1 Samuel 11:4
in 1 Samuel 11When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and spake these words in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
KJV
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThen came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul,.... Where he was born, and brought up, and now dwelt; and he being elected king, it brought an honour to the place; and from hence had this name, to distinguish it from the others, and this is the first time it was so called.
This site's exposition
Hold off for seven days
on 1 Samuel 11:3-4
The elders ask for seven days, which Adam Clarke calls the standard form such offers took, and send messengers "throughout Israel" rather than to Saul by name. John Gill observes that this is the first place Scripture calls the town Gibeah of Saul, a name fixed to him before he has done anything to earn it.
This site's exposition
Gibeah of Saul
The messengers came to Gibeah, Saul's birthplace and home in Benjamin, as John Gill notes. Benjamin had taken its wives from Jabesh-gilead at Judges 21:12 to 14, when that tribe was nearly wiped out. The people who wept were kin.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Therefore, messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, etc. Messengers sent out of necessity of the faith came to Jerusalem, or some other notable city of the faith, in which it was not doubtful that the Lord reigned; and they narrated to themselves that the Church …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
6. Gibeah, as we have already said above, is interpreted as "lofty." And because the height of merits is not equal among all the elect, messengers are said to have come to Saul at Gibeah, so that we may be taught by spiritual meaning that when we are driven by powerful temptations, we should have recourse to the counsels of our preachers. But we are also instructed by the affliction of the weeping people, so that we may be joined to the needs of our brothers by inward compassion of mind.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Then came the messengers to Gibeah - It does not appear that the people of Jabesh-gilead knew any thing of Saul’s appointment to the kingdom, for the message is not directed to him but to the people. The people lifted up their voices and wept - They saw no hope of deliverance, and they expected that their reproach would be laid on all Israel.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
3, 4. send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel--a curious proof of the general dissatisfaction that prevailed as to the appointment of Saul. Those Gileadites deemed him capable neither of advising nor succoring them; and even in his own town the appeal was made to the people--not to the prince. THEY SEND TO SAUL, AND ARE DELIVERED.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They came to Gibeah on account of the connection between the Benjamites and the people of Jabesh Judg. 21. In the ears of the people - They did not even inquire for Saul, so little was he looked upon as king. 1Sa 11:5 shows how completely he was still in a private and humble station.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Behind the cattle. After the appointed time that the cattle come in from the field.
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. 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַמַּלְאָכִים֙ | hamalakhim | the messengers | H4397 → | 213 times |
| גִּבְעַ֣ת | givat | Gibeah of | H1390 → | 45 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וַיְדַבְּר֥וּ | vaydaberu | and they spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֖ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵ֣י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיִּשְׂא֧וּ | vaiyisu | and they lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קוֹלָ֖ם | kolam | voice their | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃ | vaiyivku | and they wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
וַיָּבֹ֤אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
הַמַּלְאָכִים֙the messengers
hamalakhimH4397 →213 times
גִּבְעַ֣תGibeah of
givatH1390 →45 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וַיְדַבְּר֥וּand they spoke
vaydaberuH1696 →1141 times
הַדְּבָרִ֖יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
בְּאָזְנֵ֣יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →187 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיִּשְׂא֧וּand they lifted up
vaiyisuH5375 →656 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קוֹלָ֖םvoice their
kolamH6963 →506 times
וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃and they wept
vaiyivkuH1058 →114 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
Judges 21:2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
it leads to
- Judges 2:4
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 20:26
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
- Judges 20:18
The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.
- 1 Samuel 30:4
So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
- Judges 2:4
Through
1 Samuel 10:26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
it leads to
- 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.
- Acts 7:10
and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
- Joshua 18:28
Through
Judges 2:4When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
it leads to
- James 4:9
Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- 2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
- James 4:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
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 5, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.