Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:13
As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; [and] afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.
13. he doth bless the sacrifice ] Pronounces a blessing or thanksgiving over the sacrificial feast. Cp. Luk 9:16 with Joh 6:11; Mat 26:26.
for about this time ] Lit. “For as for him now shall ye find him.” The pronoun is repeated for emphasis.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Before he go up – By this phrase we see that the high place was in the highest part of the city. Like the house of the god Berith Jdg 9:46, it was probably the citadel of Ramah. There was connected with the altar a room large enough for thirty people to dine in 1Sa 9:22.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. He doth bless the sacrifice] He alone can perform the religious rites which are used on this occasion.
Afterwards they eat that be bidden.] Among the Arabs, often a large feast is made of sacrificed camels, &c., and then the people of the vicinity are invited to come and partake of the sacrifice. This is the custom to which allusion is made here.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Ye shall straightway find him, at home and at leisure. To eat the relics of the sacrifices, according to the manner.
He doth bless the sacrifice, i.e. either, first, The meat left of the sacrifice, which is the matter of the following feast; as this is commonly understood. Or rather, secondly, The sacrifice itself. For what reason is there to depart from the proper signification of the word? For that the sacrifices under the law were accompanied with confession, or petition, or thanksgiving, may be gathered from divers places of Scripture, as Lev 5:5; 16:21; Num 5:7; Luk 1:10. And who so proper to perform this work as Samuel, an eminent prophet? And the blessing of this sacrifice seems to have consisted both of thanksgiving, this being a thank-offering, and of prayer to God for his acceptance, Psa 20:3.
Now therefore get you up with speed, lest he be set down before you come.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
As soon as ye come into the city, ye shall straightway find him,…. By which it seems that the house of Samuel was at that end of it at which they entered; and with which agrees what is observed in the preceding verse, that “he was before them”, his house was in sight of them:
before he go up to the high place to eat; intimating they would, if they made haste, come up to him before he got thither to sit down and eat with the people; for if they did not, they would not be able to see him and speak with him for some time, if on that day:
for the people will not eat until he come; partly out of affection and veneration for him, being their chief magistrate, as well as seer or prophet, and partly for the reason following:
because he doth bless the sacrifice; ask a blessing upon it, upon the meat of the peace offerings before it was eaten; for as this was usually done at every common meal, then much more at such a solemn festival as this. Jarchi gives us the form of blessing used on such an occasion,
“blessed art thou, O Lord our God, the King of the world, who hath sanctified us by his commandments, and hath commanded us to eat the sacrifice:”
and “afterwards they eat that be bidden”; for when a man offered his peace offerings, he not only had his family with him, but invited his friends, and the poor, and the fatherless, the strangers, and the Levites, to partake with him, see De 12:18, the number of the guests at this time, see in 1Sa 9:22.
Now therefore get ye up; ascend the hill as fast as ye can:
for about this time ye shall find him; that is, by the time they could get up the hill into the city they would find him coming out of his house to go to the sacrifice: or “as this day” h; so sure as the day is, so sure shall ye find him.
h “invenietis cum tam certo quam certum est hunc diem esse”, Drusius; so Jarchi.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“ When ye come into the city, ye will find him directly before he goes up to the high place to eat.” not only introduces the apodosis, but corresponds to , as, so: here, however, it is used with reference to time, in the sense of our “immediately.” “ For the people are not accustomed to eat till he comes, for he blesses the sacrifice,” etc. , like , refers to the thanksgiving prayer offered before the sacrificial meal. “ Go now for him; yet will meet him even to-day.” The first is placed at the beginning for the sake of emphasis, and then repeated at the close. , “ Even to-day.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(13) He doth bless the sacrifice.It has been well remarked that we have here, in this note of the peoples conduct at the sacrificial banquet of Raman of the Watchers, a very early instance of the devout practice among the Hebrews of asking a blessing on meals.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. He doth bless the sacrifice We are not to suppose that Samuel offered the sacrifice himself, for he was not a priest, (see note on 1Sa 7:9,) but, as Scott well says, “he poured out fervent prayers to the Lord for acceptance, and for his blessing on the service as a religious ordinance to the good of the souls, as well as on the food for the refreshment of the bodies, of those present.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 9:13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; [and] afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.
Ver. 13. For the people will not eat until he come. ] To bless and distribute the meat. A commendable custom, to crave God’s blessing on the creatures before we eat them; and to give thanks after meat; and not to sit down as an ox, and rise as an ass, not as vultures and kites, to seize upon our meat as a prey. The very heathens consecrated their cates before they tasted them, as appeareth by Homer and Virgil. And some think that the Greeks called a dinner , , from the prayers they premised.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
he doth bless: Mat 26:26, Mar 6:41, Luk 24:30, Joh 6:11, Joh 6:23, 1Co 10:30, 1Ti 4:4
this time: Heb. to-day
Reciprocal: 1Sa 9:25 – And when 1Sa 16:3 – call Jesse 2Sa 15:11 – called Eze 39:17 – Speak Mat 14:19 – he blessed Mat 15:36 – and gave thanks Mat 22:3 – that Mar 8:6 – gave thanks Luk 22:17 – gave Act 27:35 – and gave 1Co 10:18 – are 1Ti 4:3 – with
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth {h} bless the sacrifice; [and] afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.
(h) That is, give thanks and distribute the meat according to their custom.