1 Samuel 9:5

5 When they arrived in the area of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, "Let's go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and will start worrying about us."

1 Samuel 9:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:5

And when they were come to the land of Zuph
In which was Ramathaimzophim, the native place of Samuel, ( 1 Samuel 1:1 ) and so the Targum here,

``the land in which was the prophet''

Saul said to the servant that was with him, come, and let us return;
home, despairing of finding the asses after so long a search in divers places:

lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us;
fearing some evil should have befallen his son and his servant, in comparison of whom, and especially his son, the asses would be of no account, and so give himself no concern for them, but be in great care and uneasiness for his son and servant; wherefore Saul thought it most advisable to return home as soon as possible, lest his father should be overwhelmed with grief and trouble.

1 Samuel 9:5 In-Context

3 Now the donkeys of Saul's father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, "Take one of the servants, and go and look for the donkeys."

4 Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin, but they still did not find them.

5 When they arrived in the area of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, "Let's go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and will start worrying about us."

6 But the servant answered, "A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let's go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken."

7 Saul said to his servant, "If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything?"