Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:4
And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found [them] not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and [there they were] not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found [them] not.
4, 5. Saul’s route cannot be traced with any certainty. He started from his home at Gibeah apparently in a N.W. direction (1) through “Mount Ephraim” (see 1Sa 1:1, note); (2) through “the land of Shalisha,” perhaps the district round Baal-shalisha (2Ki 4:42), which lay about 12 miles N. of Lydda; (3) then turning S. he traversed “the land of Shalim” (= foxes), perhaps in the neighbourhood of Shaalabbin (Jos 19:42) in Dan; (4) then striking E. he searched the western part of the “land of Benjamin,” till he reached (5) “the land of Zuph,” in which lay Samuel’s city Ramah. The search occupied parts of three days ( 1Sa 9:20). It seems best to suppose that the unnamed city of 1Sa 9:6 ff. is Ramah, for ( a) the servant speaks of it as the prophet’s regular residence ( 1Sa 9:6); ( b) it is natural to connect “the land of Zuph,” in which it was situated, with the name Ramathaim-Zophim (1Sa 1:1, note); ( c) the difficulty raised by the description of Saul’s return in ch. 1Sa 10:2 (see note) may be solved by supposing that he did not go straight home, but was sent by the prophet out of his way in order to meet the men who were looking for him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The land of Shalisha was somewhere near Gilgal, i. e., Jiljulieh. It is thought to derive its name from three (Shalosh) wadys which unite in the wady of Karawa. The situation of Shalim is not known: its etymology connects it more probably with the land of Shual 1Sa 13:17, apparently round Taiyibeh, which was about nine miles from Gibeah.
Zuph – 1Sa 9:5, see 1Sa 1:1 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mount Ephraim; a part of the tribe of Ephraim, which bordered upon Benjamin; and therefore they could soon pass out of the one into the other, and back again, as they saw cause.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4, 5. he passed through mountEphraimThis being situated on the north of Benjamin, indicatesthe direction of Saul’s journey. The district explored means thewhole of the mountainous region, with its valleys and defiles, whichbelonged to Ephraim. Turning apparently southwardsprobably throughthe verdant hills between Shiloh and the vales of Jordan (Shalishaand Shalim)he approached again the borders of Benjamin, scouredthe land of Zuph, and was proposing to return, when his servantrecollected that they were in the immediate neighborhood of the manof God, who would give them counsel.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they passed through Mount Ephraim,…. The mountainous part of that tribe, which lay contiguous to the tribe of Benjamin, where it might be supposed the asses had strayed to:
and passed through the land of Shalisha; a tract in the tribe of Benjamin, so called from some illustrious person, prince, and duke of it; in it very probably was the place called Baalshalisha; 2Ki 4:42 and which perhaps is the same Jerom calls x Bethshalisha; and says there was a village of this name in the borders of Diospolis, almost fifteen miles distance from it to the north, in the Tamnitic country; though Bunting y says it was situated in Mount Ephraim, eight miles from Jerusalem to the northwest:
but they found them not; the asses, neither in Mount Ephraim, nor in the land of Shalisha:
then they passed through the land of Shalim which some take to be the same with Salim, where John was baptizing, Joh 3:23 but Jerom says z it was a village on the borders of Eleutheropolis, to the west, seven miles distant from it:
and [there they] were not; the asses could not be found there:
and he passed through the land of the Benjamites; or rather of Jemini, which was in Benjamin, so called from a famous man of that name; for it cannot be thought they should pass through the whole tribe of Benjamin in one day. And, according to Bunting a, from Gibeah, the native place of Saul, through the mountain of Ephraim, and the land of Shalisha, to the borders of Shalim, were sixteen miles; and from thence to Jemini, in the tribe of Benjamin, sixteen more:
but they found them not; the asses.
x De loc. Heb. fol. 89. K. y Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 129. z De loc. Heb. fol. 94. L. a Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 126.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(4) And he passed through mount Ephraim. The chain of the mountains of Ephraim ran southward into the territory of Benjamin, where were situated the patrimonial possessions of Sauls house.
And passed through the land of Shalisha.Or land of the Three; so called because three valleys there united in one, or one divided into three. It is believed to be the region in which Baal-shalisha lay (2Ki. 4:42), fifteen miles north of Diospolis, or Lydda.
The land of Shalim.Probably a very deep valley, derived from a Hebrew word, signifying the hollow of the hand.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Mount Ephraim See note on Jdg 17:1. There is great uncertainty in respect to this route of Saul after his father’s asses. He undoubtedly started from Gibeah, where was his home, (1Sa 10:26,) and, passing through or over ( ) mount Ephraim, he must have gone in a northwesterly direction. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we naturally understand the land of Shalisha to be the country around Baal-shalisha, mentioned 2Ki 4:42, and which, according to Eusebius and Jerome, was situated fifteen Roman miles north of Lydda, or Diospolis the modern Ludd. Near this spot three water-courses unite in one large stream known as the Wady Kurawa, and hence, perhaps, the name Shalisha land of three. From this point we can trace their course only by conjecture, for the land of Shalim is unknown, and the land of the Benjamites is literally the land of Yemini, and may, perhaps, have lain outside of the territory of Benjamin. If, however, the land of Yemini here means the territory of Benjamin, then the most probable conjecture is, that from the neighbourhood of Ludd they fetched a circuitous course, first easterly and then south, passing through the land of Benjamin somewhere east of Gibeah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 9:4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found [them] not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and [there they were] not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found [them] not.
Ver. 4. Through the land of Shalim. ] Near Jordan, where afterwards John baptized. Joh 3:23 Called also the land of Shual, 1Sa 13:17 as Junius holdeth; haply because haunted by foxes.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
he. Some codices, with Septuagint and Vulgate, read “they”, as in 1Sa 9:6.
mount = the hill country of.
take thought = be anxious. Compare Mat 6:25, Mat 6:27, Mat 6:28, Mat 6:31, Mat 6:34.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
mount: Jdg 17:1, Jdg 19:1
Shalisha: 2Ki 4:42
Shalim: Gen 33:18, Joh 3:23
Reciprocal: 1Sa 2:27 – a man 1Ki 11:12 – for David