Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:19
And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I [am] the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that [is] in thine heart.
19. go up before me ] Addressed to Saul only. The verb is in the singular. Saul is to precede Samuel as a mark of honour.
all that is in thine heart ] Thine inmost thoughts and aspirations; not merely about the asses, which Samuel tells him at once. May we not suppose that Saul at his plough like Joan of Arc with her flock had been brooding over the oppression of his country, and cherishing a vague desire to liberate it?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. I am the seer] This declaration would prepare Saul for the communications afterwards made.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Either all that thou desirest to know, as concerning the asses; or rather, the secret thoughts of thy heart, or such actions as none know but God and thy own heart; that so thou mayst be assured of the truth and certainty of that which I am to acquaint thee with. And this might be done, though it be not here particularly related.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer,…. For he supposed, by inquiring for his house, that his business was with him; wherefore this he said, not as boasting of his character and office, or in the pride and vanity of his mind, but merely for information sake:
go up before me unto the high place; instead of returning home with him, he invited him to go to the place of feasting, as the Targum, whither he was going to partake of the entertainment there; and he bids him go before him, either because he was an old man, and could not go his pace, or he had business to do by the way, or this was in honour to Saul, whom he knew was to be king of Israel:
for ye shall eat with me today; he and his servant, at the public feast: he insisted upon his dining, or it may be rather supping with him:
and tomorrow I will let thee go; for it being in the evening when this feast was, he could not depart that night, but must stay till morning, and then he promised to dismiss him:
and will tell thee all that is in thine heart; answer all questions he had in his mind to ask him, for which he came into the city, and inquired for his house. The Jews l have a tradition that it was in the heart of Saul that he should be a king, having in a vision seen himself placed on the top of a palm tree, which was a sign of royalty, and this Samuel told him.
l Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 75. G.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) Go up before me unto the high place.The desiring the young stranger to precede him to the public place of sacrifice was a sign of distinguished honour from one of Samuels rank to a young unknown wayfarer like Saul. These words of courteous respect were addressed to Saul alone: Go thou up before me. The prophet-judge then speaks to the two, Saul and his servant: ye shall eat. The verb here is in the plural, and invites both to the sacrificial banquet; and then again Samuel confines his words to Saul: I will tell thee allall that is in thine heart. The seer informs him that on the morrow he proposes to make strange disclosures to this young man, who, all un knowing what lay before him, had just come up and accosted him, the aged judge and seer. Yes, he would on the morrow show this young Benjamite that he, Samuel, was indeed a seer; he would tell him all his secret thoughts and aspirations; as for those asses for whose fate he was so anxious, let him dismiss these from his thoughts altogether. They were already found. Far graver thoughts than the everyday weal and woe of a farm on Mount Ephraim had to be discussed on the morrow.
All the desire of Israel.All the desire of Israel, or, as the Vulg. renders it, optima quque Israel, the best in Israel (Luther). The words do not signify the desire of Israelall that it desiresbut all that it possesses of what is precious or worth desiring. The obscure dark words of the seer on this, the occasion of his first meeting with Saul, were intended to draw him away from thinking about the asses and the little matters which hitherto had filled his life, and to lift him up to higher thoughts and aspirations. The old seers words were vague and indefinite, certainly, but coming as they did from the lips of one so high in dignity, known to be the possessor of many a strange secret of futurity hid from the knowledge of mortal men, and holding out a prospect of undreamed of future glory for Saul, amazed the young man; and he, full of wonderment and awe, replied, Speakest thou of such glories to me, a member of an unimportant family of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(19) And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. (20) And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?
Here Samuel gives the first intimation of Saul’s future greatness, and his own present ability as a prophet of the Lord. By telling him of the safety of his asses, he gave him to understand that he knew his errand before he communicated it; and by the promise of telling him all that was in his heart on the morrow, he prepared his mind for what he had to communicate. But what I would particularly desire the Reader to remark, in this first interview between Samuel and Saul, is, how the prophet passed by everything until he had called the king elect to the sacrifice. Though all the grand objects of the intended kingdom were in the prophet’s mind, and all in full prospect before him, yet prayer and praise must precede every other consideration. How sweet is it to see this gracious conformity in every truly awakened soul in all his actions. These things will be spontaneous, and, like the lips of the spouse, will drop freely as the honeycomb; not by constraint, nor by pressure, but of themselves, and continually. Son 4:11 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 9:19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I [am] the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that [is] in thine heart.
Ver. 19. And will tell thee all that is in thine heart. ] And much more: for that he had dreamed of the kingdom, is but a dream of some Jewish doctors.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the seer: The word roaih literally signifies one who sees; particularly preternatural sights. A seer and a prophet were the same in most cases; only with this difference, the seer was always a prophet, but the prophet was not always a seer. A seer seems to imply one who frequently met with and saw some symbolical representation of God. All prophets, true or false, profess to see God – see Num 24:4, Num 24:16. Jer 14:4, and diviners, in their enthusiastic flights, boasted that they had those things exhibited to their sight which should come to pass.
and will tell: Joh 4:29, 1Co 14:25
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I [am] the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that [is] in thine {k} heart.
(k) Meaning, all that you desire to know.