Old Testament Commentary - 1 Samuel 9

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 9 Saul the son of Kish, a Benjamite, is a choice and goodly person—He is sent to seek his father's asses—The Lord reveals to Samuel the seer that Saul is to be king—Saul goes to Samuel and is entertained by him.
1 NOW there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was ^aKish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a son, whose name was ^aSaul, *a choice young man, and a ^bgoodly: and there was* not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he^a*: from his shoulders and upward he was* ^chigher than any of the people.	2^a a choice young man, and a goodly ; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he Saul was of Gibiah, that Benjamite town which the Levite brought a war of destruction upon the entire tribe of Benjamin without a legal trial being first held to determine the truth of the matter. That the Lord would so chose a Benjamite out of Gibiah seems to carry a message from the Lord for all of Israel.
3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.
6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a ^apresent to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to ^aenquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the ^bseer: for he that is now called a ^cProphet was beforetime called a ^dSeer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
11 ¶ And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is ^abefore you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: 13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him. 14 And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out ^aagainst them, for to go up to the high place.
15 ¶ Now the ^aLORD had ^btold Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt ^aanoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their ^bcry is come unto me. 17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake 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 ^aseer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow 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 ^aleast of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou ^bso to me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the ^aparlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, ^aSet it by thee. 24 And *the cook took up the ^ashoulder, and that* which was upon it, and set it before Saul^a*. And Samuel* said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.	*24^a the cook took up the shoulder, and that* which was upon it, and set it before Saul** The thirty persons Samuel had bidden to the dinner must have been such representatives of Israel, particularly such as Judah and Ephraim and of the other tribes, that Samuel might witness unto them the message of the selection of Saul the lowest of the Benjaminites to be their king as God had commanded him to do. Judah for sure and likely Ephraim as well, had taken advantage of Benjamin the the subsequent days following the tribe's reduction in size. Zelzah/Bethlehem was no longer Benjamin's but shared as Bethlehem-Ephrathah and/or Behtlehem-Judah. And Judah would further lay claim to Benjamin's inheritance, particularly in Judah's taking of Jerusalem. Yet Samuel's message was marked out to be that neither Judah who had been blessed with the septre in Jacob's blessing, not Ephraim, Joseph's son's descendants would be anointed and called by the LORD to be the selected king of Israel by the Lord. Benjamin which had been destroyed of wife and children and all but 600 men, now was to be the greatest in Israel as the Lord had chosen Saul to be Israel's king. It is more than likely that when given the history of the circumstance about the war of Gibeah, it was not really the Lord who did sanction Israel's war of destruction against Benjamin, but rather the designing intentions of such as Judah and others against Benjamin for their own purposes. That is they 'fiegned' that the Lord was leading them and speaking unto them vai Phinehas in support of their war against Benjamin when in fact the Lord was not and did not sanction the destruction of Benjamin.
25 ¶ And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the ^atop of the house. 26 And they arose early: and it came to pass ^aabout the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but ^astand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.