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Texts -- 1 Samuel 9:1-3 (NET)

Context
Samuel Meets with Saul
9:1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel , the son of Zeror , the son of Becorath , the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person . 9:2 He had a son named Saul , a handsome young man . There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people . 9:3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off , so Kish said to his son Saul , “Take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys .”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Saul

    [ebd] asked for. (1.) A king of Edom (Gen. 36:37, 38); called Shaul in 1 Chr. 1:48. (2.) The son of Kish (probably his only son, and a child of prayer, "asked for"), of the tribe of Benjamin, the first king of the Jewish nation. T...
    [isbe] SAUL - sol (sha'ul; Saoul): (1) The first king of Israel. I. EARLY HISTORY 1. Name and Meaning 2. Genealogy 3. Home and Station 4. Sources for Life 5. Election as King 6. Reasons for It II. REIGN AND FALL 1. His First Action...
    [smith] (desired), more accurately Shaul. One of the early kings of Edom, and successor of Samlah. (Genesis 36:37,38; 1 Chronicles 1:48) (B.C. after 1450.) The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. ...
    [nave] SAUL 1. Called also Shaul. King of Edom, Gen. 36:37, 38; 1 Chr. 1:48, 49. 2. King of Israel. A Benjamite, son of Kish, 1 Sam. 9:1, 2. Sons of, 1 Chr. 8:33. His personal appearance, 1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23. Made king of Israel,...

  • Kish

    [ebd] a bow. (1.) A Levite of the family of Merari (1 Chr. 23:21; 24:29). (2.) A Benjamite of Jerusalem (1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36). (3.) A Levite in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:12). (4.) The great-grandfather of Mordecai (Esther 2:5)...
    [isbe] KISH - kish (qish; Kis, Keis, "bow," "power"): The name of five persons mentioned in the Bible: (1) The son of Abiel and the father of Saul, the first king of Israel. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, of the family of the Mat...
    [nave] KISH 1. Father of Saul, 1 Sam. 9:1-3; 10:21; 2 Sam. 21:14. Called Cis in Acts 13:21. 2. A Benjamite, 1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36. 3. A Levite, 1 Chr. 23:21, 22; 24:29. 4. A Levite, 2 Chr. 29:12. 5. Great grandfather of Mordecai, ...

  • Samuel

    [isbe] SAMUEL - sam'-u-el (shemu'el; Samouel): The word "Samuel" signifies "name of God," or "his name is El" (God). Other interpretations of the name that have been offered are almost certainly mistaken. The play upon the name in ...
    [nave] SAMUEL Miraculous birth of, 1 Sam. 1:7-20. Consecrated to God before his birth, 1 Sam. 1:11, 22, 24-28. His mother's song of thanksgiving, 1 Sam. 2:1-10. Ministered in the house of God, 1 Sam. 2:11, 18, 19. Blessed of Go...

  • Zeror

    [isbe] ZEROR - ze'-ror (tseror, meaning unknown; the Septuagint has Ared; Lucian has Sara): An ancestor of Kish and King Saul (1 Sam 9:1). See ZUR, (2).
    [smith] (a bundle), a Benjamite, ancestor of Kish the father of Saul. (1 Samuel 9:1) (B.C. about 1730.)
    [nave] ZEROR, father of Abiel, 1 Sam. 9:1.

  • ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 2

    [isbe] ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 2 - III. Period of the Judges. 1. General Character of Period: In such a period of weakened national and religious life, it could easily happen that Israel would again lose the supremacy that it had won b...

  • Abiel

    [ebd] father (i.e., "possessor") of God = "pious." (1.) The son of Zeror and father of Ner, who was the grandfather of Saul (1 Sam. 14:51; 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39). In 1 Sam. 9:1, he is called the "father," probably meaning the grandfat...
    [isbe] ABIEL - a'-bi-el, ab'-yel, a-bi'-el ('abhi'el, "my father is God," or "God is father"): (1) A descendant of Benjamin the son of Jacob. Father of Kish the father of King Saul, and also, apparently, the father of Ner the fathe...
    [nave] ABIEL 1. Saul's grandfather, 1 Sam. 14:51. 2. A Benjamite, 1 Sam. 9:1. See: Abi-Albon.

  • Herdsman

    [ebd] 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 when they left it they too...

  • Stray

    [nave] STRAY Animals straying to be returned, Ex. 23:4; Deut. 22:1-3. Instance of animals straying, Kish's, 1 Sam. 9.

  • Aphiah

    [isbe] APHIAH - a-fi'-a ('aphiach): A Benjaminate and an ancestor of King Saul (1 Sam 9:1).
    [smith] (refreshed), one of the fore-fathers of King Saul. (1 Samuel 9:1)
    [nave] APHIAH, a Benjamite, 1 Sam. 9:1.

  • BENJAMITE

    [isbe] BENJAMITE - ben'-ja-mit: One belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, such as Ehud (Jdg 3:15), Saul (1 Sam 9:1,2), Sheba (2 Sam 20:1), Shimei (1 Ki 2:8), etc.

  • Bechorath

    [smith] (first-born), son of Aphiah or Abiah, and grandson of Becher according to (1 Samuel 9:1; 1 Chronicles 7:8) (B.C. before 1093.)
    [nave] BECHORATH, son of Aphiah, 1 Sam. 9:1.

  • ZUR

    [isbe] ZUR - zur (tsur "rock"): (1) A prince or chief (Nu 25:15; 31:8) of Midian, father of the woman slain with Zimri by Phinehas. Josh 13:21 describes him as one of the princes of Sihon, but the reference there is regarded as a g...

  • ABIEL OR ABIEL

    [smith] (father of strength , i.e. strong). Father of Kish, and consequently grandfather of Saul, (1 Samuel 9:1) as well as of Abner, Saul?s commander-in-chief. (1 Samuel 14:51) (B.C. 1093-1055.) One of David?s mighty men. (1Ã...

  • Benjamin

    [nave] BENJAMIN 1. Son of Jacob by Rachel, Gen. 35:18, 24; 46:19. Taken into Egypt, Gen. 42-45. Prophecy concerning, Gen. 49:27. Descendants of, Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38-41. Tribe of Census of, at Sinai, Num. 1:37; in the plain ...

  • Abner

    [nave] ABNER, son of Ner. Cousin of Saul, 1 Sam. 14:50, 51, with 1 Sam. 9:1. Captain of the army, 1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 26:5, 14. Dedicated spoils of war to the tabernacle, 1 Chr. 26:27, 28. Loyalty of, to the house of Saul, 2 Sam...

  • DAVID

    [isbe] DAVID - da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon): I. NAME AND GENEALOGY II. EARLY YEARS 1. Shepherd 2. Slinger 3. Harpist 4. Poet 5. Psalmist 6. Tribesman III....

  • BECORATH

    [isbe] BECORATH - be-ko'-rath (bekhorath, "the first birth"; the King James Version Bechorath): A forefather of Saul of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Sam 9:1).

  • Ass

    [ebd] frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. 'athon), so named from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.) The male ass (Heb. hamor), the c...

  • BOAZ

    [isbe] BOAZ - bo'-az (bo`az; Booz; "quickness" (?) Ruth 2 through 4; 1 Ch 2:11,12; Mt 1:5; Lk 3:32): (1) A resident of Bethlehem and kinsman of Elimelech, Naomi's husband. In Ruth 2:1 he is described as a gibbor chayil, a phrase wh...

  • CIS

    [isbe] CIS - sis (Keis): The form given in Acts 13:21 the King James Version for Kish, the father of Saul the first king of Israel (1 Sam 9:1 f).
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:101. Hannah's condition 1:1-82. Hannah's vow 1:9-183. Hannah's obedience 1:19-284. Hannah's song 2:1-10B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2...
  • The rest of the chapter explains why God would put Eli's sons to death (v. 25). The specific criticism that the man of God (a prophet, cf. 9:9-10) directed against Eli and his sons was two-fold. They had not appreciated God's...
  • "Clearly these five chapters constitute a literary unit, for they are immediately preceded by the formula that marks the end of the story of a judge (7:13-17) and immediately followed by the formula that marks the beginning o...
  • In chapters 9-11 the writer painted Saul as the ideal man to serve as king from the human viewpoint. This pericope (9:1-10:16) sets forth his personal conduct.100...
  • We should probably not interpret the reference to God changing Saul's heart (v. 9) to mean that at this time Saul experienced personal salvation. This always takes place when a person believes God's promise, and there is no i...
  • "Saul's rise to kingship over Israel took place in three distinct stages: He was (1) anointed by Samuel (9:1-10:16), (2) chosen by lot (10:17-27), and (3) confirmed by public acclamation (11:1-15).112Saul's anointing had been...
  • The writer wrote chapters 12-15 very skillfully to parallel chapters 8-11. Each section begins with Samuel warning the people about the dangers of their requesting a king (chs. 8 and 12). Each one also follows with a descript...
  • The people's rebellion against God was not something they could undo. Consequences would follow. Nevertheless Samuel counselled them to follow and serve the Lord faithfully from then on. They should not fear that God would ab...
  • "In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
  • "In addition to being the middle chapter of 1 Samuel, chapter 16 is pivotal in another way as well: Its first half (vv. 1-13), ending with a statement concerning David's reception of the Spirit of God, describes David's anoin...
  • Since he had been unsuccessful in murdering David himself, Saul also tried to get other people to kill him (cf. 2 Sam. 11:15). Saul had promised his daughter in marriage to Goliath's victor (17:25). Nevertheless now Saul adde...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 1 Samuel 10:17-27These verses fit on to 1 Samuel 8., 1 Samuel 9, through 1 Samuel 10:16, being probably from another source, inserted here because the anointing of Saul, told in them, did occur between Samuel's dismissal of t...
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