21<\/strong>. the smallest of the tribes of Israel<\/em> ] The warlike tribe of Benjamin, the smallest except Manasseh at the time of the numbering in the wilderness (Num 1:37<\/span>), was reduced to insignificance by the terrible slaughter recorded in Jdg 20:46<\/span>.<\/p>\n of the tribe of Benjamin<\/em> ] Heb. the tribes<\/strong>, If this reading is right, tribe<\/em> here = clan<\/em> or subdivision of a tribe, as in Num 4:18<\/span>; Jdg 20:12<\/span> (Heb. tribes<\/em> of B.). But the Sept. and all ancient versions read “tribe” in the singular.<\/p>\n The tribe of Benjamin, originally the smallest of all the tribes Num 1:36<\/span>, if Ephraim and Manasseh are reckoned as one tribe, had been nearly annihilated by the civil war recorded in Judg. 20<\/span>. It had of course not recovered from that terrible calamity in the time of Saul, and was doubtless literally much the smallest tribe at that time. Nothing could be more improbable, humanly speaking, than that this weak tribe should give a ruler to the mighty tribes of Joseph and Judah.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 21<\/span>. Am not I a Benjamite<\/B><\/I>] This speech of Saul is exceedingly modest<\/I>; he was now becomingly humble; but who can bear elevation<\/I> and prosperity<\/I>? The tribe of Benjamin had not yet recovered its strength, after the ruinous war it had with the other tribes, Jdg 20:29-46<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n The smallest of the tribes; for so indeed this was, having been all cut off except six hundred, Jdg 20<\/span>, which blow they never recovered, and therefore they were scarce reckoned as an entire tribe, but only as a remnant or fragment of a tribe; and being ingrafted into Judah, in the division between the ten tribes and the two, they in some sort lost their name, and they, together with Judah, were accounted but one tribe, as 1Ki 11:32<\/span>, &c. <\/P> The least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin, <\/B>i.e. one of the least; obscure and inconsiderable, in comparison of divers others; whence it may seem that Sauls family was not so noble and wealthy as some imagine: See Poole “1Sa 9:1<\/span>“. <\/P> Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?<\/B> why dost thou feed me with vain hopes of the kingdom? <\/P> <\/p>\n 21. And Saul answered and said, Amnot I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel,<\/B>&c.By selecting a king from this least and nearly extincttribe (Jud 20:46-48<\/span>),divine wisdom designed to remove all grounds of jealousy among theother tribes.<\/P><\/p>\n And Saul answered and said, am not I a Benjamite<\/strong>,…. Or the son of Jemini, the name of one of his ancestors, see 1Sa 9:1<\/span> or rather, as the Targum, a son of the tribe of Benjamin:<\/p>\n of the smallest of the tribes of Israel<\/strong>? having been greatly reduced, even to the number of six hundred men, by the fatal war between that tribe and the rest, on account of the Levite’s concubine, and is called little Benjamin, Ps 68:27<\/span>.<\/p>\n and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin<\/strong>? the smallest in number, had the least share of authority in the tribe, and of land and cattle, wealth and substance:<\/p>\n wherefore then speakest thou so to me<\/strong>? Saul presently understood Samuel’s meaning, that he should be chosen king of Israel, the affair of a king being at this time in everyone’s mind and mouth; but could not believe that one of so small a tribe, and which sprung from the youngest son of Jacob, and of so mean a family, would be raised to such dignity, but that a person of great figure and character would be settled upon; and, therefore he took Samuel to be in joke, as Josephus m says, and not in earnest.<\/p>\n m Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.<\/p>\n 21<\/strong>. <\/strong> Smallest of the tribes <\/strong> And once almost annihilated by the tribal war. Judges 20<\/span>. Saul is now little in his own eyes, but elevation to power developed in him a spirit of insubordinate ambition and pride. 1Sa 15:17<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1Sa 9:21<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> Samuel convinced Saul that he was a prophet, by informing him of the business for which he came to consult him; and this done, he acquaints him with God’s future designation of him to the throne of Israel: for which Saul replies in terms equally modest and humble with those of Gideon. Jdg 6:15<\/span>. <\/p>\n (21) And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n No doubt Saul had heard that Israel was to have a king, for Gibeah of Saul the residence of Kish, was not above twenty miles from Samuel’s house at Ramah. But though he had heard of this intended thing, he could not have had the most distant idea of being the person, unless by divine intimation as Samuel had it. And the whole life of Saul manifests, that this communion with God he was a stranger to. Benjamin was the youngest of the tribes of Israel, and by the event of that unhappy war recorded in Judges, (Jdg 20:48<\/span> .) the whole tribe was much reduced.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n 1Sa 9:21 And Saul answered and said, [Am] not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 21. Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest, &c.<\/strong> ] Yet out of the rubbish of Benjamin doth God raise the throne. That is not ever the best and fittest that God chooseth; but that which God chooseth is ever the fittest. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?<\/strong> ] This he speaketh not in hypocrisy, whereof yet afterwards he was grossly guilty, but in simplicity and truth: likens Frederick, the elector of Saxony, refused the empire when it was offered him: and would take no money of those that accepted it. Gideon also might have been king, and would not. Jdg 8:22-23 <\/p>\n Am not I . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6. <\/p>\n the smallest. Very true, since the events recorded in Jdg 20:35. <\/p>\n so to me = according to this word. <\/p>\n a Benjamite: Jdg 20:46-48, Psa 68:27 <\/p>\n my family: 1Sa 10:27, 1Sa 15:17, 1Sa 18:18, 1Sa 18:23, Jdg 6:14, Jdg 6:15, Hos 13:1, Luk 14:11, Eph 3:8 <\/p>\n so to me: Heb. according to this word <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Sa 10:22 – hid 1Sa 14:51 – Kish 2Sa 7:18 – Who am I 1Ch 17:16 – what is Luk 1:29 – what<\/p>\n 1Sa 9:21. Of the smallest of the tribes of Israel Such indeed the tribe of Benjamin was, having been all cut off except six hundred, (Judges 20.,) which blow they never recovered, and therefore they were scarce reckoned as an entire tribe, but as a remnant of a tribe; and being ingrafted into Judah, in the division between the ten tribes and the two, they in some sort lost their name, and together with Judah were accounted but one tribe.<\/p>\n And Saul answered and said, [Am] not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? 21. the smallest of the tribes of Israel ] The warlike tribe of Benjamin, the smallest … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 9:21”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"