1 Samuel 9:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 9:6
And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
city
בָּעִ֣ירba.'Ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
man
אִישׁ'ish-
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct
God
אֱלֹהִים֙'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
honourable
נִכְבָּ֔דnikh.Bad
H3513
to be heavy · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
man
וְהָאִ֣ישׁve.ha.'Ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
saith
יְדַבֵּ֖רye.da.Ber
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cometh
בּ֣וֹאBo'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal infinitive construct
pass
יָב֑וֹאya.Vo'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
shew
יַגִּ֣ידya.Gid
H5046
properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
way
דַּרְכֵּ֖נוּdar.Ke.nu
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
go
נֵ֣לֲכָהNe.la.khah
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st 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
1 Kings 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
Deuteronomy 33:1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1 Samuel 2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they w…
1 Samuel 3:19-20 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
2 Kings 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
Isaiah 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and…
Zechariah 1:5-6 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
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…
there is in this city a man of God--Ramah was the usual residence of Samuel, but several circumstances, especially the mention of Rachel's sepulchre, which lay in Saul's way homeward [Sa1 10:2], lead to the conclusion that "this city" was not the Ramah where Samuel dwelt.
peradventure he can show us our way that we should go--It seems strange that a dignified prophet should be consulted in such an affair. But it is probable that at the introduction of the prophetic office, the seers had discovered things lost or stolen, and thus their power for higher revelations was gradually established.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 9:5
Were come to the land of Zuph - Calmet supposes that Saul and his servant went from Gibeah to Shalisha, in the tribe of Dan; from thence to Shalim, near to Jerusalem; and thence, traversing the tribe of Benjamin, they purposed to return to Gibeah; but passing through the land of Zuph, in which Ramatha, the country of Samuel, was situated, they determined to call on this prophet to gain some directions from him; the whole of this circuit he supposes to have amounted to no more than about twenty-five leagues, or three days' journey. We do not know where the places were situated which are here mentioned: the Targum translates thus: "And he passed through the mount of the house of Ephraim, and w…
He calls Samuel a man of God, in whom we have already said that the preachers of Holy Church are designated. He is indeed called a man out of reverence for his holy manner of life, and everything he speaks is declared to come without ambiguity: because whatever he threatens concerning eternal punishments, whatever he promises to the just concerning eternal joy, comes to pass just as he announces it, and the impious shall go away to punishment and the elect to glory. He is also said to be in the city: because a chosen pastor is known to be always vigilant in the common guardianship of the people subject to him. The pastor is in the city, because while he guards others, he is fortified in himself. Whence also through the prophet, in the praises of all men of God, it is said under the description of one: "He shall dwell on high; the fortifications of rocks shall be his loftiness" (Isa. 33:16). For the higher he is raised up in the vision of the eternal citizens, the stronger he is found to be in himself, and the more useful to his neighbors. He is also called noble: because he is conspicuous for his heavenly manner of life, and has nothing of the rusticity of worldly life. For he is seen to be noble from the same source whence he is a citizen. For secular men, because there is no composure of morals in them, are rustic, as though nurtured in outlying places. For from their habitual dishonesty of mind, they produce unseemly movements of body; and like those who are very degenerate, they do not know the bearing of urbane custom, while through everything they do, they cover the appearance of their life with the vileness of earthly obscurity. On the contrary, the men of God are noble, who while they vigorously pursue the things that are divine, shine with heavenly light in all their work: and they have nothing of degeneracy, who in the great light of all their conduct display the rays of their celestial origin.
He said to him: Behold, there is a man of God in this city, etc. For this is the patience and faith of the saints, this is continuous love, this long expectation seeing from afar and greeting the joy of the Lord's incarnation and the restoration of humanity; this, I say, is the frequent plea in the Scriptures of saving grace: Stir up your strength, and come to make us safe. Arise, why do you sleep, Lord? arise, and do not reject us to the end; why do you turn your face away (Psalm 79, 43)? and other such things. Behold, they say, there is in the city of worldly conversation, most noble by heavenly grace, and without any doubt the truest chorus of the prophets. Now therefore let us go there, and from contemplating the glory of your divinity, which is only apparent to pure hearts, let us also come to perceive the mysteries of humanity, once promised and now long desired. Blessed indeed are the eyes that have seen, and the ears that have deserved to hear these things (Matthew 12). Perhaps with these things resounding about you, and affirming the path of our devotion, with the help of the proclamations of the prophets, the world will begin to believe, and we ourselves, with those who were lost brought back to life, will rest from the long effort of so much time. The word of doubt is placed to show the severity of human error and the difficulty of healing, according to the Savior's saying: Do you think he will find faith on earth? and: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me too (Luke 18). Similar to this passage, the wise lover speaks to Christ in the song of her love: Who will give you to me, my brother, nursing at the breasts of my mother, that I might find you outside and kiss you (Cant. 8)? As if she openly said: Whom I believe, confess, and adore as invisible God within, him also I long to see and speak to outside in the form of my substance.
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…
Zuph, Land of — (1 Sam. 9:5, 6), a district in which lay Samuel’s city, Ramah. It was probably so named after Elkanah’s son, Zuph (1 Chr. 6:26, marg.).
Prophets · Were called: Men of God — Were called: Men of God
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).
John Gill on 1 Samuel 9:6
And he said unto him,.... That is, the servant of Saul:
behold, now, there is in this city a man of God; a prophet of the Lord, as the Targum; such were called men of God, because not only partakers of the grace of God, but of extraordinary gifts, which qualified them for the office of prophets. The city near to which they now were was Ramah, the place where Samuel lived, and he is the man of God here meant:
and he is an honourable man; of great esteem among men for his wisdom and knowledge, integrity and faithfulness, and particularly for his gift of prophecy, being a true prophet of the Lord; so the Targum,"and he is a man that prophesies truth,''and that made him honourable, and gave hi…
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…
The phrase man of God was used to describe a prophet (2:27; also Deut 33:1; Josh 14:6; 1 Kgs 13:1-32).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 9:6
Our road. The story about the donkeys, i.e., what has become of them, for whom we have gone all this way.2They were not only seeking advice where to look for the donkeys, but were also looking for an explanation for their long journey. They were puzzled over why they had searched and not found them yet, being that donkeys usually do not stray far from their home.
Saul said to his servant: Behold, we will go, etc. Saul, indeed, and his servant were wandering, in that they thought to seek the gifts of prophecy from the man of God, and therefore they were disturbed in vain, because they had not even taken a small offering with them, which could have been given to him as a travel provision. The small offering, beautifully woven from palm leaves, though the bread which was within it had run out, is usually given as a gift during a greeting, if the holy man had not been accustomed to say truthfully to everyone of his own accord. But the order of the allegorical sense does not err, because the Lord diligently urges His chosen servants with frequent chastening, so that they may not come empty in mind or deed to hear the word of God and to seek His way, which is Christ (for no one comes to the Father except through Him), but may carefully inquire what of appropriate obedience, what of other virtues they should show to their teacher, to whom the word should be rightly entrusted. And also in the Old Testament, whoever desired that Christ would come into the world to fulfill the prophecies of the prophets, who wished that Saul would enter the city of Samuel and do what he taught, were then taught by Christ Himself through secret inspiration to pursue good works, so that they might be found worthy to see and hear what many just men and kings had previously desired but did not hear or see. Behold, he says, we will go; what shall we bring to the man? The bread has run out in our supplies, and we do not have a small offering. Behold, the time is pressing for the prophecy to be fulfilled in Christ, what good works do we have, by which we may recommend ourselves to the preachers of that time, and deserve to learn from Him whom we need? Indeed, the observance of the law has been corrupted by the traditions of the Pharisees, or rather it has itself been worn out by its antiquity and as if by long use, it has run out in our deeds; and we have not been able to achieve the conversation of new grace, which awaits the kingdom of heaven, before He comes and teaches to whom it is reserved. For the plaited palms, which used to be given as a reward to the victors, signify actions worthy of heavenly reward; vessels woven from palm leaves demonstrate hearts expanded with the hope of eternal joys.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
