Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:12
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, [he is] before you: make haste now, for he came today to the city; for [there is] a sacrifice of the people today in the high place:
12. he is before you ] Before thee, addressing the speaker. It is a direction to go straight forward.
he came to day to the city ] If “the city” was Ramah, Samuel may have been absent from home on one of his official circuits.
a sacrifice of the people ] Possibly at the New Moon (Num 28:11-15) or upon some special occasion of thanksgiving.
in the high place ] Here probably was the altar which Samuel had built (1Sa 7:17). A natural instinct among all nations chooses hill-tops as fitting places of worship. Such “high places” were frequently consecrated to the worship of Jehovah in spite of the prohibition implied in the command that there should be only one sanctuary (Deu 12:11-14). That this was the case in the unsettled period of the Judges is not surprising, but even after the building of the temple the high-place worship continued, though it is condemned in the books of Kings as a blot on the character of otherwise good monarchs.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 12. He 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He came today to the city: she so speaks, though this was his own constant habitation, because he had been travelling abroad, possibly in his circuit, described 1Sa 7:16,17, and was now returned to his own house in Ramah, as he used to do, and so she implies they come in a good and seasonable time to meet with him.
There is a sacrifice, otherwise feast; but it seems to be understood of a sacrifice. First, Because so the Hebrew word signifies most properly, and most frequently. Secondly, Because this eating was in the high place, which was the common place for sacrifices, but not for private feasts. Thirdly, The prophets presence was not so necessary for a feast as for a sacrifice. Of the people; so this sacrifice is called, because this was a public solemnity, and possibly the new moon, when the people brought several sacrifices, to wit, peace-offerings, whereof part fell to the offerers share; and of those parts united together, they here made a common feast; not without Samuels direction, who being forewarned the day before by God, of Sauls coming, made this feast more solemn for his entertainment, 1Sa 9:22-24.
In the high place; upon the hill mentioned 1Sa 9:11, and near the altar which Samuel built for this kind of use, 1Sa 7:17, by Divine dispensation, as was there noted; otherwise to sacrifice in high places was forbidden by the law, after the building of the tabernacle.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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. Some Jewish writers say f they gave a token to know it by, that there was a cloud at the door, and when they saw that, they might know it was the seer’s house:
haste now, for he came today to the city; from the suburbs to it, or from his country house, or from the other Ramah, for there were two of them, one over against the other, see 1Sa 1:1, for that he was just now come off a circuit, is not so probable, since he was now old, and past riding his circuits; and indeed the meaning may be no more than as it may be rendered, “today he comes into the city” g; that is, he comes out of his own house into the city, and was then just coming out; so that, if they made haste, they might meet him in the street before he got to the place of sacrifice and feasting:
for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place; whether it was the new moon, or some festival they observed, though the tabernacle was not there, is not certain; at which, besides the offerings required, freewill offerings and peace offerings were brought by the people, on part of which they feasted with their friends; and very probably, as Samuel was acquainted by the Lord that he who was to be king of Israel would be with him that day, he might add to the sacrifices of the people, to make the entertainment the more grand and liberal; since he had a principal concern in ordering the guests, and dividing the portions, as well as blessing the food, which indeed he might take upon him, as being judge, priest, and prophet: this was an high place where this sacrifice or feast was; for Shiloh being destroyed, and the tabernacle removed elsewhere, and that being in one place, and the ark in another, and they not together, no distinction of places was made, none being yet chosen, all were fit; and particularly high places, which were always reckoned the most proper for divine service and sacrifice.
f Midrash Schemuel & Pesikta apud Abarbinel in loc. g “venit”, Pagninus, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) He came to-day.The little scenein itself in no way remarkableis recounted by an eye-witness, evidently as introducing momentous consequences.
Every detail of that days proceedings was of deep interest to Israel. Some of the maidens of Raman were at the well side, drawing water for their homes. The two strangers accost them with the words, Is the seer who dwells among you here just now? and they eagerly reply, Yes, this very day he came from his house into the town. It is a festival dayyou will find him presiding up there, pointing, no doubt, to the high place, where the sacrifices were being offered. Every word spoken by the girls of Ramah, loving to chatter and exhibit their local knowledge and their interest in their great fellow-citizen, the seer and judge, to whom they, in common with the inhabitants of Ramah, were, no doubt, much attached, was remembered in after time by Saul and his companion.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Make haste now For if ye do not see him before he goes up to the high place to bless the sacrifice and eat, ye may not be able to hold any private interview with him at all. See on 1Sa 9:6.
Sacrifice in the high place The law ordained, (Lev 17:3-9; Deu 12:5-14,) and it was remembered in the days of Joshua, (Jos 22:29,) that all burnt offerings must be offered upon one common altar. But the tribes of Israel failed both to drive out their heathen foes from the land, and to ascertain that central seat of worship where it would please Jehovah to record his name. And hence the practice of sacrificing in other places sprang up almost of necessity. The acts of Gideon (Jdg 6:25-26) and of Elijah (1Ki 18:30-32) received the divine approval, for they were to serve special purposes in bringing judgments upon the worship of Baal. But in the days of Samuel, Shiloh was desolate, the ark of the covenant was in Kirjath-jearim, and as yet there was no single place where Jehovah had recorded his name, and which he had designated as the one sole place where he would be pleased with sacrifice. Accordingly Samuel and the people are not to be censured for sacrificing in the high place. See 1Ki 3:2.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 9:12. In the high place Though the word bamah, says Mr. Locke, properly signifies a high place, or place of sacrifice; yet it is here rendered by the Targum, as it is often elsewhere, domus accubitus, an house of feasting, because feasting and sacrifice were generally concomitants of one another. See Cudworth on the Sacrament. Mr. Locke goes on to observe, that the phrase in the next verse, he doth bless the sacrifice, alludes to the custom among the Hebrews of giving thanks before their meals. It was usual also for him who gave thanks to break and distribute the food. The Chaldee paraphrase therefore has it, for he is to divide the victim. Luk 24:30 seems to allude to this.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Sa 9:12 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:
Ver. 12. And they answered them, and said, He is. ] Courtesy to strangers is very commendable. But that these maidens, taken with the beauty of Saul, stayed him a while to look upon him, using more words than needed, is an odd conceit of R. Solomon, cited by Lyra.
For there is a sacrifice.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
of = by. Genitive of Instrument. See App-17.
the high place. In Num 21:19 = Bamoth-Baal. Shiloh was now forsaken. No “place” within the meaning of Deut 12. Compare 1Sa 7:10, 1Sa 7:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sacrifice: or, feast, 1Sa 16:2, Gen 31:54, Deu 12:6, Deu 12:7, 1Co 5:7, 1Co 5:8
the high place: 1Ki 3:2-4, 1Ch 16:39
Reciprocal: 1Sa 7:9 – a sucking 1Sa 16:3 – call Jesse 1Sa 20:6 – sacrifice 1Co 10:18 – are
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 9:12-13. He came to-day to the city He had been travelling abroad, and was now returned to his own house in Ramah. High place Upon the hill mentioned 1Sa 9:11, and near the altar which Samuel built for this use. Ye shall straightway find him At home and at leisure. Before he go up to eat The relics of the sacrifices. Because he doth bless the sacrifice This was a peace-offering or a thank-offering, and the blessing of it, no doubt, consisted both of thanksgiving to God for mercies received, and of prayer to him that this sacrifice might be accepted. But perhaps it was not what was offered upon the altar, but what the people ate afterward, that he blessed. We may observe here, that by blessing of victuals in Scripture, is meant, chiefly, the giving thanks to God for the food before it be eaten. Instances of which we have in abundance in the New Testament, our Lord and his apostles being continually said to give thanks before any thing was eaten. And here it is said, He doth bless the sacrifice, and afterward they eat that be bidden It is probable, however, that Samuel both prayed for Gods blessing on what they ate, and gave thanks that they had it to eat. We see here how ancient the custom has been of praying to God, and giving thanks at our meals, and how blameable they are that neglect it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:12 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 {g} sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:
(g) That is, a feast after the offering, which would be kept in a high place of the city appointed for that use.