1 Samuel · 27 verses
1 Samuel 9
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
Saul sets out to recover a few wandering donkeys and arrives before a seer who has already been told that he will rule Israel. The seer, naturally, is the last person Saul recognizes.
The donkeys go missingvv. 1–14
Kish, a powerful Benjamite, sends his tall and handsome son Saul after the family donkeys. Saul and his servant search through the hill country of Ephraim, Shalishah, Shaalim, Benjamin, and finally Zuph, where the servant proposes consulting a man of God. The proposed gift is a quarter shekel of silver, since the bread has vanished from their packs. Near the city, young women direct them towards the seer, who is on his way to a sacrificial meal at the high place. Samuel is coming towards them.
The seer knows the donkeysvv. 15–27
The day before Saul arrives, the LORD tells Samuel that a man from Benjamin will come, and that Samuel is to anoint him ruler over Israel and he will save the people from the Philistines. Samuel sees Saul and is told, “Here is the man.” Saul, meanwhile, asks Samuel where the seer’s house is. Samuel identifies himself, announces that the donkeys have been found, and hints at the great desire of Israel resting upon Saul and his father’s house. Saul protests that Benjamin is the smallest tribe and his clan the least of its clans. Then comes the meal: Samuel seats Saul in the place of honour among about thirty guests, and the cook brings out the reserved leg, along with what was attached to it. After a night on the roof, Samuel sends the servant ahead and keeps Saul back to hear the word of God.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
1 Sam 9:1Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.
1 Sam 9:2And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.
1 Sam 9:3One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.”
1 Sam 9:4So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.
1 Sam 9:5When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”
1 Sam 9:6“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.”
1 Sam 9:7“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
1 Sam 9:8The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”
1 Sam 9:9(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)
1 Sam 9:10“Good,” said Saul to his servant. “Come, let us go.” So they set out for the city where the man of God was.
1 Sam 9:11And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, “Is the seer here?”
1 Sam 9:12“Yes, he is ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place.
1 Sam 9:13As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him.”
1 Sam 9:14So Saul and his servant went up toward the city, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
1 Sam 9:15Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel,
1 Sam 9:16“At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”
1 Sam 9:17When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”
1 Sam 9:18Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
1 Sam 9:19“I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And when I send you off in the morning, I will tell you all that is in your heart.
1 Sam 9:20As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”
1 Sam 9:21Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”
1 Sam 9:22Then Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them in the place of honor among those who were invited—about thirty in all.
1 Sam 9:23And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside.”
1 Sam 9:24So 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.
1 Sam 9:25And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house.
1 Sam 9:26They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way!” So Saul got ready, and both he and Samuel went outside together.
1 Sam 9:27As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 153 passages were voted onto 24 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 161 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
- 16Psalms 25:18Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.
- 16Exodus 3:7–9The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- 16Psalms 106:44Nevertheless He heard their cry; He took note of their distress.
- 15Acts 13:21Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
- 151 Samuel 15:1Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.
- 11 Samuel 14:51Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
- 16Exodus 2:23–25After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- 15Job 33:16He opens their ears and terrifies them with warnings
- 152 Samuel 7:27For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.
- 15Psalms 25:14The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- 15Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- 161 Kings 19:15–16Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
- 71 Kings 14:3Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”
- 72 Kings 8:8So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- 9Isaiah 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
Onward