1 Samuel 11:5

Contextual Overview

⁵ And, look, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What ails the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁵ Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen, and when he returned to town, he asked, "What's the matter? Why is everyone crying?" So they told him about the message from Jabesh. ⁵ And, behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁵ Saul was coming home from plowing the fields with his oxen when he heard the people crying. He asked, "What's wrong with the people that they are crying?" Then they told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh had said. ⁵ Now Saul was walking behind the oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, "What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?" So they told him about the men of Jabesh. ⁵ And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What [aileth] the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. ⁵ Behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What ails the people that they weep? They told him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁵Now Saul was coming out of the field behind the oxen, and he said, "What is the matter with the people that they are weeping?" So they told him about the report of the men of Jabesh.⁵ Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, "What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?" So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. ⁵ And lo! Saul cam, `and suede oxis fro the feeld; and he seide, What hath the puple, for it wepith? And thei telden to hym the wordis of men of Jabes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

after the herd: 1 Samuel 9:1, 1 Kings 19:19, Psalms 78:71

What aileth: Genesis 21:17, Judges 18:23, Isaiah 22:1

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 6:14 - offered 1 Samuel 21:7 - herdmen

Cross-References

Genesis 11:13
And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
and Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
After that, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
Arpachshad lived after he became the father of Shelah four hundred three years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after Shelah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
and Arfaxath lyuede aftir that he gendride Sale thre hundride and thre yeer, and gendride sones and douytris.

Genesis 11:13
And Arphaxad liveth after his begetting Salah four hundred and three years, and begetteth sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And, behold, Saul came after the herd out the field,.... Where he had been to look after the and take care of them, and see what condition they were in, and followed them on their return home; for though he was elected king, he was not inaugurated, and did not take upon him any state; and being despised by some, and no provision as yet made for his support and maintenance as a king, and no business as such for him to do, Samuel still acting in his office, he returned to his father's house, and employed himself in rustic affairs, as he used to do: though some think this was casual, that he had been in the field to recreate himself, or to meditate on the affairs of government, and happened to return just as the herd came out of the field, and so followed them; thus Jarchi interprets it not of his coming after the herd, but of his coming after the fixed and usual time of the herd's coming out of the field; but Josephus r is clear for it, that he had been about some rustic business, some part of husbandry in the field, and returned to the city; nor has it been unusual for emperors and kings, and persons in high offices among Greeks and Romans, and other nations, in times of peace, to employ themselves in husbandry; so did the judges of Israel, as Shamgar, and Gideon, and Boaz, Judges 3:31 so Quinctius Cincinnatus being taken from the plough and made dictator, after he had conquered his enemies, returned to his husbandry s:

and Saul said, what aileth the people, that they weep? he supposed some evil had befallen them, and desired to know what it was, that, if it lay in his power to help them, he might:

and they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh; the message they brought, and the account they gave of the distressed case of their city.

r Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 5.) sect. 2. s Flor. Hist. Roman. l. 1. c. 11. Aurel. Victor. de Vir. Illustr. c. 20. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 11.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 11:5. Saul came after the herd — He had been bred up to an agricultural life, and after his consecration he returned to it, waiting for a call of Divine providence, which he considered he had now received in the message from Jabesh-gilead.

It has often been remarked, that mighty kings and accomplished generals have been chosen from among those who were engaged in agricultural concerns. In these observations one fact is lost sight of, viz., that in ancient times agriculture was the only employment. Trade and commerce were scarcely known; therefore all descriptions of official dignities must be chosen out of this class, there being no other to choose them from. We need not wonder at these words of the poet: -

Jura dabat populis posito modo consul aratro;

Pascebatque suas ipse senator oves.

"The consul, having now laid aside his plough,

gives laws to the people;

And the senator himself feeds his own sheep."

OVID, Fast. lib. i., v. 204-207.