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.