1 Samuel 9:19

19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

1 Samuel 9:19 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:19

And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer
For he supposed, by inquiring for his house, that his business was with him; wherefore this he said, not as boasting of his character and office, or in the pride and vanity of his mind, but merely for information sake:

go up before me unto the high place;
instead of returning home with him, he invited him to go to the place of feasting, as the Targum, whither he was going to partake of the entertainment there; and he bids him go before him, either because he was an old man, and could not go his pace, or he had business to do by the way, or this was in honour to Saul, whom he knew was to be king of Israel:

for ye shall eat with me today;
he and his servant, at the public feast: he insisted upon his dining, or it may be rather supping with him:

and tomorrow I will let thee go;
for it being in the evening when this feast was, he could not depart that night, but must stay till morning, and then he promised to dismiss him:

and will tell thee all that is in thine heart;
answer all questions he had in his mind to ask him, for which he came into the city, and inquired for his house. The Jews F12 have a tradition that it was in the heart of Saul that he should be a king, having in a vision seen himself placed on the top of a palm tree, which was a sign of royalty, and this Samuel told him.


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. G.

1 Samuel 9:19 In-Context

17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, "Behold the man whom I spoke to thee of! This same shall reign over My people."
18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, "Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is."
19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.
20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them, for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee and on all thy father's house?"
21 And Saul answered and said, "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then speakest thou so to me?"
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.