1 Samuel 10:24 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 10:24
And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
הָעָ֗םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
See
הַרְּאִיתֶם֙ha.re.'i.Tem
H7200
to see · interrogative particle + verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
LORD
יְהוָ֔הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
chosen
בָּֽחַרba.char-
H977
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
הָעָ֑םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
people
הָעָ֛םha.'Am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
shouted
וַיָּרִ֧עוּvai.ya.Ri.'u
H7321
to mar (especially by breaking) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
said
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּvai.yo.me.Ru
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
save
יְחִ֥יye.Chi
H2421
to live · verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
king
הַמֶּֽלֶךְha.Me.lekh
H4428
a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
2 Samuel 21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the…
1 Kings 1:25 For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king’s sons, and the captai…
1 Kings 1:39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Go…
Deuteronomy 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee…
2 Kings 11:12 And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and t…
1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders.
1 Kings 1:34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solo…
Matthew 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of…
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…
God save the king - There is no such word here; no, nor in the whole Bible; nor is it countenanced by any of the versions. The words which we thus translate here and elsewhere are simply יחי המלך yechi hammelech, "May the king live;" and so all the versions, the Targum excepted, which says, May the king prosper! The French Vive le roi! is a proper version of the Hebrew.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 10:24
The Church Fathers
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. Well therefore is it added: "And he said to all the people: Surely you see whom the Lord has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people." And all the people cried out: Long live the king.
But I see we must enquire, how this Behemoth, who eats hay like an ox, is said to destroy the life of the spiritual, when, as was before said, by the word 'hay' is designated the life of the carnal. His food also will no longer be choice, if, in eating hay, he seizes the carnal. But it occurs at once in reply, that some men are both hay in the sight of God, and among men are counted under the name of holiness, when their life displays one thing before the eyes of men, and before the Divine judgment their conscience intends another. They therefore in the opinion of men are 'choice,' but in the accurate judgment of the Lord are 'hay.' Was not Saul hay in the sight of God, of whom the Prophet Samuel said to the people, Ye surely see him whom the Lord hath chosen, and of whom it is said just above, He is choice and good? For he whom the sinful people deserved, was both reprobate in the sight of God, and yet in the order of causes was choice and good.
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…
Kings · Ceremonies at inauguration of: Shouting "God save the king" — Ceremonies at inauguration of: Shouting "God save the king"
Mizpah · .They crown Saul king of Israel at — .They crown Saul king of Israel at
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).
And Samuel said to all the people, see ye him whom the Lord hath chosen,.... For the choice being made by lot, the disposal of which is of the Lord, it is properly attributed to him, and the people could not object to it, but must allow it was the Lord's doing. Eupolemus (k), an Heathen writer, says, that Saul was made king by Samuel by the counsel or will of God; and Samuel appeals to their eyes for the goodness of the choice, a better could not have been made:
that there is none like him among the people? so graceful, so stately, so prince like and majestic; they wanted to have a king like such the nations had; and Saul was such an one, had all the outward appearance of grandeur that coul…
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.
