1 Samuel 11:5
in 1 Samuel 11Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
KJV
And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSaul came after the herd - He had been bred up to an agricultural life, and after his consecration he returned to it, waiting for a call of Divine providence, which he considered he had now received in the message from Jabesh-gilead. It has often been remarked, that mighty kings and accomplished generals have been chosen from among those who were engaged in agricultural concerns. In these observations one fact is lost sight of, viz., that in ancient times agriculture was the only employment.
This site's exposition
Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen
on 1 Samuel 11:5-7
Saul comes in from the field behind his oxen, still a farmer, and the Spirit of God rushes upon him with an anger that for once brings deliverance. The cut oxen sent through Israel echo the Levite’s signal at Judges 19:29, now summoning Israel to rescue a city. It is "the terror of the LORD" that unites the people, not loyalty to a king who has not yet acted.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
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 Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
What is here related turns very much to the honour of Saul, and shows the happy fruits of that other spirit with which he was endued. Though he was anointed king, and accepted by his people, yet he did not think it below him to know the state of his own flocks, but went himself to see them, and came in the evening, with his servants, after the herd out of the field,
31 ), Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. It was necessary that the command should be enforced with some penalty, but this was not nearly so severe as that which was affixed to a similar order by the whole congregation, Judg. xxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And, behold, Saul came after the herd out the field,....
This was an evidence that he was not puffed up with his advancement, as those are most apt to be that are raised from a mean estate. Providence had not yet found him business as a king; he left all to Samuel; and therefore, rather than be idle, he would, for the present, apply himself to his country business again.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁא֗וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | [was] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַבָּקָר֙ | habakar | the cattle | H1241 → | 183 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לָּעָ֖ם | laam | [is] to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִבְכּ֑וּ | yivku | they are weeping | H1058 → | 114 times |
| וַיְסַ֨פְּרוּ־ | vaysaperu- | and they recounted | H5608 → | |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֖י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| יָבֵֽישׁ׃ | yaveish | Jabesh | H3003 → | 24 times |
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
שָׁא֗וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
בָּ֣א[was] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַבָּקָר֙the cattle
habakarH1241 →183 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֔הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לָּעָ֖ם[is] to the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
יִבְכּ֑וּthey are weeping
yivkuH1058 →114 times
וַיְסַ֨פְּרוּ־and they recounted
vaysaperu-H5608 →
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֖י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
אַנְשֵׁ֥י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
יָבֵֽישׁ׃Jabesh
yaveishH3003 →24 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
Genesis 21:17Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the…
it leads to
- Genesis 16:11
The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Genesis 16:11
Through
1 Samuel 9:1Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 14:51
Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
- Acts 13:21
Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- 1 Chronicles 9:36–39
Abdon was his firstborn son, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,
- 1 Samuel 14:51
Through
1 Kings 19:19So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 2:8
And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
- 2 Kings 2:8
Through
Isaiah 22:1This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 21:13
Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
- Psalms 125:2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people, both now and forevermore.
- Jeremiah 21:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.