1 Samuel 9:7

What shall we bring? — It would seem at first strange that one like Samuel should be approached by presents, but the custom of offering gifts was in many cases an act of respectful homage to a superior rather than a mere fee. Compare, for instance, the many detailed accounts of presents offered and accepted, chronicled in the varied sacred records — such as the little present of spicery, &c, sent by Jacob to the great minister or vizier of the Pharaoh of Egypt (Genesis 43:11), and the ten cheeses Jesse gave to the captain of the thousand in which his sons were serving, and in the days of the highest civilisation and culture known in Israel, the gifts offered by the Queen of Sheba to the magnificent Solomon (1 Kings 10:10).