Kings I 9:18

18 And Saul drew near to Samuel into the midst of the city, and said, Tell me now which the house of the seer?

Kings I 9:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 9:18

And Baalath
A city in the tribe of Dan, ( Joshua 19:44 )

and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land;
or "Tamar", as in the Cetib, or Scriptural reading; for we go according to the marginal reading, and so Thamato in Ptolemy ^F16; and is thought by some to be the same with Tamar in ( Ezekiel 47:19 ) , which Jerom there says is Palmyra. Tamar signifies a palm tree, from whence this city had its name Palmyra, the situation of which place agrees with this; hence we read both in Ptolemy ^F17 and Pliny ^F18 of the Palmyrene deserts: the ruins of it are to be seen to this day, and of it this account is given; that it is enclosed on three sides with long ridges of mountains, which open towards the east gradually, to the distance of about an hour's riding; but to the south stretches a vast plain, beyond the reach of the eye; the air is good, but the soil exceeding barren; nothing green to be seen therein, save some few palm trees in the gardens, and here and there about the town; and from these trees, I conceive, says my author, it obtained its name both in Hebrew and in Latin: it appears to have been of a large extent, by the space now taken up by the ruins; but there are no footsteps of any wall remaining, nor is it possible to judge of the ancient figure of the place. The present inhabitants, as they are poor, miserable, dirty people, so they have shut themselves up, to the number of about thirty or forty families, in little huts made of dirt, within the walls of a spacious court, which enclosed a most magnificent Heathen temple ^F19. Benjamin of Tudela says ^F20, it is situated in a wilderness, far from any habitable place, and is four days' journey from Baalath before mentioned; which place he takes to be the same with Baalbek, in the valley of Lebanon, built by Solomon for Pharaoh's daughter; which, according to the Arabic geographer ^F21, was situated at the foot of Mount Lebanon; and Tadmor seems to be in the land of Hamathzobah, ( 2 Chronicles 8:3 2 Chronicles 8:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Geograph. l. 5. c. 16.
F17 Ib. c. 15.
F18 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 26. & 6. 28.
F19 Halifax apud Philosphic. Transact. vol. 3. p. 504.
F20 Itinerar. p. 57, 58.
F21 Geograph. Nub. par. 5. clim. 3. p. 117.

Kings I 9:18 In-Context

16 At this time to-morrow I will send to thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon the humiliation of my people, for their cry is come unto me.

17 And Samuel looked upon Saul, and the Lord answered him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee, this one shall rule over my people.

18 And Saul drew near to Samuel into the midst of the city, and said, Tell me now which the house of the seer?

19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am he: go up before me to Bama, and eat with me to-day, and I will send thee away in the morning, and I will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

20 And concerning thine asses that have been lost now these three days, care not for them, for they are found. And to whom does the excellency of Israel belong? does it not to thee and to thy father's house?

Footnotes

• [a]. brought near.
• [b]. of what kind?