1 Samuel 9:5

_AND WHEN THEY WERE COME TO THE LAND OF ZUPH, SAUL SAID TO HIS SERVANT THAT WAS WITH HIM, COME, AND LET US RETURN; LEST MY FATHER LEAVE CARING FOR THE ASSES, AND TAKE THOUGHT FOR US._ No JFB commentary on this verse....

1-10 Saul readily went to seek his father's asses. His obedience to his father was praise-worthy. His servant proposed, that since they were now at Ramah, they should call on Samuel, and take his advice. Wherever we are, we should use our opportunities of acquainting ourselves with those who are wise and good. Many will consult a man of God, if he comes in their way, that would not go a step out of their way to get wisdom. We sensibly feel worldly losses, and bestow much pains to make them up; but how little do we attempt, and how soon are we weary, in seeking the salvation of our souls! If ministers could tell men how to secure their property, or to get wealth, they would be more consulted and honoured than they now are, though employed in teaching them how to escape eternal misery, and to obtain eternal life. Most people would rather be told their fortune than their duty. Samuel neede...

Verse 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 went into the _southern_ land, but did not meet with them. And he passed through the land of _Mathbera_, but they were not there; and he passed through the l...

EXPOSITION SELECTION OF SAUL AS KING BY THE VOICE OF PROPHECY. GENEALOGY OF SAUL (1 Samuel 9:1). 1 SAMUEL 9:1 A MAN … WHOSE NAME WAS KISH. The genealogy of Saul is rendered obscure by the Hebrew custom of abbreviating such records by the omission of names. The family documents were no doubt kept in full, but when transcribed, as here and in the First Book of Chronicles, only a summary is given, and as the omitted links are not always the same, great difficulty is necessarily the result. The most satisfactory genealogy is that given b

AND WHEN THEY WERE COME TO THE LAND OF ZUPH,.... In which was Ramathaimzophim, the native place of Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:1 and so the Targum here, "the land in which was the prophet'' SAUL SAID TO THE SERVANT THAT WAS WITH HIM, COME, AND LET US RETURN; home, despairing of finding the asses after so long a search in divers places: LEST MY FATHER LEAVE CARING FOR THE ASSES, AND TAKE THOUGHT FOR US; fearing some evil should have befallen his son and his servant, in comparison of whom, and especially his son, the asses would be of no account, and so give himself no concern for them, but be in great care and uneasiness for his son and servant; wherefore Saul thought it most advisable to return home as soon as possible, lest his father should be overwhelmed with grief and trouble....

2. THE STORY OF SAUL AND HIS ANOINTING Chapter S 9:1-10:16 _ 1. Saul the son of Kish and the lost asses (1 Samuel 9:1)_ 2. Samuel and Saul (1 Samuel 9:11) 3. Saul anointed King (1 Samuel 9:25; 1 Samuel 10:1) And now the Lord gives them a king according to their choice. “He should possess all the natural attractions and martial qualities which the people could desire in their king; he should reflect their religious standpoint at their best; but he should also represent their national failings and the inmost defects of their religious life; that of combining zeal for the religion of Jehovah, and

1 SAMUEL 9:1 TO 1 SAMUEL 10:16. SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL AS KING. (J), taken from one of the oldest narratives (see Introduction, p. 273). Note the absence of any connexion with the Deuteronomic narrative in the previous chapter also the inconsistencies; in 1 Samuel 7:13 the Philistines were permanently disposed of; in 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 10:5, they are oppressing Israel and have a garrison in the heart of the country; in our present narrative we have no trace of hostility to the Monarchy. This section preserves important features of primitive religious l

Saul's search for his Father's Asses 3. _the asses_ In the East asses are valuable property, indispensable for farm-work and travelling. The possession of a drove of asses, and several servants, indicates that Kish was a man of some substance....

WHEN THEY WERE COME TO THE LAND OF ZUPH— See chap. 1 Samuel 1:1. _Zuph_ was a territory in the tribe of Ephraim, where some of Samuel's ancestors had lived; and _Ramah,_ where Samuel now dwelt, must have been in it, as we collect from the new verse....

_Saul's Search For His Father's Asses. 1 Samuel 9:1-5_ Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name _was_ Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a son, whose name _was_ Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and _there was_ not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward _he was_ higher than any of the people. 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 asses. 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_