to run (for whatever reason · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
fetched
וַיִּקָּחֻ֣הוּvai.yi.ka.Chu.hu
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
stood
וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֖בvai.yit.ya.Tzev
H3320
to place (any thing so as to stay) · conjunction + verb, hithpael sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
among
בְּת֣וֹךְbe.Tokh
H8432
a bisection · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
people
הָעָ֑םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
higher
וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙vai.yig.Bah
H1361
to soar · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
הָעָ֔םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
shoulders
מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹmi.shikh.Mo
H7926
the neck (between the shoulders) as the place of burdens · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 9:2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person th…
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth…
1 Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 10:17–end
Saul's nomination to the throne is here made public, in a general assembly of the elders of Israel, the representatives of their respective tribes at Mizpeh. It is probable that this convention of the states was called as soon as conveniently it might, after Saul was anointed, for, if there must be a change in their government, the sooner the better: it might be of bad consequence to be long in the doing. The people having met in a solemn assembly, in which God was in a peculiar manner present (and therefore it is said they were called together unto the Lord, Sa1 10:17), Samuel acts for God among them.
I. He reproves them for casting off the government of a prophet, and desiring that of a ca…
Samuel called the people together . . . at Mizpeh--a shaft-like hill near Hebron, five hundred feet in height. The national assemblies of the Israelites were held there. A day having been appointed for the election of a king, Samuel, after having charged the people with a rejection of God's institution and a superseding of it by one of their own, proceeded to the nomination of the new monarch. As it was of the utmost importance that the appointment should be under the divine direction and control, the determination was made by the miraculous lot, tribes, families, and individuals being successively passed until Saul was found. His concealment of himself must have been the result either of in…
The Lord answered - What a continual access to God! and what condescension in his attention to all their requests!
The stuff among which he had secreted himself may mean the carts, baggage, etc., brought by the people to Mizpeh.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 10:23
And they ran and fetched him thence,.... Being in haste to see their king elect, and proclaim him:
and when he stood among the people; being brought among them, and presented to them:
he was higher than any of the people, from the shoulders, and upwards; which made him look very graceful and majestic; height of stature, and a comely form, as Kimchi observes, recommend to royal dignity; and make the people stand more in awe of a prince, and have always been reckoned among all other nations to make a prince venerable; see Gill on 1 Samuel 9:2.
The Church Fathers
36. The prelate stands in the midst of the people when his strength is observed by all his subjects. For to stand is a mark of virtue. He who does good works steadfastly, therefore, stands. And because good works provide an example to those of lesser rank, he is seen to stand in the midst of the people, not in solitude. This is also fittingly understood as referring to the uprightness of intention. For he who stands with uprightness of body raises his head on high. But he who does good publicly does not stand with the strength of his work if he does not possess uprightness of intention. The king is therefore said to stand in the midst of the people so that the model of the holy prelates of the Church may be shown; because they ought to display good works as an example to their subjects, yet they should avoid receiving the glory of the world for that same good work. But he adds how great he ought to appear, and says: And he was taller than all the people from his shoulder and upward. 37. We have shown at length above that the outstanding greatness of body in holy preachers signifies the increase of perfection. Therefore he is seen as exalted in the midst of the people, who, placed at the summit of virtues, is not unknown by his subjects. Indeed the right order for a chosen preacher is that before the loftiness of ecclesiastical eminence, he ascend the summit of virtue, that for the honor of God he obtain the summit of glory, but shine with greater loftiness through the revealed perfection of virtues. Such a Pastor indeed is greatly to be proclaimed by perfect men, and to be desired and loved by the lesser ones.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Saul — Asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, “asked for”), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first…
Mizpah · .They crown Saul king of Israel at — .They crown Saul king of Israel at
Saul · .His per — .His per
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 10:17–end
Saul's Election by Lot. - After Samuel had secretly anointed Saul king by the command of God, it was his duty to make provision for a recognition of the man whom God had chosen on the part of the people also. To this end he summoned the people to Mizpeh, and there instructed the tribes to choose a king by lot. As the result of the lot was regarded as a divine decision, not only was Saul to be accredited by this act in the sight of the whole nation as the king appointed by the Lord, but he himself was also to be more fully assured of the certainty of his own election on the part of God. -
(Note: Thenius follows De Wette, and adduces the incompatibility of 1 Samuel 8 and Sa1 10:17-27 with Sa1…
chosen by lot: Cp. Lev 16:8; Josh 18:6; 1 Chr 26:12-16; Acts 1:26.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 10:22
Is hidden by the baggage. In the room where newcomers had placed their baggage; [he hid] because he was running away from the high position. But the Midrash Aggadah of R. Tanchuma8Vayikra 3. explains that 'אֶל הַכֵּלִים' refers to the Urim and Tumim. He said [to himself], 'perhaps I am not worthy of this high position. [I will not assume it]. until they inquire of the Urim and Tumim.9 Shaul was convinced that the Urim and Tumim would confirm that he was not worthy of the kingship. But, on the contrary, it confirmed that nobody was equal to him. In Maseches Eiruvin 13b it states that he who runs away from honor is rightfully pursued by it. Thereupon they asked, and he accepted it.
