Year of the Bible
1 Samuel 9
Access your family's weekly resource for the Year of the Bible HERE
Commentary on the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 9:
Since the people have requested a human king, God must raise up the man to fill that position. We meet this man, Saul, as a handsome, young man from a nondescript family in the small tribe of Benjamin. He is busy searching for some lost donkeys, an effort that will allow him to meet the right person at the right time. The search takes Saul to Samuel the prophet, and the chapter ends as Samuel prepares to tell Saul what God has said about Saul’s future.
The First Book of Samuel, Chapter 9:
Saul Chosen to Be King
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth; 2 and he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And they p passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he says comes true. Let us go there; perhaps he can tell us about the journey on which we have set out.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have we?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me the fourth part of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young maidens coming out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Make haste; he has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those eat who are invited. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24 So the cook took up the leg and the upper portion and set them before Saul; and Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul upon the roof, and he lay down to sleep. 26 Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
Samuel Anoints Saul
27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
Lord, help me to see past my worldly concerns of daily life, and cooperate with your bigger plans. Is there anyone in my life today that could use an prophetic/encouraging word from you? Help me to hear your voice in Scripture and in my heart and mind, so I can be a blessing to others.
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.
1 Había un hombre de la tribu de Benjamín,
llamado Quis, hijo de Abiel, hijo
de Seror, hijo de Becorat, hijo de Afíaj, un
benjaminita influyente 2 que tenía un hijo
llamado Saúl, aventajado y buen mozo; no
había en Israel nadie más alto que él, sobrepasaba
a todos de hombros para arriba. 3 A
Quis, padre de Saúl, se le habían perdido
unas asnas; y le dijo:
–Hijo mío, llévate a uno de los criados
y vete a buscar las asnas.
4 Atravesaron los montes de Efraím,
la región de Salisá y no las encontraron.
Recorrieron la región de Saalim y no estaban;
luego la de Benjamín y tampoco
las encontraron. 5 Llegaron entonces a la
región de Suf y dijo Saúl a su criado:
–Vamos a volver, no sea que mi padre
deje de preocuparse por las asnas y
esté intranquilo por nosotros.
6 El criado le contestó:
–Hay en esta cuidad un hombre de
Dios, un hombre honorable; todo lo que
dice se cumple siempre. Vamos, quizá
nos indique el camino que debemos seguir.
7 Saúl dijo al criado:
–Si vamos, ¿qué le llevaremos a este
hombre? No queda pan en el zurrón ni
tenemos nada que ofrecer al hombre de
Dios. ¿Qué nos queda?
8 Respondió el criado:
–Mira, he encontrado aquí un cuarto
de siclo de plata. Se lo daremos al
hombre de Dios para que nos indique
el camino.
9 Antiguamente cuando alguien iba a
consultar a Dios se decía: «Vayamos al
vidente», porque al que hoy llamamos
profeta se le llamaba antes vidente.
10 Y dijo Saúl a su criado:
–Has hablado bien, ¡vamos!
Y fueron hacia la ciudad donde estaba
el hombre de Dios. 11 Mientras subían
por la cuesta de la ciudad se encontraron
con unas jóvenes que salían a sacar
agua, y les preguntaron:
–¿Está aquí el vidente?
12 Ellas respondieron:
–Aquí está, va delante de vosotros.
Precisamente ha venido a la ciudad porque
hoy es el día del sacrificio en la colina.
13 Al entrar en la ciudad, lo encontraréis
antes de que suba a la colina para
comer. El pueblo no empezará a comer
hasta que llegue, pues él ha de bendecir
el sacrificio; después comerán los convocados.
Así pues, subid, que enseguida
lo encontraréis.
14 Subieron a la ciudad y, al entrar en
la cuidad, se toparon con Samuel que
venía para subir a la colina. 15 El Señor,
un día antes de que llegara Saúl, había
hecho a Samuel esta revelación:
16 –Mañana, a esta misma hora, te
enviaré un hombre de la tierra de Benjamín.
Le ungirás como jefe de mi pueblo
Israel; él salvará a mi pueblo de la mano
de los filisteos porque he mirado a mi
pueblo y su clamor ha llegado hasta mí.
17 Cuando Samuel vio a Saúl, le dijo
el Señor:
–Éste es el hombre del que te hablé;
éste regirá a mi pueblo.
18 Saúl se acercó a Samuel, a la puerta
de la ciudad, y le dijo:
–Indícame, por favor, dónde está la
casa del vidente.
19 Samuel le respondió:
–Yo soy el vidente. Sube conmigo a
la colina. Hoy comeréis conmigo y mañana
te dejaré ir. Te descubriré todo lo
que hay en tu corazón; 20 y no te preocupes
de las asnas que perdiste hace tres
días porque han sido encontradas. Además,
¿para quién será lo mejor de Israel?
¿No será para ti y para la casa de tu padre?
21 Saúl dijo:
–¿No soy yo de Benjamín, la tribu
más pequeña de Israel, y mi familia la
menor de la tribu de Benjamín? ¿Por
qué me dices esas cosas a mí?
22 Samuel tomó a Saúl y a su criado,
los introdujo en la sala y les asignó un
asiento en la cabecera de los invitados,
que eran unos treinta. 23 Entonces dijo al
cocinero:
–Sirve la parte que te entregué y te
indiqué que pusieras a un lado.
24 Sacó el cocinero la pierna y el rabo,
y los colocó ante Saúl. Samuel le dijo:
–Ahí tienes lo reservado para ti.
Come, pues se te ha reservado deliberadamente,
como señal de que yo he invitado
al pueblo.
Y aquel día Saúl comió con Samuel.
25 Bajaron luego de la colina a la ciudad,
prepararon una estera para Saúl en
el terrado, y éste se acostó. 26 Al despuntar
el alba, llamó Samuel a Saúl en el terrado
y le dijo:
–Levántate, que te voy a despedir.
Se levantó Saúl y salieron los dos,
Samuel y Saúl. 27 Bajaron juntos hasta las
afueras de la ciudad y dijo Samuel:
–Di a tu criado que vaya delante de
nosotros, y tú quédate para que te dé a
conocer la palabra de Dios.
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
Señor, ayúdame a ver más allá de mis preocupaciones cotidianas y a cooperar con tus planes más importantes. ¿Hay alguien en mi vida que podría necesitar una palabra profética/de aliento de tu parte? Ayúdame a escuchar tu voz en las Escrituras y en mi corazón y mente, para que pueda ser una bendición para otros.
La Biblia de Navarra
Permiso para usar esta versión de la primera edición de la Biblia de Navarra
para el Año de la Biblia del Obispo
dado por Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A. (EUNSA).