Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:17
And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spoke to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
17. the Lord said unto him ] Lit. Jehovah answered him; answered his mental question. Is this the man? 1Sa 9:17 is in close connexion with 1Sa 9:14, 1Sa 9:15-16 forming a parenthesis.
shall reign over my people ] Lit. “shall restrain my people.” A peculiar word, contrasting the restraints of a settled government with the license of the time in which “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Jdg 21:25).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. Behold the man whom I spake to thee of] What an intimate communion must Samuel have held with his God! A constant familiarity seems to have existed between them.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Unto him, in his ear, as before 1Sa 9:15, by secret instinct, so as none but he could hear it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And when Samuel saw Saul,…. Who could not but take notice of him for his height, and which might give him a suspicion he was the man the Lord had spoken of to him; and the rather, because this was the exact time in which he was to be sent to him, and therefore he fixed his eyes upon him: and that he might be assured it was he, and be left at no uncertainty about it,
the Lord said unto him; by a still small voice, or by an impulse upon his mind:
behold the man whom I spake to thee of; yesterday, this is he:
this same shall reign over my people; be their king, as they have desired: or “shall restrain” k them, keep them in due bounds, in the discharge of their duty to God and man; and keep them from doing that which is evil, or walking in evil ways, which is the business of a good king; or who shall restrain them from having their own will, but shall rule over them in an absolute manner, according to his own arbitrary will and pleasure.
k “cohibebit”, Montanus; “continebit”, Tigurine version; “retinebit”, Drusius; i.e. “coercebit”, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord answered him, sc., in reply to the tacit inquiry, ‘Is this he? ‘ “ Behold, this is the man of whom I spake to thee.” , coercere imperio .
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(17) Behold the man.This verse, it must be remembered, follows closely on 1Sa. 9:14, the statements of 1Sa. 9:15-16 being parenthetical. The young Saul and his servant came up to accost the seer on his way to the sacred height; Samuel, at once impressed by the great stature and splendid beauty of the stranger coming towards him, asks his Master silently, Lord, is this then he of whom Thou whisperest me yesterday, to whom the destinies of Thy people were to be confided? The words Behold the man, &c., were the silent answer of God to the silent prayer of His old servant.
Shall reign.The word shall reign, which was whispered by the Spirit to the listening heart of the seer, should rather have been translated, shall control, or shall restrain. It was a word whichlooking on to Sauls future reignrepresented it as a stern, severe rule.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 9:17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
Ver. 17. This same shall reign over my people. ] Heb., Restrain my people, viz, from loose and lewd practices. Princes must do so, or they are guilty of a passive injustice at least. They are called “heirs of restraint.” Jdg 18:7 , marg.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
reign = control, restrain, or rule.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Behold: 1Sa 16:6-12, Hos 13:11
reign over: Heb. restrain in, 1Sa 3:13, 2Sa 23:6, 2Sa 23:7, Neh 13:19, Neh 13:25, Act 13:21, Rom 13:3, Rom 13:4
Reciprocal: 1Sa 9:15 – the Lord 1Sa 16:12 – And the Lord 2Sa 21:6 – whom the Lord did choose Pro 8:15 – By Jer 32:8 – Then I
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 9:17. The Lord said unto him Most probably, by a divine, silent suggestion, or secret notification to his mind, without any voice, 1Sa 9:15. This same shall reign over my people The phraseology in the original is peculiar, the word rendered reign, implying coercion and restraint; , jangzor begnammi, He shall rule my people sternly and rigidly, with an absolute, uncontrollable power. So the eastern monarchs ruled.