1 Samuel 11:5

5 And lo! Saul came from the field, and he followed [the] oxen; and he said, What hath the people, for it weepeth? (and he said, What maketh the people weep?) And they told to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

1 Samuel 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.


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 Samuel 11:5 In-Context

3 And the elder men of Jabesh said to him, Grant thou to us seven days, that we send messengers to all the coasts of Israel; and if none be that defend us, we shall go out to thee. (And the elders of Jabesh said to him, First grant thou us seven days, so that we can send messengers into all the coasts of Israel; and if there be none who will defend us, then we shall come out to thee.)
4 Then messengers came into Gibeah of Saul, and spake these words, while the people heard; and all the people raised (up) their voice, and wept.
5 And lo! Saul came from the field, and he followed [the] oxen; and he said, What hath the people, for it weepeth? (and he said, What maketh the people weep?) And they told to him the words of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of the Lord fell at once into Saul, when he had heard these words, and his fierce wrath was greatly stirred.
7 And he took ever either ox, and he cut them into gobbets, and he sent those into all the coasts of Israel, by the hands of messengers; and he said, Whoever goeth not out, and followeth not Saul and Samuel, so it shall be done to his oxen. Therefore the dread of the Lord went into the people (And so the fear of the Lord went into the people), and they went out as one man.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.