a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Samuel
שְׁמוּאֵ֔לshe.mu.'El
H8050
Shemuel · proper noun, a man's name
said
הָאֹמֵ֔רha.'o.Mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Saul
שָׁא֖וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
reign
יִמְלֹ֣ךְyim.Lokh
H4427
to reign · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
bring
תְּנ֥וּte.Nu
H5414
to give · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
men
הָאֲנָשִׁ֖יםha.'a.na.Shim
H582
a man in general (singly or collectively) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
death
וּנְמִיתֵֽםu.ne.mi.Tem
H4191
to die (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, hiphil, 1st person common plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
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 10:27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
Luke 19:27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Psalms 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 11:12–end
We have here the improvement of the glorious victory which Saul had obtained, not the improvement of it abroad, though we take it for granted that the men of Jabesh-Gilead, having so narrowly saved their right eyes, would with them now discern the opportunity they had of avenging themselves upon these cruel enemies and disabling them from ever straitening them in like manner again; now shall they be avenged on the Ammonites for their right eyes condemned, as Samson on the Philistines for his two eyes put out, Jdg 16:28. But the account here given is of the improvement of this victory at home.
I. The people took this occasion to show their jealousy for the honour of Saul, and their resentment…
SAUL CONFIRMED KING. (Sa1 11:12-15)
the people said . . ., Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us?--The enthusiastic admiration of the people, under the impulse of grateful and generous feelings, would have dealt summary vengeance on the minority who opposed Saul, had not he, either from principle or policy, shown himself as great in clemency as in valor. The calm and sagacious counsel of Samuel directed the popular feelings into a right channel, by appointing a general assembly of the militia, the really effective force of the nation, at Gilgal, where, amid great pomp and religious solemnities, the victorious leader was confirmed in his kingdom [Sa1 11:15].
Next: 1 Samuel Chapte…
Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign - Now, flushed with victory and proud of their leader, they wished to give him a proof of their attachment by slaying, even in cool blood, the persons who were at first averse from his being intrusted with the supreme power! The common soldier is scarcely ever inspired by his victory to acts of magnanimity; he has shed blood - he wishes to shed more!
John Gill on 1 Samuel 11:12
The Church Fathers
And the people said to Saul: Who is this who said? etc. When the Samaritans did not wish to receive the Lord, the sons of thunder said: Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them? And Jesus turned and rebuked them: You do not know of what spirit you are; The Son of Man did not come to destroy, but to save (Luke 9).
15. For the Lord had said above to Samuel: They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them (1 Kings VIII, 7). But of Saul it was said a little before: Because they despised him, and did not bring him gifts (Ibid., X, 27). But he who was rejected, and he who was despised, after the enemies had been slain and victory obtained, heard the people crying out: Give us the men, and we will kill them. Indeed, each of them could have taken vengeance on their enemies, not by killing, but by consenting; but even because the prophet had been rejected, he speaks, and the king who had been despised supports the one who says: No one shall be killed on this day, because our holy preachers are crowned with a greater victory when they endure the adversities of their neighbors than when they overcome enemies abroad. Whence also true wisdom speaks in Solomon, saying: The patient man is better than the mighty (Prov. XVI, 32). But it should be noted what is said: On this day. On the day of his victory, he seeks to kill who inflames those whom he draws to the love of God by the brightness of his virtues to harm others. Or he kills on the day of victory, because by that light of glory by which one is brought to veneration of the preacher, one is stirred up to hatred against those who detract from that same teacher. For whoever hates his brother is a murderer (1 John III, 15). For since through the teaching of a good pastor the good are to be helped in such a way that the wicked are tolerated, the reason why no one should be killed is well added: Because, he says, today the Lord has wrought salvation in Israel. There follows: And Samuel said to the people: Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingdom there. And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord.
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
Jabesh — Dry. (1.) For Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. 11:3, 9, 10). (2.) The father of Shallum (2 Kings 15:10, 13, 14), who usurped the throne of Israel on the death of Zachariah.
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…
Samuel · Renews the kingdom of Saul — Renews the kingdom of Saul
Statecraft · .Samuel — .Samuel
Tact · Of Saul, in managing malcontents — Of Saul, in managing malcontents
Unselfishness · .Saul — .Saul
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 the people said unto Samuel,.... By which it seems that Samuel accompanied Saul in this expedition; though it is somewhat difficult to account for it, that a man of his years should be able to attend so quick a march that Saul made; it may be, therefore, that he might follow after him gently, and meet him quickly after the battle was fought, when the people made the following speech to him:
who is he that said, shall Saul reign over us? is such a mean inexperienced man fit to rule over us? who can bear his government, and submit to it? what can be expected from him, that he should deliver and save us out of the hands of our enemies? in this they had respect to the sons of Belial, and wh…
Renewal of the Monarchy. - Saul had so thoroughly acted the part of a king in gaining this victory, and the people were so enthusiastic in his favour, that they said to Samuel, viz., after their return from the battle, "Who is he that said, Saul should reign over us!" The clause עלינוּ ימלך שׁאוּל contains a question, though it is indicated simply by the tone, and there is no necessity to alter שׁאוּל into השׁאוּל. These words refer to the exclamation of the worthless people in Sa1 10:27. "Bring the men (who spoke in this manner), that we may put them to death." But Saul said, "There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day Jehovah hath wrought salvation in Israel;" and proved th…
Bezek was about fourteen miles west of Jabesh-gilead. • The narrator’s use of the terms Israel and Judah anticipates the later division of the kingdom (1 Kgs 12).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 11:12
Who is it that says. Derisively, "Shaul will reign over us?" Give them over and we will execute them.
Will reign over us. As a question.
