a bouquet, a posy.} flowers,
rosemary, from mean persons. Two mites from that poor widow went farther than
two millions from some others.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:8
The fourth part of a shekel. Apparently the shekel, roughly stamped, was divided
into four quarters by a cross, and broken when needed. What was its proportionate value
in Samuel’s days we cannot tell, for silver was rare; but in size it would be somewhat
bigger than a sixpence, and would be a very large fee, while the bread would have been a
small one. It very well marks the eagerness of the servant that he is ready to part with
the considerable sum of money in his possession in order to consult the seer. The whole
conversation is given in a very lively and natural manner.
9 (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire
of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the
seer,” because the prophet of today used to be
called a seer.)
BARNES, "This is manifestly a gloss inserted in the older narrative by the later editor
of the sacred text, to explain the use of the term in 1Sa_9:11, 1Sa_9:18-19. It is one
among many instances which prove how the very letter of the contemporary narratives
was preserved by those who in later times compiled the histories. We cannot say exactly
33

34. when the term “seer” became obsolete. See the marginal references.
CLARKE, "Beforetime in Israel - This passage could not have been a part of this
book originally: but we have already conjectured that Samuel, or some contemporary
author, wrote the memoranda, out of which a later author compiled this book. This
hypothesis, sufficiently reasonable in itself, solves all difficulties of this kind.
Was beforetime called a seer - The word seer, ‫ראה‬ roeh, occurs for the first time
in this place; it literally signifies a person who Sees; particularly preternatural sights. A
seer and a prophet were the same in most cases; only with this difference, the seer was
always a prophet, but the prophet was not always a seer. A seer seems to imply one who
frequently met with, and saw, some symbolical representation of God. The term prophet
was used a long time before this; Abraham is called a prophet, Gen_20:7, and the term
frequently occurs in the law. Besides, the word seer does not occur before this time; but
often occurs afterwards down through the prophets, for more than three hundred years.
See Amo_7:12; Mic_3:7.
All prophets, false and true, profess to see God; see the case of Balaam, Num_24:4,
Num_24:16, and Jer_14:14. All diviners, in their enthusiastic flights, boasted that they
had those things exhibited to their sight which should come to pass. There is a
remarkable account in Virgil which may serve as a specimen of the whole; the Sibyl
professes to be a seer: -
- Bella, horrida bella,
Et Tyberim molto spumantem sanguine
Cerno. Aen. lib. vi., ver. 86.
Wars, horrid wars, I View; a field of blood;
And Tyber rolling with a purple flood.
I think the 9th verse comes more naturally in after the 11th.
GILL, "Before time in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God,.... To ask
doctrine of him, as the Targum, to be taught by him, to have his mind and will in any
affair of moment and importance; which was usually done by applying to some man of
God, eminent for grace and piety, and a spirit of prophecy:
thus he spake, come, and let us go to the seer; a man used to say to his friend,
when he wanted some instruction or direction, let us go together to such an one, the
seer, and ask counsel of him what is proper to be done in such an affair:
for he that is now called a prophet was before called a seer; for though these
names are used freely of the same persons, both before and after this time; yet now the
more common appellation which obtained was that of a prophet; custom, and the use of
language, varied at different times, though the same was meant by the one and the other;
such men were called seers, because of the vision of prophecy, because they saw or
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35. foresaw things to come; and they were called prophets, because they foretold what they
saw, or delivered out their predictions by word of mouth. This verse is put in a
parenthesis, and is commonly supposed to be the words of the writer of this book: hence
some draw an argument against Samuel being the writer of it, as Abarbinel does, who
concludes from hence that it was written by Jeremiah, or some other person long after
Samuel, or that this verse was added by Ezra; but as this book might be written by
Samuel in the latter part of his life, he might with propriety observe this, that in his
younger time, and quite down to the anointing of Saul king, both when there was no
open vision, and afterwards when there was scarce any that had it but himself, he was
used to be called the seer; but in his latter days, when there were many that had the
vision of prophecy, and there were schools set up, it was more common to call them
prophets; though perhaps these are the words of Saul's servant, spoken to encourage
Saul to go to the man of God, and inquire of him, since in former times, as he could
remember, being perhaps an old servant, or he had heard his parents so say, that such
men used to be called seers, because they saw what others did not, and declared and
made others to see what they did; and therefore there was a probability that this man of
God, who was a seer, might show them the way they should go to find the asses.
JAMISON, "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.
BENSON, "1 Samuel 9:9. Come, let us go to the seer — So termed, because he
discerned and could discover things secret and unknown to others. And these are
the words, either of some later sacred writer, who, after Samuel’s death, inserted
this verse, or of Samuel, who, being probably fifty or sixty years old at the time of
writing this book, and speaking of the state of things in his first days, might well call
it before time.
ELLICOTT, "(9) Beforetime in Israel.—This verse was evidently inserted in the
original book of memoirs of the days of Samuel by a later hand. Three special words
are found in the Divine writings for the inspired messengers or interpreters of the
Eternal wilt; of these, the title seer (roeh) was the most ancient. It is the title,
evidently, by which Samuel in his lifetime was generally known. “Is the seer here?”
we read in this passage; and “Where is the seer’s house?” and “I am the seer.” As
time passed on, the term, in the sense of an inspired man of God, became obsolete,
and the word chozeh, “a gazer.” on strange visions, seemed to have been the word
used for one inspired. The title nabi—prophet—began to come into common use in
the time of Samuel, to whom the term is not unfrequently applied. The word nabi,
or prophet, is found in nearly all the Old Testament books, from Genesis to
Malachi, though rarely in the earlier writings. This note was inserted by some scribe
who lived comparatively later (perhaps in the time of Ezra), but who must have
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36. been a reviser of the sacred text of very high authority, as this “note” has come
down to us as an integral part of the received Hebrew text. The reason of the
insertion is obvious. The title roeh—seer—as time passed on, no longer belonged
exclusively to “a man of God.” The scribe who put in this expression was desirous of
pointing out that when Samuel lived it was the word always used for a prophet of
the Lord. In those early days it had not deteriorated in meaning.
TRAPP, "1 Samuel 9:9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire 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.)
Ver. 9. Beforetime in Israel.] Of old, Antiquitus. Such was the piety of the people in
the purer times, as Genesis 25:22.
Come, and let us go to the seer.] The man whose eyes are open to see God and his
visions as clearly, and as certainly, as if he had seen them with his eyes. [1 Peter
1:12]
K&D, "1Sa_9:9-10
Before proceeding with the further progress of the affair, the historian introduces a
notice, which was required to throw light upon what follows; namely, that beforetime, if
any one wished to inquire of God, i.e., to apply to a prophet for counsel from God upon
any matter, it was customary in Israel to say, We will go to the seer, because “he that is
now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer.” After this parenthetical remark, the
account is continued in 1Sa_9:10. Saul declared himself satisfied with the answer of the
servant; and they both went into the town, to ask the man of God about the asses that
were lost.
PULPIT, "1Sa_9:9
Beforetime, etc. This verse is evidently a gloss, written originally by some later hand in
the margin, in order to explain the word used for seer in 1Sa_9:11, 1Sa_9:18, 1Sa_9:19.
Inserted here in the text it interrupts the narrative, and is itself somewhat
incomprehensible. The Septuagint offers a very probable reading, namely, "for the
people in old time used to call the prophet a seer," i.e. it was a word used chiefly by the
common people. Prophet, nabi, is really the older and established word from the
beginning of the Old Testament to the end. The word roeh, used in this place for seer, is
comparatively rare, as a popular word would be in written compositions. It refers to that
which is seen by the ordinary sight, to waking vision (see on 1Sa_3:1, 1Sa_3:10), whereas
the other word for seer, chozeh, refers to ecstatic vision. Roeh is used by Isaiah, 1Sa_
30:10, apparently in much the same sense as here, of those whom the people consulted
in their difficulties, and they might be true prophets as Samuel was, or mere pretenders
to occult powers. The present narrative makes it plain that roeh was used in a good sense
in Samuel’s days; but gradually it became degraded, and while chozeh became the
respectful word for a prophet, roeh became the contrary. Another conclusion also
follows. We have seen that there are various indications that the Books of Samuel in
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37. their present state are later than his days. Here, on the contrary, we have a narrative
couched in the very language of his times; for the writer of the gloss contained in this
verse was displeased at Samuel being called a roeh, but did not dare to alter it, though
taking care to note that it was equivalent in those days to calling him a nabi.
10 “Good,” Saul said to his servant. “Come, let’s
go.” So they set out for the town where the man of
God was.
GILL, "Then said Saul to his servant, well said,.... Or "good is thy word" (d), thou
hast well spoken; it is a good proposal thou hast made, and thou art very generous to
give all thou hast to the man; and very promising it is, that since he is a seer he may
inform us where the asses are, or which way we must take to find them. Things look
feasible enough:
come, let us go: to the city, and to the man of God there, and hear what he will say to
us, and what information he will give us:
so they went unto the city where the man of God was; to Ramah, where Samuel
dwelt.
ELLICOTT, "(10) Unto the city.—The name of the city where Samuel and Saul first
met in this strange way is not given. Still, the impression which the narrative leaves
on the mind is that it was Samuel’s usual residence—“Ramah.” We know Samuel
had built an altar to the Lord at Ramah (1 Samuel 7:17); on the day of Saul’s
arrival there was a great sacrifice taking place on the altar of the high place of the
city. Again, in this nameless city the seer had a house of his own (see 1 Samuel 9:18;
1 Samuel 9:25). Samuel, too, was known to Saul’s servant as dwelling in this place.
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