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1 Samuel 10:2

in 1 Samuel 10

When 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?”’

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

KJV

When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

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This verse in 1 Samuel 10

Commentary

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Rachel’s sepulcher - This was nigh to Bethlehem. See Gen 35:19. At Zelzah - If this be the name of a place, nothing is known of it. The Hebrew בצלצח betseltsach is translated by the Septuagint ἁλλομενους μεγαλα, dancing greatly: now this may refer to the joy they felt and expressed on finding the asses, or it may refer to those religious exultations, or playing on instruments of music, mentioned in the succeeding verses.

This site's exposition

by Rachel’s sepulchre

on 1 Samuel 10:2-4

Three signs confirm the private word before Saul reaches home: two men at Rachel's tomb in Benjamin's own border tell him the asses are found, three men going up to Bethel share their bread, and a third sign at the hill of God completes the set. Each sign moves Saul through ground his own tribe knows, so the confirmation is local and checkable rather than distant and unfalsifiable. Samuel had told him in the previous chapter that God would show him what to do, and these three signs are that showing worked out point by point.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

When you depart from me today, you will find two men, etc. When Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, departed from the Jordan from John, he found the people long lost by deceit, but now confirmed by faith and operation. He found them indeed, recalling …

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

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

proposed

4. For it is as if He says to the humble shepherd, trembling at so great a ministry: You tremble for this reason, because you do not know whether what has been done concerning you is from God; but because you can know this, you ought not to tremble. Therefore this shall be a sign to you that not man, but God has anointed you as ruler: namely, those two men will say to you: The donkeys which you went to seek have been found.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Rachel's sepulchre - In the way to Bethlehem, which city was in Judah; her sepulchre might be either in Judah, or in Benjamin; for the possessions of those two tribes were bordering one upon another. The first place he directs him to was a sepulchre, the sepulchre of one of his ancestors.
When thou art departed from me today,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He should next meet with others going to Bethel, where, it should seem, there was a high place for religious worship, and these men were bringing their sacrifices thither,
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

When thou art departed from me to-day--The design of these specific predictions of what should be met with on the way, and the number and minuteness of which would arrest attention, was to confirm Saul's reliance on the prophetic character of Samuel, and lead him to give full credence to what had been revealed to him as the word of God.
How should Saul know that what Samuel said was the word of the Lord? Samuel gives him a sign, “Thou shalt find two men,” etc. (Compare Jdg 6:36-40; Isa 7:11-14; Joh 6:30; Mar 11:2; Mar 14:13, etc.) Zelzah - A place absolutely unknown.

The words behind it

31 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.

  • בְּלֶכְתְּךָ֤when going you

    belekhtekhaH1980 →1546 times

  • הַיּוֹם֙this day

    haiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • מֵעִמָּדִ֔יfrom with me

    meimadiH5978 →42 times

  • וּמָצָאתָ֩and you will find

    umatzataH4672 →455 times

  • שְׁנֵ֨יtwo

    sheneiH8147 →768 times

  • אֲנָשִׁ֜יםmen

    ʾanashimH582 →566 times

  • עִם־near

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • קְבֻרַ֥ת[the] tomb of

    kevuratH6900 →

  • רָחֵ֛לRachel

    rachelH7354 →

  • בִּגְב֥וּלin [the] territory of

    bigvulH1366 →240 times

  • בִּנְיָמִ֖ןBenjamin

    binyaminH1144 →166 times

  • בְּצֶלְצַ֑חat Zelzah

    betzeltzachH6766 →

  • וְאָמְר֣וּand they will say

    veameruH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלֶ֗יךָto you

    ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times

  • נִמְצְא֤וּthey have been found

    nimtzeuH4672 →455 times

  • הָאֲתֹנוֹת֙the she-asses

    haatonotH860 →34 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • הָלַ֣כְתָּyou went

    halakhtaH1980 →1546 times

  • לְבַקֵּ֔שׁto seek

    levakeshH1245 →225 times

  • וְהִנֵּ֨הand there!

    vehinehH2009 →843 times

  • נָטַ֤שׁhe has abandoned

    natashH5203 →40 times

  • אָבִ֙יךָ֙father your

    ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • דִּבְרֵ֣י[the] matter<s> of

    divreiH1697 →1440 times

  • הָאֲתֹנ֔וֹתthe she-asses

    haatonotH860 →34 times

  • וְדָאַ֤גand he is anxious

    vedaagH1672 →

  • לָכֶם֙to <the> you

    lakhem

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • מָ֥הwhat?

    mahH4100 →752 times

  • אֶעֱשֶׂ֖הwill I do

    ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times

  • לִבְנִֽי׃for son my

    livniH1121 →4930 times

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

Related verses

10 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.

Genesis 35:20Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.6 works1 Samuel 9:5When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”5 works1 Samuel 9:3–5One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.”4 worksGenesis 35:19–20So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).3 worksGenesis 29:17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.3 works1 Samuel 10:16And 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.2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Joshua 18:28Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.2 works2 Samuel 21:14And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.2 worksGenesis 48:7Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).2 worksJeremiah 31:15This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”0 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

    Jeremiah 31:15

    This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 2:16–18

      When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…

    • Psalms 77:2

      In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.

    • Jeremiah 40:1

      This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem…

    • Genesis 35:19

      So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

    • Isaiah 22:4

      Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

  • Through

    Joshua 18:28

    Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 21:14

      And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded,…

    • Joshua 15:8

      From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 10:16

    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.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 29:11

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

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 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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