1 Samuel 9:3
in 1 Samuel 9One 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
KJV
And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseKish, who is called harsh, signifies not only his elect, but also the Redeemer himself. For no one was harsher toward himself than he. For the prophet, indicating the severity of this harshness, says: "Truly he himself bore our infirmities, and he himself carried our sorrows" (Isa. 53:4). For to die is not to suffer for mortals, who are subject to the suffering of a condemned nature.
This site's exposition
go look for the donkeys
on 1 Samuel 9:3-5
The straying donkeys send Saul through Ephraim, Shalishah, Shaalim and Benjamin, and the search finds nothing until he is ready to go home. The errand is as unplanned as David's trip with food to his brothers' camp at 17:17-20, and in both an ordinary errand brings a future king into the story. Saul's words, “Come, let us go back”, make the servant's suggestion the hinge of the chapter.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But the asses of Cis, father of Saul, had wandered off, etc. The souls that belonged also to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ had wandered off; because although they lived justly, before the Son of God descended to the earth, they could …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But his obedience to his father in it was very commendable. Seest thou a man diligent in his business, and dutiful to his superiors, willing to stoop and willing to take pains? he does as Saul stand fair for preferment. The servant of Kish would be faithful only as a servant, but Saul as a son, in his own business, and therefore he was sent with him.
And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost,.... Had got out of the stables or fields, in which they were kept, and strayed from thence: and Kish said to Saul his son, take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses; he chose not to send his servants only, who might not be so careful and diligent in searching for them, but his son, and not him alone, but a servant with him to wait upon him, and assist him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The asses of Kish - were lost - What a wonderful train of occurrences were connected in order to bring Saul to the throne of Israel! Every thing seems to go on according to the common course of events, and yet all conspired to favor the election of a man to the kingdom who certainly did not come there by the approbation of God. Asses grow to great perfection in the East; and at this time, as there were no horses in Judea, they were very useful; and on them kings and princes rode.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul . . . arise, go seek the asses--The probability is that the family of Kish, according to the immemorial usage of Oriental shepherds in the purely pastoral regions, had let the animals roam at large during the grazing season, at the close of which messengers were despatched in search of them.
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2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3075: “Looking for One Thing and Finding Another” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
SAUL went out to seek his father's donkeys. He failed in the search, but he found a crown. He met with the Prophet Samuel, who anointed him king over God's people, Israel, and this was far better than finding the obstinate colts. Let us consider this amazing incident. Perhaps, though it treats of donkeys, it may yield us some royal thoughts. I. Our first remark shall be—OBSERVE HOW THE HAND OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE CAUSES LITTLE THINGS TO LEAD ON TO GREAT MATTERS. This man Saul must be placed in the way of the Prophet Samuel.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3075: “Looking for One Thing and Finding Another” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
SAUL went out to seek his father's donkeys. He failed in the search, but he found a crown. He met with the Prophet Samuel, who anointed him king over God's people, Israel, and this was far better than finding the obstinate colts. Let us consider this amazing incident. Perhaps, though it treats of donkeys, it may yield us some royal thoughts. I. Our first remark shall be—OBSERVE HOW THE HAND OF GOD'S PROVIDENCE CAUSES LITTLE THINGS TO LEAD ON TO GREAT MATTERS. This man Saul must be placed in the way of the Prophet Samuel. How shall a meeting be brought about? Poor beasts of burden shall be the intermediate means! The donkeys go astray and Saul's father bids him take a servant and go seek them. In the course of their wanderings, the animals might have gone North, South, East or West—for who shall account for the wild will of runaway donkeys? But so it happened, as men say, that they strayed, or were thought to have strayed, in such a direction that, by-and-by, Saul found himself near to Ramah, where Samuel, the Prophet, was ready to anoint him. On how small an incident the greatest results may hinge! The pivots of history are microscopic. Hence, it is most important for us to learn that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of Providence as the most startling events. He who counts the stars has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined, but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up. Had we but sufficiently powerful perceptive faculties, we would see God's hand as clearly in each stone of our pathway as in the revolution of the earth. In watching our own lives, we may plainly see that on many occasions the merest grain has turned the scale.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּאבַ֙דְנָה֙ | vatovadnah | and they were lost | H6 → | |
| הָאֲתֹנ֔וֹת | haatonot | the she-asses | H860 → | 34 times |
| לְקִ֖ישׁ | lekish | of Kish | H7027 → | 21 times |
| אֲבִ֣י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| שָׁא֑וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קִ֜ישׁ | kish | Kish | H7027 → | 21 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁא֣וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| בְּנ֗וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| קַח־ | kach- | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| אִתְּךָ֙ | ʾitekha | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַחַ֣ד | ʾachad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵֽהַנְּעָרִ֔ים | mehanearim | from the young men | H5288 → | 239 times |
| וְק֣וּם | vekum | and arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לֵ֔ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בַּקֵּ֖שׁ | bakesh | seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֲתֹנֹֽת׃ | haatonot | the she-asses | H860 → | 34 times |
וַתֹּאבַ֙דְנָה֙and they were lost
vatovadnahH6 →
הָאֲתֹנ֔וֹתthe she-asses
haatonotH860 →34 times
לְקִ֖ישׁof Kish
lekishH7027 →21 times
אֲבִ֣י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
שָׁא֑וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
קִ֜ישׁKish
kishH7027 →21 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׁא֣וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
בְּנ֗וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
קַח־take
kach-H3947 →966 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
אִתְּךָ֙with you
ʾitekhaH854 →929 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַחַ֣דone
ʾachadH259 →971 times
מֵֽהַנְּעָרִ֔יםfrom the young men
mehanearimH5288 →239 times
וְק֣וּםand arise
vekumH6965 →628 times
לֵ֔ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
בַּקֵּ֖שׁseek
bakeshH1245 →225 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֲתֹנֹֽת׃the she-asses
haatonotH860 →34 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 5:10You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
it leads to
- Judges 12:14
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 10:4
He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
- Psalms 105:2
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders.
- Judges 12:14
Through
1 Samuel 10:2When 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…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 9:3–5
One 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.”
- Genesis 35:19–20
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
- 1 Samuel 9:3–5
Through
Judges 10:4He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
it leads to
- Numbers 32:41
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair.
- Deuteronomy 3:14
Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this…
- Judges 5:10
You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
- Numbers 32:41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3075: “Looking for One Thing and Finding Another” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).