1 Samuel 10:23
in 1 Samuel 10So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
KJV
And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd they ran and fetched him thence,.... Being in haste to see their king elect, and proclaim him: and when he stood among the people; being brought among them, and presented to them: he was higher than any of the people, from the shoulders, and upwards; which made him look very graceful and majestic; height of stature, and a comely form, as Kimchi observes, recommend to royal dignity; and make the people stand more in awe of a prince, and have always been reckoned among all other nations to make a prince venerable; see Gill on 1Sa 9:2.
This site's exposition
a head taller than any of the others
on 1 Samuel 10:23-24
Saul stands “a head taller than any of the others”, as chapter 9 described him, the very trait Israel prized in a king like the nations. The shout “Long live the king” appears here for the first time in Scripture. The words return at Second Samuel 16:16, spoken by Hushai as he deceives Absalom, setting an honest shout at Saul's coronation beside a flattering one.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 5 · Written before 604.
proposed
36. The prelate stands in the midst of the people when his strength is observed by all his subjects. For to stand is a mark of virtue. He who does good works steadfastly, therefore, stands. And because good works provide an example to those of lesser rank, he is seen to stand in the midst of the people, not in solitude. This is also fittingly understood as referring to the uprightness of intention. For he who stands with uprightness of body raises his head on high.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Honour, like the shadow, follows those that flee from it, but flees from those that pursue it. Samuel presents him to the people, and they accept him. He needed not to mount the bench, or scaffold, to be seen; when he stood upon even ground with the rest he was seen above them all, for he was taller than any of them by head and shoulders,
15 , Prayer shall be made for him continually. Samuel had told them they would soon be weary of their king, but, in the mind they are now in, they will never be so: Let the king live. Samuel settles the original contract between them, and leaves it upon record,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3322: “Hiding Among the Stuff” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
SAUL seems to have known that he was the elect person, having already been secretly anointed by Samuel and, therefore, while the voting was going on and while the lots were being cast, he hid himself. The Lord answered, "Behold, he has hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him from there." We hardly know why Saul did this.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
As it was of the utmost importance that the appointment should be under the divine direction and control, the determination was made by the miraculous lot, tribes, families, and individuals being successively passed until Saul was found.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3322: “Hiding Among the Stuff” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
SAUL seems to have known that he was the elect person, having already been secretly anointed by Samuel and, therefore, while the voting was going on and while the lots were being cast, he hid himself. The Lord answered, "Behold, he has hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him from there." We hardly know why Saul did this. It would be wrong to impute to him an ill motive, otherwise one would be inclined to say that he did it out of mock modesty, so that he might appear to have forced on him an honor which he did not really covet. But this would not fit with the first part of Saul's life, for in his early days and when he was first chosen king, he did seem to be one of the most hopeful persons who could possibly have been called to the office. At the end of the chapter from which our text is taken, you see an instance of his great wisdom. The men of Belial, we are told, "despised him and brought him no presents. But he held his peace," a piece of wisdom which it were well if some ministers and others, too, among us knew well how to imitate—if they, too, would sometimes be silent when the men of Belial speak concerning them. It, indeed, were well for all Christians to often imitate the example of their Lord who, when He was reviled, gave no answer but that of patient, enduring silence. We are inclined the rather, therefore, to give Saul the credit for being really so modest that he concealed himself from honor and must have greatness forced upon him. He had been born great in stature, but now to be made great in office seemed a burden which he did not covet—and so he hid himself among the stuff. From this, if it really is so, we may learn that without the Grace of God the fairest life may yet become foul'and, however beautifully a young man may commence his career, he may stumble and fall and never reach the goal.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּרֻ֙צוּ֙ | vaiyarutzu | and they ran | H7323 → | 103 times |
| וַיִּקָּחֻ֣הוּ | vaiyikachuhu | and they took him | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִשָּׁ֔ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֖ב | vaiyityatzev | and he presented himself | H3320 → | 48 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙ | vaiyigbah | and he was tall | H1361 → | |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | more than all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹ | mishikhmo | from shoulder his | H7926 → | 21 times |
| וָמָֽעְלָה׃ | vamaelah | and up -wards | H4605 → | 140 times |
וַיָּרֻ֙צוּ֙and they ran
vaiyarutzuH7323 →103 times
וַיִּקָּחֻ֣הוּand they took him
vaiyikachuhuH3947 →966 times
מִשָּׁ֔םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֖בand he presented himself
vaiyityatzevH3320 →48 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙and he was tall
vaiyigbahH1361 →
מִכָּל־more than all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מִשִּׁכְמ֖וֹfrom shoulder his
mishikhmoH7926 →21 times
וָמָֽעְלָה׃and up -wards
vamaelahH4605 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
1 Samuel 16:7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
it leads to
- John 7:24
Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Luke 16:15
So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- 1 Peter 3:4
but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
- Isaiah 55:8–9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
- John 7:24
Through
1 Samuel 17:4Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
it leads to
- Joshua 11:22
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.
- 2 Samuel 21:16–22
Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels and who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.
- Joshua 11:22
Through
1 Samuel 9:2And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the…
- 1 Samuel 16:7
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3322: “Hiding Among the Stuff” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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 (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).