1 Samuel 9:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 9:20
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?
a female donkey (from its docility) · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
lost
הָאֹבְד֣וֹתha.'oe.Dot
H6
properly · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
three
שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁתshe.Lo.shet
H7969
three · noun, common both genders singular construct
days
הַיּוֹם֙hai.yOm
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
ago
הַיָּמִ֔יםhai.ya.Mim
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
set
תָּ֧שֶׂםTa.sem
H7760
to put (used in a great variety of applications · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
mind
לִבְּךָ֛li.be.Kha
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
found
נִמְצָ֑אוּnim.Tza.'u
H4672
properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person common plural
desire
חֶמְדַּ֣תchem.Dat
H2532
delight · noun, common feminine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
father’s
אָבִֽיךָ'a.Vi.kha
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
house
בֵּ֥יתbeit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
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 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
1 Samuel 12:13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.
1 Samuel 9:3 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…
1 Samuel 4:20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither…
1 Samuel 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
1 Samuel 12:15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you…
1 Chronicles 29:3 Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to…
Psalms 62:10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 9:18–end
Providence having at length brought Samuel and Saul together, we have here an account of what passed between them in the gate, at the feast, and in private.
I. In the gate of the city; passing through that, Saul found him (Sa1 9:18), and, little thinking that he was Samuel himself, asked him the way to Samuel's house: Tell me where the seer's house is; for there he expected to find him. See how mean a figure Samuel made, though so great a man: he took not any state, had no attendants, no ensigns of honour carried before him, nor any distinguishing habit, no, not when he went to church, but appeared, in all respects, so much a common person that Saul, though he was told he should meet him, ne…
on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?--This was a covert and indirect premonition of the royal dignity that awaited him; and, though Saul's answer shows that he fully understood it, he affected to doubt that the prophet was in earnest.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 9:20
As for thine asses - Thus he shows him that he knew what was in his heart, God having previously revealed these things to Samuel.
And on whom is all the desire of Israel? - Saul understood this as implying that he was chosen to be king.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 9:20
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago,.... Which, according to Kimchi, is to be understood not of the time from whence they were lost, but to be reckoned from the time that Saul had been seeking of them; so the Targum,"as to the business of the asses, which are lost to thee, and thou art come to seek them today, these three days:''though it is probable enough that the same day they were lost Saul set out to seek them, Now Samuel telling him of the asses that were lost, and of the time of their being lost, or of his seeking them, so exactly, before ever he said a word to him about them, must at once convince him that he was a true prophet, and which must prepare him to give cre…
The Church Fathers
And whose shall be the best of Israel? etc. And who will be the giver and author of the grace I preach, if not you? To whom it is most rightly confessed that all things whatever the Father has belong. For the best of Israel are the gifts of heavenly joys, which he ministers to the house of his Father who is in heaven.
And as for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not be anxious, etc. And concerning the souls which began to perish in the third period of the world, that is, at the beginning of the nascent world, rejoice, because by my preaching they have already learned to repent and hope for the kingdom of heaven. Understand the three periods: before the law, under the law, and under grace.
Am I not the son of Jemini from the least tribe of Israel? etc. And the Lord chose content among proud lineages, poor parents, and humble in spirit, from whom He would be born; and He speaks of Himself: I do not seek my own glory (John VIII). And beautifully Saul is called the son of Jemini, that is, of my right hand, because Christ Himself from the power of His divinity created for Himself the substance of man, which He would assume being born from a virgin; as it is read elsewhere: Wisdom has built herself a house (Prov. IX). Beautifully from the latest family among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin, that is, the sons of the right hand. For the Son of the right hand is Christ God, to whose tribe all the elect belong; but the more humble anyone is among the saints, the closer they are as if by kinship; for even Christ as a man, though higher in majesty, is superior to all the saints in the virtue of humility.
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
Herdsman — In Egypt herdsmen were probably of the lowest caste. Some of Joseph’s brethren were made rulers over Pharaoh’s cattle (Gen. 47:6, 17). The Israelites were known in Egypt as “keepers of cattle;” and…
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).
The thread of the narrative, which was broken off in Sa1 9:15, is resumed in Sa1 9:18. Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and asked him for the seer's house. The expression השּׁער בּתוך is used to define more precisely the general phrase in Sa1 9:14, העיר בּתוך בּאים; and there is no necessity to alter העיר in Sa1 9:14 into השּׁער, as Thenius proposes, for העיר בּתוך כּוא does not mean to go (or be) in the middle of the town, as he imagines, but to go into, or enter, the town; and the entrance to the town was through the gate.
Sa1 9:19-21
Samuel replied, "I am the seer: go up before me to the high place, and eat with me to-day; and to-morrow I will send thee away, and make known to thee a…
God’s directive to anoint him (by pouring olive oil on the head) marked Saul’s elevation in status and consecration for a special purpose (see Exod 30:22-33; Lev 8:12; 1 Kgs 19:16; Isa 45:1). • He will rescue them: As they had requested (1 Sam 8:20; cp. Judg 13:5). David eventually subdued the Philistines (2 Sam 5:17-25; 8:1; 21:15, 18-22). • for I have . . . heard their cry (cp. Exod 3:7-9): The Philistines were again threatening to conquer Israel and demand homage from them as vassals.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 9:20
But for whom does all of Yisroel desire? Here he [Shmuel] hints to him the matter of the kingship.
