1 Samuel 9:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 9:4
And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mount
בְּהַרbe.har-
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֛יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
through
וַיַּעֲבֹ֥רvai.ya.'a.Vor
H5674
to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
land
בְּאֶֽרֶץbe.'e.retz-
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Shalisha
שָׁלִ֖שָׁהsha.Li.shah
H8031
Shalishah · proper noun, a place name
found
מָצָ֑אוּma.Tza.'u
H4672
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
through
וַיַּעַבְר֤וּvai.ya.'av.Ru
H5674
to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
land
בְאֶֽרֶץve.'e.retz-
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Shalim
שַׁעֲלִים֙sha.'a.Lim
H8171
Shaalim · proper noun, a place name
through
וַיַּעֲבֹ֥רvai.ya.'a.Vor
H5674
to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
land
בְּאֶֽרֶץbe.'e.retz-
H776
the earth (at large · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Benjamites
בֶּן־יְמִינִיBen-yᵉmîynîy
H1145
a Benjaminite
found
מָצָֽאוּma.Tza.'u
H4672
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common 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
2 Kings 4:42 And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn…
Joshua 24:33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
Genesis 33:18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the c…
Judges 17:1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
Judges 19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim…
John 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 9:3-10
Here is, I. A great man rising from small beginnings. It does not appear that Saul had any preferment at all, or was in any post of honour or trust, till he was chosen king of Israel. Most that are advanced rise gradually, but Saul, from the level with his neighbours, stepped at once into the throne, according to that of Hannah, He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, to set them among princes, Sa1 2:8. Saul, it should seem, though he was himself married and had children grown up, yet lived in his father's house, and was subject to him. Promotion comes not by chance nor human probabilities, but God is the Judge.
II. A great event arising from small occurrences. How low does the history begin…
he passed through mount Ephraim--This being situated on the north of Benjamin, indicates the direction of Saul's journey. The district explored means the whole of the mountainous region, with its valleys and defiles, which belonged to Ephraim. Turning apparently southwards--probably through the verdant hills between Shiloh and the vales of Jordan (Shalisha and Shalim)--he approached again the borders of Benjamin, scoured the land of Zuph, and was proposing to return, when his servant recollected that they were in the immediate neighborhood of the man of God, who would give them counsel.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 9:3
The asses of Kish - were lost - What a wonderful train of occurrences were connected in order to bring Saul to the throne of Israel! Every thing seems to go on according to the common course of events, and yet all conspired to favor the election of a man to the kingdom who certainly did not come there by the approbation of God.
Asses grow to great perfection in the East; and at this time, as there were no horses in Judea, they were very useful; and on them kings and princes rode.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 9:4
And they passed through Mount Ephraim,.... The mountainous part of that tribe, which lay contiguous to the tribe of Benjamin, where it might be supposed the asses had strayed to:
and passed through the land of Shalisha; a tract in the tribe of Benjamin, so called from some illustrious person, prince, and duke of it; in it very probably was the place called Baalshalisha; 2 Kings 4:42 and which perhaps is the same Jerom calls (x) Bethshalisha; and says there was a village of this name in the borders of Diospolis, almost fifteen miles distance from it to the north, in the Tamnitic country; though Bunting (y) says it was situated in Mount Ephraim, eight miles from Jerusalem to the northwest:
b…
The Church Fathers
And because through the five senses of the body they fall into those same darknesses of sins, they are sought in five regions where they cannot be found, namely Mount Ephraim, the land of Shalisha, and Shaalim, and the land of the Benjaminites, and Zuph. For everyone is hidden where he is cast down through sin; and as one who is lost, it is not known where he is, when he abandons the light of justice in which God placed him. Hence it is that in paradise after the sin, He seeks the first man, saying: "Adam, where are you?" (Gen. 3:9). As if to say: Because I do not find you in the light in which I placed you, show yourself where you have placed yourself. Hence He inquires about the dead Lazarus, saying: "Where have you laid him?" (John 11:34). But the one whom He sought as lost, He commanded to come forth that He might find him, saying: "Lazarus, come out." Therefore man is lost when he sins; he is found when, now repenting, he declares his sin against himself. For since through the sacred Scriptures the sinner is commanded: "Declare your iniquities first, that you may be justified" (Isa. 43:26, according to the LXX), when the one who has sinned begins to be justified by confessing, he is now seen in the light, where he is now found to be placed. Now Saul, who seeking the donkeys did not find them, represents the character of a learned preacher, but one newly beginning. Almighty God indeed does not allow him to bear the fruit of preaching, lest he esteem the conversion of sinners as a cheap thing, since he can easily convert them to the Lord. The conversion is therefore delayed, so that the converted may be cherished all the more; and the preacher loves them all the more greatly, the more clearly he sees that he cannot quickly win them over. But while holy men cannot convert others through their preaching, they begin to fear intensely for themselves—lest they displease Almighty God in the very thing by which they thought they were greatly pleasing Him. And it often happens that the hearts of new preachers are so frightened that they now resolve to abandon the office of preaching itself and to devote themselves to God through silence.
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…
Shalim, Land of — Land of foxes, a place apparently to the north-west of Jerusalem (1 Sam. 9:4), perhaps in the neighbourhood of Shaalabbin in Dan (Josh. 19:42).
Shalim, The Land Of — (the land of foxes), a district through which Saul passed on his journey in quest of his father’s asses. (1 Samuel 9:4) only. It probably was east of Shalisha.
Shalisha, Land of — Probably the district of Baal-shalisha (2 Kings 4:42), lying about 12 miles north of Lydda (1 Sam. 9:4).
Shalisha, The Land Of — one of the districts traversed by Saul when in search of the asses of Kish. (1 Samuel 9:4) only. It was a district near Mount Ephraim. In it perhaps was situated the place called Baal-shalisha, (2…
Shual, The land of — Land of the fox, a district in the tribe of Benjamin (1 Sam. 13:17); possibly the same as Shalim (9:4), in the neighbourhood of Shaalabbin (Josh. 19:42).
Baal-Shalisha · A place near Gilgal — A place near Gilgal
Shalim · A district of unknown lo — A district of unknown lo
Shalisha · A district bor — A district bor
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).
When the Lord had instructed Samuel to appoint a king over the nation, in accordance with its own desire, He very speedily proceeded to show him the man whom He had chosen. Saul the Benjaminite came to Samuel, to consult him as a seer about his father's she-asses, which had been lost, and for which he had been seeking in all directions in vain (Sa1 9:1-14). And the Lord had already revealed to the prophet the day before, that He would send him the man who had been set apart by Him as the king of Israel; and when Samuel met with Saul, He pointed him out as the man to whom He had referred (Sa1 9:15-17). Accordingly, Samuel invited Saul to be his guest at a sacrificial meal, which he was about…
