1 Samuel 9:22

22 Samuel took Saul and his attendant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the 30^[a] or so men who had been invited.

1 Samuel 9:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:22

And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into
the parlour
The dining room of the house, which belonged to the high place:

and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden;
and who very probably were the principal persons in the city; and yet Saul was placed at the head of them by Samuel, to convince him that what he had said to him was in earnest, and to do him honour before all the people; and for the sake of him, and to show his respect to him, he placed his servant; his minister, also in the chief place with him; what was reckoned the highest and most honourable places at table, (See Gill on Matthew 23:6). The guests were placed by the master of the feast according to their rank; and the dignity of the person, as Jarchi observes, was known by his manners and place of sitting:

which were about thirty persons;
more or less; Josephus ^F14 says seventy, disagreeing with the text, the Targum, Syriac and Arabic versions, but agreeing with the Septuagint.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F14 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.

1 Samuel 9:22 In-Context

20 As for the donkeys that wandered away from you three days ago, don't worry about them because they've been found. And who does all Israel desire but you and all your father's family?"

21 Saul responded, "Am I not a Benjaminite from the smallest of Israel's tribes and isn't my clan the least important of all the clans of the Benjaminite tribe? So why have you said something like this to me?"

22 Samuel took Saul and his attendant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the 30 or so men who had been invited.

23 Then Samuel said to the cook, "Get the portion of meat that I gave you and told you to set aside."

24 The cook picked up the thigh and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, "Notice that the reserved piece is set before you. Eat it because it was saved for you for this solemn event at the time I said, 'I've invited the people.' " So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX reads 70