1 Samuel 9:12-22

12 And the damsels answered, and said to them, He is here; lo! he is before thee; haste thou now, for today he came into the city; for today is sacrifice of the people in the high place. (And the young women answered, and said to them, He is here; lo! he is ahead of thee; haste thou now, for he came into the city today; for there is a sacrifice by all the people at the hill shrine today.)
13 Ye shall enter into the city, and at once ye shall find him, before that he ascend into the high place to eat; for the people shall not eat till he come, for he shall (first) bless the sacrifice, and afterward they shall eat that be called (and then afterward they who be called shall eat). Now therefore go ye up, for today ye shall find him.
14 And they went up into the city. And when they went into the midst of the city, Samuel appeared going out against them, that he should go up into the high place (Samuel appeared coming out toward them, as he went on his way up to the hill shrine).
15 And the day before that Saul came, the Lord (had) made (a) revelation in the ear of Samuel, and said,
16 In this same hour which is now, tomorrow, I shall send to thee a man of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him duke upon my people Israel (and thou shalt anoint him the ruler over my people Israel), and he shall save my people from the hand(s) of (the) Philistines; for I have beheld my people, forsooth their cry hath come to me.
17 And when Samuel had beheld Saul, the Lord said to Samuel, Lo! the man, (of) whom I said to thee; this man shall be lord of my people.
18 And Saul nighed to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said, I pray thee, show thou to me, where is the house of the seer?
19 And Samuel answered to Saul, and said, I am the seer; go thou up before me into the high place, that thou eat with me today, and I shall deliver thee in the morrowtide, and I shall show to thee all things that be in thine heart. (And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer; go thou up before me, or ahead of me, to the hill shrine, and thou shalt eat with me today, and in the morning I shall let thee go, after that I show thee all the things that be in thy heart.)
20 And be thou not busy of the female asses, which thou lostest the third day ago, for those be found; and whose shall be all the best things of Israel, whether not to thee, and to all the house of thy father? (And be thou not concerned about the female donkeys, which went missing three days ago, for they be found; and now I ask thee, who shall be regarded as the very best in Israel, whether not thee, and all of thy father's family?)
21 And Saul answered, and said, Whether I am not a son of Benjamin, of the least lineage of Israel, and my kindred is the last among all the families of the lineage of Benjamin? Why therefore hast thou spoken to me this word? (And Saul answered, Am I not a Benjaminite, yea, of the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my kindred, or my family, the least among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken such a word to me?)
22 And so Samuel took Saul, and his servant, and led them into the chamber of three orders (of seats, or benches), and he gave to them a place in the beginning of them that were called, (or bidden to the meat); for they were as thirty men. (And then Samuel took Saul, and his servant, and led them into a chamber with three rows of seats, or benches, and he gave them a place at the head of those who were called, or were bidden to the meal; for there were about thirty men there.)

1 Samuel 9:12-22 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.