1 Samuel 10:24

24 And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him 1whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, 2"Long live the king!"

1 Samuel 10:24 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 10:24

And Samuel said to all the people, see ye him whom the Lord
hath chosen
For the choice being made by lot, the disposal of which is of the Lord, it is properly attributed to him, and the people could not object to it, but must allow it was the Lord's doing. Eupolemus F11, an Heathen writer, says, that Saul was made king by Samuel by the counsel or will of God; and Samuel appeals to their eyes for the goodness of the choice, a better could not have been made:

that there is none like him among the people?
so graceful, so stately, so prince like and majestic; they wanted to have a king like such the nations had; and Saul was such an one, had all the outward appearance of grandeur that could be wished for, and which in other nations recommended persons to the imperial dignity:

and all the people shouted;
made a general ado:

and said, God save the king;
or "let the king live" F12; they owned and saluted him as their king, and prayed he might live long to reign over them; the Targum is, "let the king prosper"; let his reign be prosperous and glorious, and let him enjoy all health and happiness, peace and prosperity.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447.
F12 (Klmh yxy) "vivat rex", Pagninus, Montanus

1 Samuel 10:24 In-Context

22 So they inquired again of the LORD, "Is there a man still to come?" and the LORD said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
24 And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.
26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.

Cross References 2

  • 1. 2 Samuel 21:6
  • 2. 2 Samuel 16:16; 1 Kings 1:25, 39; 2 Kings 11:12; 2 Chronicles 23:11
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.