1 Samuele 11:5

5 Or ecco, Saulle se ne veniva da’ campi, dietro a’ suoi buoi, e disse: Che ha il popolo, ch’egli piange? E le parole di que’ di Iabes gli furono raccontate.

1 Samuele 11:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 11:5

And, behold, Saul came after the herd out the field
Where he had been to look after the and take care of them, and see what condition they were in, and followed them on their return home; for though he was elected king, he was not inaugurated, and did not take upon him any state; and being despised by some, and no provision as yet made for his support and maintenance as a king, and no business as such for him to do, Samuel still acting in his office, he returned to his father's house, and employed himself in rustic affairs, as he used to do: though some think this was casual, that he had been in the field to recreate himself, or to meditate on the affairs of government, and happened to return just as the herd came out of the field, and so followed them; thus Jarchi interprets it not of his coming after the herd, but of his coming after the fixed and usual time of the herd's coming out of the field; but Josephus ^F18 is clear for it, that he had been about some rustic business, some part of husbandry in the field, and returned to the city; nor has it been unusual for emperors and kings, and persons in high offices among Greeks and Romans, and other nations, in times of peace, to employ themselves in husbandry; so did the judges of Israel, as Shamgar, and Gideon, and Boaz, ( Judges 3:31 ) ( 6:11 ) ( Ruth 3:2 ) so Quinctius Cincinnatus being taken from the plough and made dictator, after he had conquered his enemies, returned to his husbandry ^F19:

and Saul said, what aileth the people, that they weep?
he supposed some evil had befallen them, and desired to know what it was, that, if it lay in his power to help them, he might:

and they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh;
the message they brought, and the account they gave of the distressed case of their city.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 5.) sect. 2.
F19 Flor. Hist. Roman. l. 1. c. 11. Aurel. Victor. de Vir. Illustr. c. 20. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 11.

1 Samuele 11:5 In-Context

3 E gli Anziani di Iabes gli dissero: Concedici tregua di sette giorni, acciocchè noi mandiamo messi per tutte le contrade d’Israele; e se niuno ci libera, noi usciremo fuori a te.

4 I messi adunque vennero in Ghibea di Saulle, e dissero quelle parole in presenza del popolo. E tutto il popolo alzò la voce e pianse.

5 Or ecco, Saulle se ne veniva da’ campi, dietro a’ suoi buoi, e disse: Che ha il popolo, ch’egli piange? E le parole di que’ di Iabes gli furono raccontate.

6 E lo Spirito del Signore si avventò sopra Saulle, quando egli udì quelle parole, ed egli si accese nell’ira grandemente.

7 E prese un paio di buoi, e li tagliò in pezzi, i quali egli mandò per tutte le contrade d’Israle, per certi messi, dicendo: Chiunque non uscirà dietro a Saulle, e dietro a Samuele, il simigliante si farà a’ suoi buoi. E lo spavento del Signore cadde sopra il popolo; e tutti uscirono fuori, come se non fossero stati che un uomo.