gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
came
וַתִּצְלַ֤חva.titz.Lach
H6743
to push forward · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Saul
שָׁא֔וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
heard
כְּשָׁמְע֖וֹke.sha.me.'ov
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
tidings
הַדְּבָרִ֣יםha.de.va.Rim
H1697
a word · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
anger
אַפּ֖וֹ'a.Po
H639
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
kindled
וַיִּ֥חַרvai.Yi.char
H2734
to glow or grow warm · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 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 10:10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among…
Judges 6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered after him.
Judges 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesop…
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day fo…
Judges 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told…
Judges 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh o…
Exodus 32:19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 11:5-11
What is here related turns very much to the honour of Saul, and shows the happy fruits of that other spirit with which he was endued. Observe here,
I. His humility. Though he was anointed king, and accepted by his people, yet he did not think it below him to know the state of his own flocks, but went himself to see them, and came in the evening, with his servants, after the herd out of the field, Sa1 11:5. This was an evidence that he was not puffed up with his advancement, as those are most apt to be that are raised from a mean estate. Providence had not yet found him business as a king; he left all to Samuel; and therefore, rather than be idle, he would, for the present, apply himself to h…
send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel--a curious proof of the general dissatisfaction that prevailed as to the appointment of Saul. Those Gileadites deemed him capable neither of advising nor succoring them; and even in his own town the appeal was made to the people--not to the prince.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 11:6
The Spirit of God came upon Saul - He felt himself strongly excited to attempt the relief of his brethren.
And his anger was kindled greatly - I believe this means no more than that his courage was greatly excited, he felt himself strong for fight, and confident of success.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 11:6
And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings,.... And filled him with pity and compassion to the inhabitants of Jabesh, and with wisdom and prudence, and set his thoughts at work to contrive ways and means for their relief, and with fortitude, courage, and resolution, to attempt their deliverance; so the Targum,"the spirit of fortitude from the Lord dwelt on Saul:''and his anger was kindled greatly; against Nahash the Ammonite for insulting Israel, and threatening to use the inhabitants of Jabesh in such a cruel manner.
The Church Fathers
7. What do we say in these words, except that the weaknesses of the saints, and those things which seem carnal, are not weak and carnal, but spiritual and mighty? For we are accustomed to rebuke excessive anger in religious men, but behold, before Saul could become exceedingly angry, the Spirit of the Lord first rushed upon him. How fearful, then, the anger of the saints must be, we perceive, if we consider the Spirit of the Lord rushing upon them—if, while we observe them outwardly angry, we equally attend to the Spirit stirring them within. Therefore, as often as we are corrected by the zeal of our superiors, we may rightly tremble greatly under their indignation, if we believe their impulse to be a movement of the Holy Spirit. And because Saul cut both oxen into pieces, sent them throughout all the borders of Israel, and put forth threats that thus it would be done to the oxen of all who refused to follow him and Samuel—what else does this suggest, except that those who are more sluggish in providing aid to their neighbors must not only be invited, but compelled? Whence it is also immediately added: (Verse 7.) 'Therefore the fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.' 8. For since we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, we offer them assistance in right order when we are not compelled by fear to render these services, but are prompted by love. But when we lose the effect of this owed love, it pertains to the zeal of our preachers that we rise up to help our brothers out of fear. Therefore it is well said: "The fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they went out as one man," because we are often lukewarm in love of our neighbors; but we are raised up to a state of devotion by the threats of our prelates, and we undertake a good work out of fear, yet from the beginning of fear we are led to the bond of great charity. Hence it is well said that fear fell upon the people, yet all are reported to have gone out as one man. For many cannot go out as one man unless they ascend to an equal unity of love. For hence it is also said of the perfect disciples of the Redeemer: "They were of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). There follows: (Verse 8.) And he numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
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
Farm — (Matt. 22:5). Every Hebrew had a certain portion of land assigned to him as a possession (Num. 26:33-56). In Egypt the lands all belonged to the king, and the husbandmen were obliged to give him a…
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.
Nahash — Serpent. (1.) King of the Ammonites in the time of Saul. The inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead having been exposed to great danger from Nahash, sent messengers to Gibeah to inform Saul of their extremity.…
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…
Jabesh-Gilead · Beseiged by the Ammonites — Beseiged by the Ammonites
Kings · Had power to make war and peace — Had power to make war and peace
Nahash · 1. An Ammonite king . — 1. An Ammonite king .
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 11:6-11
When the report of the messengers had been communicated to him, "the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and his anger was kindled greatly," sc., at the shame which the Ammonites had resolved to bring upon all Israel.
Sa1 11:7
He took a yoke of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent (the pieces) into every possession of Israel by messengers, and said, "Whoever cometh not forth after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen." The introduction of Samuel's name after that of Saul, is a proof that Saul even as king still recognised the authority which Samuel possessed in Israel as the prophet of Jehovah. This symbolical act, like the cutting up of the woman in Jdg 19:29, made a deep impressio…
