1 Samuel 9:12
in 1 Samuel 9“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place.
KJV
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:
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This verse in 1 Samuel 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHe came to - day to the city - Though Samuel lived chiefly in Ramah, yet he had a dwelling in the country, at a place called Naioth, where it is probable there was a school of the prophets. See 1Sa 19:18-24. A sacrifice of the people - A great feast. The animals used were first sacrificed to the Lord; that is, their blood was poured out before him; and then all the people fed on the flesh. By high place probably Samuel’s altar is alone meant; which no doubt was raised on an eminence.
This site's exposition
some young women coming out to draw water
on 1 Samuel 9:11-13
The young women answer with more detail than the question needed: the sacrifice today, the order of eating and the hour to find him. Their precision reads like a town that knows its prophet's schedule. Saul cannot know that the LORD told Samuel the day before whom to expect, so what looks like local knowledge is the edge of a plan already in motion.
This site's exposition
Yes, he is ahead of you
The sacrifice on the high place was a shared meal. Adam Clarke explains that the animals were first offered to the LORD and the people then ate the flesh, and he takes the high place for Samuel's own altar on raised ground. Matthew Henry places the scene at Ramah, where Samuel had built an altar in 7:17.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
As if they were saying: We can point out his place because he comes there where we used to see him. For if he remained in the citadel of his own loftiness, no one could show him to you. For a teacher is in the city when he lingers in the instruction of the people subject to him through the ministry of preaching. A teacher is in the city when he leaves his own affairs to arrange what is common to all.
Those answering said to them: Here he is, behold before you, etc. The simple souls answering to Christ, to whom the conscience of each, whatever they think, is open: Here, they say, is John, taught to see heavenly things, made a forerunner for you, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Gibeah of Saul was not twenty miles from Ramah where Samuel dwelt, and was near to Mizpeh where he often judged Israel, and yet, it seems, Saul had lived so very privately, and had taken so little notice of public affairs, that he had never seen Samuel, for when he met him (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And they answered them, and said, he is,.... That is, he is in the city, at home, and to be spoken with: behold, he is before you; his house is straight before you as you go along, you cannot miss of it.
We should always be ready to give what assistance we can to those that are enquiring after God's prophets, and to further them in their enquiries. Even the maid-servants could tell them, (1.) That there was a sacrifice that day in the high place, it being either an ordinary festival or an extraordinary day of prayer and thanksgiving, with which sacrifices were joined.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
as they went up the hill--The modern village, Er-Rameh, lies on an eminence; and on their way they met a band of young maidens going out to the well, which, like all similar places in Palestine, was beyond the precincts of the town.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
As you enter the city you… They prolonged their conversation in order to gaze upon Shaul's handsomeness. 7 Maseches Berachos 48b. The girls gave an extraordinarily long answer to a relatively simple question.
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. 6 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּעֲנֶ֧ינָה | vataaneinah | and they answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אוֹתָ֛ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַתֹּאמַ֥רְנָה | vatomarnah | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יֵּ֖שׁ | yesh | there is | H3426 → | 140 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| לְפָנֶ֑יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מַהֵ֣ר׀ | maher | hurry | H4116 → | 68 times |
| עַתָּ֗ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַיּוֹם֙ | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | he has come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לָעִ֔יר | lair | to the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זֶ֧בַח | zevach | a sacrifice | H2077 → | 162 times |
| הַיּ֛וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לָעָ֖ם | laam | [belongs] to the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּבָּמָֽה׃ | babamah | at the high place | H1116 → | 102 times |
וַתַּעֲנֶ֧ינָהand they answered
vataaneinahH6030 →331 times
אוֹתָ֛ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וַתֹּאמַ֥רְנָהand they said
vatomarnahH559 →5305 times
יֵּ֖שׁthere is
yeshH3426 →140 times
הִנֵּ֣הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
לְפָנֶ֑יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
מַהֵ֣ר׀hurry
maherH4116 →68 times
עַתָּ֗הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַיּוֹם֙this day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
בָּ֣אhe has come
ba'H935 →2568 times
לָעִ֔ירto the city
lairH5892 →1090 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
זֶ֧בַחa sacrifice
zevachH2077 →162 times
הַיּ֛וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
לָעָ֖ם[belongs] to the people
laamH5971 →1873 times
בַּבָּמָֽה׃at the high place
babamahH1116 →102 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 10:5After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 3:15
But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha
- 1 Samuel 13:3
Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
- 1 Samuel 19:20
he sent messengers to capture him. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon them, and Saul’s messengers also began to prophesy.
- 1 Samuel 10:10
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
- 1 Chronicles 25:1–6
Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list…
- 2 Kings 3:15
Through
Genesis 31:54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
it leads to
- Exodus 18:12
Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
- 2 Samuel 3:20–21
When Abner and twenty of his men came to David at Hebron, David held a feast for them.
- Exodus 18:12
Through
1 Samuel 16:2“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 20:29
saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes,…
- 1 Samuel 20:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 4, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.