1 Samuel 9:6-16

6 He said to him, "Behold now, there is ¹a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ²all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, ³perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out."

7 Then Saul said to his servant, "But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack and there is ⁴no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?"

8 The servant answered Saul again and said, "Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will ⁵tell us our way."

9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, "Come, and let us go to the seer "; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called ⁶a seer.)

10 Then Saul said to his servant, "Well said; come, let us go." So they went to the city where * the man of God was.

11 As they went up the slope to the city, ⁷they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, "Is the seer here?"

12 They answered them and said, "He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for ⁸the people have a sacrifice on ⁹the high place today.

13 "As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because ¹⁰he must bless the sacrifice; afterward * those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up for you will find him at once."

14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

God's Choice for King

15 Now a day before Saul's coming, ¹¹the LORD had revealed * this to Samuel saying,

16 "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ¹²you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ¹³I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me."

Read Chapter Compare

1 Samuel 9:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 9

This chapter gives an account of Saul, the person the Lord had appointed to be king of Israel; it relates his descent, and describes his person, 1Sa 9:1,2 and how seeking his father's asses, which were lost, he providentially came to the place where Samuel dwelt, 1Sa 9:3-5 and being advised by his servant, and approving of his advice, he concluded to go to him, and inquire the way he should go, 1Sa 9:6-10 and being directed by some young maidens, they found him presently in the street going to a feast, 1Sa 9:11-14 and Samuel having some previous notice from the Lord of such a person's coming to him that day, when he met him invited him to dine with him, and obliged him to stay with him that day, 1Sa 9:15-19 satisfied him about his asses, and gave him a hint of the grandeur he was to be raised to, to which Saul made a modest reply, 1Sa 9:20,21 and Samuel treated him at the feast in a very respectable manner, 1Sa 9:22-24 and privately communed with him of things preparatory to what he was about to make known unto him, 1Sa 9:25-27.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 13

1. Deuteronomy 33:1; 1 Kings 13:1; 2 Kings 5:8
2. 1 Samuel 3:19
3. Genesis 24:42
4. 1 Kings 14:3; 2 Kings 5:15; 2 Kings 8:8, 9; Ezekiel 13:19
5. 1 Samuel 9:6
6. 2 Samuel 24:11; 2 Kings 17:13; 1 Chronicles 9:22; 1 Chronicles 26:28; 1 Chronicles 29:29; Isaiah 30:10; Amos 7:12
7. Genesis 24:11, 15; Genesis 29:8, 9; Exodus 2:16
8. Genesis 31:54; Numbers 28:11-15; 1 Kings 3:2
9. 1 Samuel 7:17; 1 Samuel 10:5
10. Luke 9:16; John 6:11
11. 1 Samuel 15:1; Acts 13:21
12. 1 Samuel 10:1
13. Exodus 3:7, 9

Footnotes 2

[a]. Or "behold"
[b]. Lit "uncovered the ear"