SEV Biblia, Chapter 11:5
¶ Y he aquí Saúl que venía del campo, tras los bueyes; y dijo Saúl: ¿Qué tiene el pueblo, que llora? Y le contaron las palabras de los varones de Jabes.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 11:5
Verse 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.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 5. And, behold, Saul came after the herd out the field , etc.] 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 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 6:11 Ruth 3:2) so Quinctius Cincinnatus being taken from the plough and made dictator, after he had conquered his enemies, returned to his husbandry f215 : 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-11 - The first fruit of Saul's government was the rescue of Jabesh-gilea from the Ammonites. To save their lives, men will part with liberty and even consent to have their eyes put out; is it then no wisdom to part with that sin which is as dear to us as our right eye, rather tha to be cast into hell-fire? See the faith and confidence of Saul, and grounded thereon, his courage and resolution. See also his activity in this business. When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon men, it will make them expert, even without experience. When zeal for the glory of God and love for the brethren, urge men to earnest efforts, and when God is pleased to help, great effects may speedily be produced.
Original Hebrew
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