TRV
Translation
King James Version
And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
KJV (with Strong's)
And the cook H2876 took up H7311 the shoulder H7785, and that which was upon it, and set H7760 it before H6440 Saul H7586. And Samuel said H559, Behold that which is left H7604! set H7760 it before H6440 thee, and eat H398: for unto this time H4150 hath it been kept H8104 for thee since I said H559, I have invited H7121 the people H5971. So Saul H7586 did eat H398 with Samuel H8050 that day H3117.
Complete Jewish Bible
The cook took the thigh and the adjoining meat and served it to Sha'ul. Sh'mu'el said, "Here, this is what remains! Put it in front of you and eat - it was kept especially for you until the right time; because I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Sha'ul dined with Sh'mu'el that day.
Berean Standard Bible
So the cook picked up the leg and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Here is what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for it has been kept for you for this occasion, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul dined with Samuel that day.
American Standard Version
And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold, that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, for I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
World English Bible Messianic
The cook took up the thigh, and that which was on it, and set it before Saul. Samuel said, “Behold, that which has been reserved! Set it before yourself and eat; because for the appointed time has it been kept for you, for I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And the cooke tooke vp the shoulder, and that which was vpon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Beholde, that which is left, set it before thee and eate: for hitherto hath it bene kept for thee, saying, Also I haue called the people. So Saul did eate with Samuel that day.
Young's Literal Translation
(and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which is on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, `Lo, that which is left; set it before thee--eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;' and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.
Study This Verse
Commentary on 1 Samuel 9 verses 18–27
18 ¶ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.
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.
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?
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?
22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
25 And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house.
26 And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.
27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
Providence having at length brought Samuel and Saul together, we have here an account of what passed between them in the gate, at the feast, and in private.
I. In the gate of the city; passing through that, Saul found him (Sa1 9:18), and, little thinking that he was Samuel himself, asked him the way to Samuel's house: Tell me where the seer's house is; for there he expected to find him. See how mean a figure Samuel made, though so great a man: he took not any state, had no attendants, no ensigns of honour carried before him, nor any distinguishing habit, no, not when he went to church, but appeared, in all respects, so much a common person that Saul, though he was told he should meet him, never suspected that it was he, but, as if he looked more like a porter than a prophet, asked him the way to the seer's house. Thus is great worth oftentimes hidden under a very despicable appearance. Samuel knew that it was not the house, but the man, that he wanted, and therefore answered him, "I am the seer, the person you enquire for," Sa1 9:19. Samuel knew him before he knew Samuel; thus, though all that are called to the kingdom of glory are brought to know God, yet first they were known of him, Gal 4:9. Now, 1. Samuel obliges him to stay with him till the next day. The greatest part of this day had been spent in sacrificing, and the rest of it was to be spent in holy feasting, and therefore, "Tomorrow I will let thee go, and not sooner; now go up before me to the high place; let us pray together, and then we will talk together." Saul had nothing in his mind but to find his asses, but Samuel would take him off from that care, and dispose him to the exercises of piety; and therefore bids him go to the high place, and go before him, because, it may be, some business obliged Samuel to call by the way. 2. He satisfies him about his asses (Sa1 9:20): Set not thy mind on them, be not in further care about them; they are found. By this Saul might perceive that he was a prophet, that he could give him an answer to the enquiry which he had not yet made, and tell him what he thought; and thence he might infer, if a man of God can do this, much more doth God himself understand our thoughts afar off. 3. He surprises him with an intimation of preferment before him: "On whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not a king that they are set upon, and there is never a man in Israel that will suit them as thou wilt." It does not appear that the country had as yet any eye upon him for the government, because they had left it wholly to God to choose for them; but such a one as he they wished for, and his advancement would be the advancement of his family and relations, as Abner, and others. 4. To this strange intimation Saul returns a very modest answer, Sa1 9:21. Samuel, he thought, did but banter him, because he was a tall man, but a very unlikely man to be a king; for, though the historian says (Sa1 9:1) his father was a mighty man of power, yet he himself speaks diminishingly of his tribe and family. "Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob's sons, when grown up to be a man, was called a little one (Gen 44:20); that tribe was diminished by the war of Gibeah; and I am a Benjamite, my family the least," probably a younger house, not in any place of honour or trust, no, not in their own tribe. Gideon had expressed himself thus, Jdg 6:15. A humble disposition is a good presage of preferment.
II. At the public feast; thither Samuel took him and his servant. Though the advancement of Saul would be the deposing of Samuel, yet that good prophet was so far from envying him, or bearing him any ill-will for it, that he was the first and forwardest man to do him honour, in compliance with the will of God. If this be the man whom God has chosen, though he be none of Samuel's particular friends or confidants, yet he is heartily welcome to his table, nay, to his bosom. We may suppose it was no unseasonable kindness to Saul to give him a meal's meat, for it seems, by what he said (Sa1 9:7), that all their meat and money were spent. But this was not all. Samuel treats him not as a common person, but a person of quality and distinction, to prepare both him and the people for what was to follow. Two marks of honour he put upon him: - 1. He set him in the best place, as more honourable than any other of the guests, to whom he said, Give this man place, Luk 14:9. Though we may suppose the magistrates were there, who in their own city would claim precedency, yet the master of the feast made Saul and his servant too (who, if Saul was a king, must be respected as his prime minister of state) sit in the chief place, Sa1 9:22. Note, Civil respects must be paid to those who in civil things have the precedency given them by the divine providence. 2. He presented him with the best dish, which, having had notice from heaven the day before of his coming (Sa1 9:16), he had designed for him, and ordered the cook to secure for him, when he gave orders for inviting the guests and making preparation for them. And what should this precious dish be, which was so very carefully reserved for the king-elect? One would expect it should be something very nice and delicate. No, it was a plain shoulder of mutton (Sa1 9:23, Sa1 9:24). The right shoulder of the peace-offerings was to be given to the priests, who were God's receivers (Lev 7:32); the next in honour to that was the left shoulder, which probably was always allotted to those that sat at the upper end of the table, and was wont to be Samuel's mess at other times; so that his giving it to Saul now was an implicit resignation of his place to him. Some observe a significancy in this dish. The shoulder denotes strength, and the breast, which some think went with it, denotes affection: he that was king had the government upon his shoulder, for he must bear the weight of it; and the people in his bosom, for they must be dear to him.
III. What passed between them in private. Both that evening and early the next morning Samuel communed with Saul upon the flat roof of the house, Sa1 9:25, Sa1 9:26. We may suppose Samuel now told him the whole story of the people's desire of a king, the grounds of their desire, and God's grant of it, to all which Saul, living very privately, was perhaps a stranger; he satisfied him that he was the person God had pitched upon for the government; and whereas Saul would object that Samuel was in possession, and he would not for all the world take it out of his hands, Samuel, we may suppose, gave him all the assurance he could desire of his willingness to resign. Early in the morning he sent him towards home, brought him part of the way, bade him send his servant before, that they might be private (Sa1 9:27), and there, as we find in the beginning of the next chapter, he anointed him, and therein showed him the word of the Lord, that is, gave him full satisfaction that he was the person chosen to be king, for he would not jest with that sacred rite. It is by the unction of the Holy Ghost that Christ, the great prophet, shows us the word of the Lord. Jo1 2:27, the same anointing teacheth you of all things.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 18–27. Public domain.
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Gregory the DialogistAD 604
SIX BOOKS ON 1 KINGS 4.141
Whoever is received into the eminent office of dispensing pastoral care ought to have in the very sublimity of his rank both the true loftiness of his own life and compassion for the weaknesses of others. Therefore, Saul went with Samuel into the heights and then descended into the town. Let the ruler know how to conduct lofty things, but let him also know how to manage ordinary things. Let him say with Paul, “Our manner of living is in the heavens.” But let him also say with us, “Wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this mortal body? For I see another law in my members that fights against the law of my mind and takes me captive by the law of sin.” He is a true ruler, when he speaks wisdom among the perfect; he descends into the town when he arranges carnal matters and says, “Because of fornication let each man have his own wife and each woman her husband.” He is in the heights when he says, “No creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,” but he descends into the town when he says, “I became weak to the weak that I might win the weak. I became all things to all people.” Therefore, Samuel brought Saul to the heights and led him down into the town. For when the greatest men put in order the pinnacle of the holy church, namely, those whom they place at the very pinnacle of the church, they teach them to live in a distinguished manner, to preach clearly, to be strict with themselves but more gentle with those under their care, to attend to their own salvation so that they can be weak with the weak. I meant that they are weak by letting their mind feel compassion on the weak rather than by being idle due to some internal malady. For if a teacher suffers from idleness of mind, he is not able to encourage the spiritually feeble and bedridden.
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And Samuel said: "Behold what remains, I place it before you," etc. John spoke to Christ, proclaiming the marvels of His divine power: "All those whom I could call to faith and repentance, I persuaded to give effort to virtue. But because we are conceived in iniquity and brought forth in offenses, although striving greatly, we cannot fully be free from sin and grasp the pinnacle of virtue; You, who became the Word made flesh (John 1), perfect in all ways of winning and teaching, partake of the banquets, which our frailty cannot comprehend. About which banquet the Savior indeed said: 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work' (John 4)." Then John was speaking such words to the Lord, and, recalling His sublimity and the frailty of human condition, said: "He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth; He who comes from heaven is above all" (John 3).
BedeAD 735
Commentary on Samuel
And Saul ate with Samuel that day, etc. And the Lord preached with John in the city shining with grace, until John was sent into prison, saying of the people who would believe in him: "I have food to eat that you do not know about" (John 4). And not only by ascending to the heights of virtues for the perfect, but by condescending to the lowest, they delivered the common commandments of living, saying to these people: "Sell what you have and give alms" (Luke 12); and to those: "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery" (Matthew 19).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
1 Samuel 9:24 vividly portrays a pivotal moment in Saul's journey to kingship, underscoring divine foreknowledge and Samuel's prophetic authority. At a communal sacrificial feast, the cook presents Saul with the choicest portion—the shoulder—a clear sign of honor. Samuel then publicly declares that this specific portion has been meticulously reserved for Saul since the very inception of the feast, highlighting God's pre-ordained plan. Saul's subsequent act of eating with Samuel signifies his acceptance of this profound honor and the weighty implications of his impending leadership.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The narrative in 1 Samuel 9:24 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound theological message. Symbolism is paramount, with the "shoulder" of meat serving as a powerful symbol of honor, preeminence, and the weighty responsibility of leadership. Its designation as a priestly portion also subtly hints at the sacred dimension of kingship in early Israel, where the king often held significant religious duties. Foreshadowing is evident as the special meal and Saul's honored position at the table clearly anticipate his imminent anointing as king, preparing both Saul and the audience for the momentous event. The entire encounter is imbued with Divine Irony, as Saul, a humble man searching for lost donkeys, is unknowingly led into a situation where he is publicly revealed as God's chosen leader for Israel, demonstrating God's unexpected and often humble ways of working. Finally, Samuel's direct declaration functions as a Prophetic Declaration, confirming God's pre-ordained plan and providing tangible evidence of divine favor to Saul and the assembled guests, solidifying the divine mandate.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Samuel 9:24 profoundly illustrates God's meticulous sovereignty in selecting and preparing His chosen instruments. It reveals that divine appointments are not arbitrary or coincidental but are part of a carefully orchestrated plan, often unfolding in unexpected ways and through seemingly ordinary circumstances. Samuel's prophetic insight and the tangible act of reserving the special portion underscore God's foreknowledge and His active involvement in human affairs, particularly in establishing leadership. This passage teaches us that God's plans are purposeful and prepared, even before those called are fully aware of their destiny, emphasizing His absolute control over the course of history and the lives of individuals. It assures believers that God is always at work, preparing the way for His will to be accomplished.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This narrative invites us to reflect deeply on God's incredible intentionality and preparation in our own lives. Just as Saul was unknowingly led to his destiny, and a special portion was reserved for him, God often works behind the scenes, preparing circumstances and people for His divine purposes. We may be searching for "lost donkeys" in our lives—mundane concerns, immediate needs, or even perceived failures—while God is orchestrating something far grander and more significant than we can imagine. This passage encourages us to cultivate a posture of humility, attentiveness, and receptivity, trusting that God's timing and provision are perfect, even when His plans are not yet fully revealed or understood. It reminds us that every blessing, every opportunity, and every calling is a gift "kept for us" by a sovereign and loving God. Our spiritual task is to recognize His hand, accept His provisions with gratitude, and walk faithfully in the path He has prepared, even when the full scope of His purpose remains veiled.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why was the "shoulder" considered such a significant portion, and what did it symbolize?
Answer: In ancient Israelite culture, the "shoulder" (Hebrew, shôwq'), or the right thigh, was a highly esteemed and valuable cut of meat, often reserved for those of high honor or status. Theologically, it held particular significance as a portion designated for the priests from certain sacrifices, such as the peace offering (Leviticus 7:32-34) and the wave offering (Numbers 6:20). Symbolically, the shoulder represents strength, power, and the ability to bear burdens or responsibilities. By presenting this specific portion to Saul, Samuel was conveying immense honor, publicly affirming Saul's preeminence among the guests, and subtly foreshadowing the strength and authority required for his future role as king, who would bear the burden of leading Israel.
What is the theological significance of Samuel's statement, "for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people"?
Answer: This statement highlights God's meticulous divine foreknowledge and sovereign preparation. The verb "kept" (Hebrew, shâmar') signifies that the portion was not merely available by chance but was deliberately guarded and preserved for a specific individual and purpose. It reveals that Saul's appointment was not a spontaneous decision but a pre-ordained plan in God's mind, established even before Saul arrived or was aware of his destiny. This underscores the profound theme of divine election and God's active, purposeful involvement in human history, orchestrating events and preparing individuals for His specific purposes. It assures us that God's plans are intentional, perfectly timed, and unfold according to His divine will, demonstrating His absolute control and care over the lives of His chosen ones.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The divine preparation and special portion given to Saul in 1 Samuel 9:24 powerfully foreshadow the ultimate preparation and divine appointment of Jesus Christ. While Saul was chosen from among men to be a temporary king, Jesus was the eternally chosen One, "prepared" before the foundation of the world to be the Lamb of God (Revelation 13:8). Just as the shoulder was a portion of honor and responsibility, Christ is the One upon whose "shoulder" the government rests (Isaiah 9:6), bearing the ultimate burden of salvation for humanity and ruling eternally. He is the true and perfect High Priest, not merely receiving a portion of the sacrifice, but offering Himself as the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:26), and continually interceding for us at the right hand of God (Hebrews 7:25). The communal meal shared by Samuel and Saul prefigures the ultimate covenant meal shared by Jesus with His disciples, the Last Supper, establishing a new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:19-20). Ultimately, Jesus is the "chosen portion" for all who believe, the true Bread of Life given for the world (John 6:35), inviting us to a grand, eternal feast of salvation in His kingdom (Matthew 22:2-14).