1 Samuel 9:5-15

5 And when they had come into the land of Zuph, and had not found (them), Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come thou, and turn we again; lest peradventure my father hath left (off caring about) the female asses, and is busy for us (and is now concerned about us).
6 And the servant said to him, Lo! a man of God is in this city, a noble man; all thing that he speaketh, cometh without (a) doubt. Now therefore go we thither, if peradventure he show to us of our way, for which we came (And so now let us go there, perhaps he can show us the way that we should go).
7 And Saul said to his servant, Lo! we shall go (there); (but) what shall we bear to the man of God? Bread hath failed in our scrips, and we have no present, that we (can) give to the man of God, neither any other thing.
8 Again the servant answered to Saul, and said, Lo! the fourth part of a stater, that is, a shekel, of silver is found (here) in mine hand; give we it to the man of God, that he show to us our way (so that he will show us the way that we should go).
9 Sometime in Israel each man going to counsel with God spake thus, Come ye, and go we to the seer; for he, that is said now a prophet, was called sometime a seer (for he, who now is called a prophet, before was called a seer).
10 And Saul said to his servant, Thy word is the best; come thou, go we. And they went into the city, in which the man of God was (And they went to the city, where the man of God was).
11 And when they went up into the highness of the city, they found damsels going out to draw water, and they said to the damsels, Whether the seer is here? (Is the seer here?)
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,

1 Samuel 9:5-15 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.