1 Samuel 9:3

3 Some of Kish's donkeys got lost. Kish said to his son, "Saul, take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys."

1 Samuel 9:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:3

And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost
Had got out of the stables or fields, in which they were kept, and strayed from thence:

and Kish said to Saul his son, take now one of the servants with thee,
and arise, go seek the asses;
he chose not to send his servants only, who might not be so careful and diligent in searching for them, but his son, and not him alone, but a servant with him to wait upon him, and assist him. And it was quite agreeable to the simplicity of those times for persons of equal or greater substance to be employed in such an affair; asses made a considerable part of the wealth and riches of men, were rode upon by persons of quality, and were fed and taken care of by the sons of dukes and princes; see ( Job 1:3 ) ( Judges 5:10 ) ( Genesis 36:24 ) . The Jews


FOOTNOTES:

F23 have a tradition, that this servant was Doeg the Edomite.


F23 Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralip, fol. 83. A.

1 Samuel 9:3 In-Context

1 There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Kish. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath, great-great-grandson of Aphiah - a Benjaminite of stalwart character.
2 He had a son, Saul, a most handsome young man. There was none finer - he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd!
3 Some of Kish's donkeys got lost. Kish said to his son, "Saul, take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys."
4 Saul took one of the servants and went to find the donkeys. They went into the hill country of Ephraim around Shalisha, but didn't find them. Then they went over to Shaalim - no luck. Then to Jabin, and still nothing.
5 When they got to Zuph, Saul said to the young man with him, "Enough of this. Let's go back. Soon my father is going to forget about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.