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1 Samuel 10:16

in 1 Samuel 10

And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

KJV

And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 10

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Whither went ye

on 1 Samuel 10:14-16

Saul's uncle asks only after the asses, and Saul answers only about the asses, keeping back the larger matter of the kingdom that Samuel had spoken. The silence is Saul's own choice, not an omission of the narrator, since the text says plainly that of the kingdom he told him not. Gill and others read the reticence as modesty proper to a man not yet installed before the people, a restraint that stands in sharp contrast to the later Saul who cannot keep his throne out of his mouth.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.

proposed

30. The word of the kingdom is the honorable dignity of the pastor. For by its very display it speaks: because he is no mere uncle who is elevated by so great an order. Therefore the king does not reveal the word of the kingdom: because the pastor of the Church speaks with the great splendor of divinity, but does not speak with pride. He who indeed does not reveal the word conceals what he speaks. For the word always speaks to him for whom it is a word; otherwise it is not a word.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Saul said unto his uncle,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

But about the matter of the kingship he did not tell him. He possessed a discretionary nature. 7 See Maseches Megillah 13b.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Samuel 10:16:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

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. 7 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

19 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • שָׁאוּל֙Saul

    shaulH7586 →402 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • דּוֹד֔וֹuncle his

    dodoH1730 →61 times

  • הַגֵּ֤דcertainly <to tell>

    hagedH5046 →370 times

  • הִגִּיד֙he told

    higidH5046 →370 times

  • לָ֔נוּto <the> us

    lanu

  • כִּ֥יthat

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • נִמְצְא֖וּthey had been found

    nimtzeuH4672 →455 times

  • הָאֲתֹנ֑וֹתthe she-asses

    haatonotH860 →34 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • דְּבַ֤ר[the] word of

    devarH1697 →1440 times

  • הַמְּלוּכָה֙the kingship

    hamelukhahH4410 →24 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • הִגִּ֣ידhe told

    higidH5046 →370 times

  • ל֔וֹto <the> him

    lo

  • אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אָמַ֥רhe had said

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • שְׁמוּאֵֽל׃ פSamuel

    shemuelH8050 →141 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

6 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Proverbs 29:11A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.4 works1 Samuel 9:20As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”3 worksJudges 14:6and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.3 works1 Samuel 9:27As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on.3 worksExodus 4:18Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.2 works1 Samuel 10:2When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 29:11

    A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 19:11

      A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

    • Proverbs 12:16

      A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

    • Micah 7:5

      Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.

    • Amos 5:13

      Therefore, the prudent keep silent in such times, for the days are evil.

    • Proverbs 12:23

      A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself, but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.

  • Through

    Judges 14:6

    and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father…

    it leads to

    • Judges 3:10

      The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against…

    • Zechariah 4:6

      So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 9:20

    As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 8:5

      “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

About 1 Samuel

Samuel Blesses Saul — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Samuel Blesses Saul — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 10 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in 1 Samuel 10 →