Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:23
And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
23. the portion ] Cp. 1Sa 1:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. Said unto the cook] tabbach, here rendered cook; the singular of tabbachoth, female cooks, 1Sa 8:13, from the root tabach, to slay or butcher. Probably the butcher is here meant.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Or, which I appointed or disposed to thee, i.e. which I bade the reserve for this use.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Samuel said unto the cook,…. That dressed and prepared the food for the entertainment of the guests:
bring the portion which I gave thee; to dress; for part of the provisions of the feast was Samuel’s, and the other part the people’s that brought the peace offerings:
of which I said unto thee, set it by thee; do not bring it in with the rest, but keep it in the kitchen till called for.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Saul in Samuel’s House, vs. 23-27 .
Not only was Saul given the honored place at the sacrificial feast, he also received the royal favor of being served the best part of the animal which had been roasted for it. This further enforces the idea that Samuel used the occasion to present to the elders the young man whom the Lord was choosing to rule over them as their king. Saul complied with Samuel’s instructions without further protest, it seems. The reaction of the elders of the city is not recorded, but from what follows it seems rather evident that they were impressed. When Samuel said, “I have kept the shoulder for you from the time I invited the people,” the people were certainly expecting some important revelation from the prophet.
Notice should be taken of the high place in which Samuel observed this feast with the people., The places where the people engaged in false worship of idols were called “high places.” However, it is very unlikely that Samuel would have chosen such a place as this for this feast. It was a place where the people gathered to worship, no doubt, but for the worship of the Lord. Remember that the ark has been separated from the tabernacle at Shiloh, and the Lord has spoken his displeasure with the house of Eli. Nevertheless members of Eli’s family are still trying to officiate at the tabernacle (see 1Sa 14:18). In this confused state God honored the ministry of Samuel, and he erected worship places in several towns. This must have been one of them.
Back at his house Samuel took Saul to the top of his house to commune with him. This was a cool place, on the flat roof, and also a place of privacy, and they continued their conversation into the evening. But early the next morning Samuel got Saul back on the roof and told him to prepare to return on his way. Samuel accompanied Saul and the servant to the city gate. There be instructed him to send the servant ahead and to linger there at the gate until he could give to him the word of God. The beginning of chapter ten here is unfortunate, for there is no break in the narrative.
Note from this chapter that 1) the Lord works through all concerned to bring to pass His will in a matter; 2) the Lord often takes the most insignificant and least esteemed to do His service; 3) those closest to the Lord have little difficulty knowing His will, for He will reveal it to them; 4) all the Lord raises up are raised up for His own purposes; 5) God’s spokesmen should tell others the Lord’s will for them.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(23) And Samuel said unto the cook.The meaning of this statement is simply thisall that took place in the meeting of the prophet and Saul at the sacrificial feast, and subsequently in Samuels house, was arranged for beforehand; every event was foreseen and provided for, even the trivial detailsall was symbolical in this preparation for the great change in the constitution of Israel, which, under Gods providence, was fraught with such important consequences. The very piece of meat set before Samuel at the Ramah banquet was no chance piece, but one which, owing, no doubt, to its being considered the choicest, had been carefully set aside for him when the sacrificial feast was being prepared.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. The cook , the slaughterer. He who had the whole charge of the preparation, not only of the cooking, but also of the butchering.
1Sa 9:23-24. Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion, &c. The author of the Observations remarks, that the shoulder of a lamb is thought in the East a great delicacy. “Abdolmelick the caliph,” says he, “upon his entering into Cufah, made a splendid entertainment. When he was set down, Amron the son of Hareth, an ancient Mechzumian, came in: he called to him, and placing him by him upon his sofa, asked him, what meat he liked best of all that ever he had eaten; the old Mechzumian answered, ‘An ass’s neck well seasoned and roasted.”You do nothing,’ says Abdolmelick; ‘what say you to a leg or a shoulder of a sucking lamb, well roasted, and covered over with butter and milk?’ The history adds, that while he was at supper, he said, ‘How sweetly we should live if a shadow would last!’ This prince then thought the shoulder of a sucking lamb one of the most exquisite of dishes: and what he says explains Samuel’s ordering it to be reserved for the future king of Israel, as well as what that was which was upon it, the butter and the milk; which circumstance the sacred historian distinctly mentions, and which an European reader is apt to wonder what it should mean, but which added so much to the delicacy of the meat, that an eastern prince, as well as an eastern author, was led distinctly to mention it.” See Observations, p. 173. Josephus calls the shoulder, the royal portion.
1Sa 9:23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
Ver. 23. Bring the portion which I gave thee. ] A choice mess, that Saul might see by his cheer what his welcome was: and that the rest at table might take notice that Saul was no ordinary guest.
Bring: 1Sa 1:5, Gen 43:34
Reciprocal: Psa 11:6 – portion
1Sa 9:23-24. Bring the portion The master of the house was wont to distribute to every one his portion. And Samuel had commanded the cook, before they sat down, not to set one dish upon the table, but to keep it till he called for it. And set it before Saul As the principal place was given him at the feast, so the principal dish also was set before him, to express still the great regard he had to his person. Behold that which is left Or rather, reserved. For unto this time it hath been kept, since I said, &c. That is, when I first signified that I had invited the people to join with me in my sacrifice, and afterward to partake with me of the feast, I then ordered the cook to reserve this part for thy use.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments