1 Samuel 9:6-10

Saul Seeks The Seer. 1 Samuel 9:6-10

6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can show us our way that we should go.

7 Then said Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?

8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

9(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)

10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.

6.

Who was the man of God? 1 Samuel 9:6

Saul's servant must have known of Samuel's being in the area. His reference was to Samuel himself, for it was he whom they met when they looked for the man of God. Evidently they had confidence in his ability to give advice and direction in all kinds of life's situations. To speak of a man of God was to refer to a prophet. They were true men of God. Many unnamed prophets are known only in this way (1 Samuel 2:27; 1 Kings 13:1). Even Moses is described by this phrase (Deuteronomy 33:1) as if there were no more honorable title.

7.

Why did they want to bring a present to Samuel? 1 Samuel 9:7

Saul knew that he did not have any kind of victuals to give to the man of God. He evidently did not have any money, for he took the fourth part of the shekel of silver which his servant had to give to Samuel. Such concern indicates that it was customary for the Israelites to give a little something to their prophets. Such a practice helps us to understand the meaning of the priest in Israel who told Amos to go on back to Judah to prophesy and there eat bread (Amos 7:12). It has ever been God's ordinance that they who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. It was not right to muzzle the oxen which tread the grain (Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 1 Timothy 5:18).

8.

What is the meaning of the two words for a prophet? 1 Samuel 9:9

The Hebrew word used most often to describe a prophet is a word that means to announce or to declare. The primary idea of the prophet is one who utters a communication. A popular definition of a prophet is one who speaks for another. Two other Hebrew words are used to name the prophet. Both of these mean one who sees. In this verse one of these other two words is used and is translated seer. The three words occur together in 1 Chronicles 29:29, where they seem to be in contrast with one another. When the book of Samuel was written, the word prophet was most common, but earlier the other word had been used quite often. Radical critics take this to be an indication of the fact that the book was not written until a long time after the events had happened. A man's lifeime is long enough for different words to come into popular use. In less than a generation a word may fall into disuse, and this is not evidence enough to take the authorship of the book away from Samuel and give it to a later author. The two words help us to understand the functions of a prophet. Saul evidently went to the man whom he thought could see and tell him where he could find his father's asses.