1 Samuel 9:18
in 1 Samuel 9Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is.
KJV
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThus is great worth oftentimes hidden under a very despicable appearance. Samuel knew that it was not the house, but the man, that he wanted, and therefore answered him, " I am the seer, the person you enquire for,"
This site's exposition
Saul approached Samuel in the gateway
on 1 Samuel 9:18-19
Saul does not recognize Samuel and asks, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is”. Samuel answers, “I am the seer”, and offers a meal at his table and word of “all that is in your heart”. The man seeking directions is handed news he did not request.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Saul approached Samuel at the city gate, etc. The Lord came to John at the boundary of fulfilling the law and initiating grace. For the law and the prophets were until John; from then on the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
And because those who are great in merits are small through humility, there follows: Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, saying: "Tell me, I pray, where is the house of the Seer." If a preacher is in the city when he speaks plain and common things that are understood, what is the gate of this city if not humility? For the knowledge of the divine word is hidden from the proud and revealed to the humble.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) he did not know him, so that there was no cause to suspect any secret compact or collusion between them in this matter. I knew him not, says John Baptist concerning Christ, John i. Yet I do not think it any commendation to Saul that he was a stranger to Samuel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Will rule over My people. Will restrain [=will rule], similar to 'restrained [ עָצוּר ] and let free.' 9 Devarim:36. This is the function of the ruler, to restrain the people during war, that they not scatter or spread out one from another, and.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּגַּ֥שׁ | vaiyigash | and he approached | H5066 → | 125 times |
| שָׁא֛וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑עַר | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַגִּֽידָה־ | hagidah- | tell ! | H5046 → | 370 times |
| נָּ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לִ֔י | li | to <the> me | ||
| אֵי־ | ʾei- | where? | H335 → | 39 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [is] [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָרֹאֶֽה׃ | haroeh | the seer | H7203 → | 12 times |
וַיִּגַּ֥שׁand he approached
vaiyigashH5066 →125 times
שָׁא֛וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֖לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin [the] middle of
betokhH8432 →418 times
הַשָּׁ֑עַרthe gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַגִּֽידָה־tell !
hagidah-H5046 →370 times
נָּ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לִ֔יto <the> me
li
אֵי־where?
ʾei-H335 →39 times
זֶ֖הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
בֵּ֥ית[is] [the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הָרֹאֶֽה׃the seer
haroehH7203 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonJudges to monarchySamuelAsked of God by Hannah and lent to the LORD at Shiloh; the last judge and first of the prophets after Moses, who anointed both Sau…
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.