1 Samuel 15:17

1Sa 15:17 And Samuel said, When thou [wast] little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

Ver. 17. When thou wast little in thine own sight.] There is an ingratitude in every sin, and that is to be considered. Good turns aggravate unkindnesses: and our offences are increased by our obligations.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:17 As the anointed . . . king of Israel, Saul bore the responsibility for disobeying God, which neither false humility nor making excuses could diminish.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, of base condition, as 1 Sam. 9:21.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 17. Little in thine own sight] Who can bear prosperity? Is it not of the Lord's great goodness that the majority of the inhabitants of the earth are in comparative poverty?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) When thou wast little in thine own sight.—Kimchi’s rendering of the Hebrew here is singular: “Though thou seemest to thyself too little and weak to curb the people, yet wast thou the head, and shouldest have done thy duty;” but this, as Lange observes, would imply that Samuel had accepted Saul’s excuse that it was the people’s will to reserve the choicest spoil. The prophet’s words, however, were simply to remind Saul that the Lord, whose clearly expressed will he had disregarded, had raised him in bygone days from a comparatively humble station to the proud position he was then occupying as chief of Israel. The old counsellor reminds the king that there had been a time when he judged himself unequal to this great work to which his God summoned him; but now, how strange the contrast! Flushed with success, he was trusting alone in his unaided strength, and openly disobeying the Divine commands.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. When thou wast little] Is it not the case that though thou wast little in thine own eyes, thou hast been made head of the tribes of Israel? There is a reference to Saul’s own words of astonishment that he should be chosen as king (1Sa_9:21). The prophet desires to remind him that as his elevation came solely from God, obedience was due to God. There is a curious tradition preserved in the Targum, that Saul’s elevation was a reward for the courage of the tribe of Benjamin at the passage of the Red Sea, when they sought to pass over first.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Samuel said, when thou wast little in thine own sight,.... Humble and lowly, and had a mean opinion of himself, his family and tribe, and judged himself unworthy of the kingdom; see Sa1 9:21 suggesting, that now he was proud and haughty, and would have his own will and way:

wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel; not of his own tribe only, which was the least, but of all the tribes, and so they were all subject to him, and at his command:

and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel; all which is observed, partly to point out unto him the high honour he was raised unto, from a low estate, which laid him under obligation to serve the Lord, and obey him; and partly as an answer to him, excusing himself, and laying the blame upon the people; whereas seeing he was made king over them, his business was to rule and govern them, guide and direct them in the right way, and restrain them from that which was evil; and since he was anointed by the Lord, and not by the people, he ought to have obeyed him, and not regarded the pleasure of them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Eyes. God rejects the proud, and gives his grace to the humble. See Luke i. 52. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Little in thine own sight, i.e. modest, humble, and submissive, as 1Sa 9:21; 10:22; whereby he implies that now he was grown proud, and stubborn, and impudent, both to commit sin and justify it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. Little in thine own sight — As was manifested in his modest response to Samuel’s first salutation. 1Sa_9:21.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When rather, Thoughthou wast little in thine own sight. Before his elevation to the royal dignity Saul had deemed himself altogether unequal to so heavy a task; (1Sa_9:21) now, after great military successes, he is filled with arrogance, and will rule in open defiance of the conditions upon which Jehovah had appointed him to the office

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

in your own sight

Here sight represents judgment or evaluation. AT: "in your own opinion" or "in your judgment" (See: Metaphor)

were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel?

Samuel uses this question to remind Saul of now much God had given him. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Yahweh made you the ruler of the tribes of Israel!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

Why did you not obey ... Yahweh?

Samuel asks this question to rebuke Saul for disobeying Yahweh. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should have obeyed ... Yahweh!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

the voice of Yahweh

Here "voice" refers to the commands that Yahweh spoke. AT: "the things that Yahweh commanded" (See: Metonymy)

but instead you seized the booty

Samuel is accusing Saul of direct disobedience. Yahweh commanded Saul to completely destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites, and not to bring anything back to camp.

the booty

"the plunder" or "the possessions you took from the enemy"

what was evil in the sight of Yahweh

Here "sight" refers to Yahweh's thoughts or opinion. AT: "what Yahweh considers to be evil" or "what is evil in Yahweh's judgement" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

head

tribe

sin

obey

voice

evil

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

You are the head of the tribes of Yisroel. Targum Yonoson renders, 'the tribe of Binyomin crossed the [Reed] Sea ahead of all the people, as it is said, 'Binyomin, the youngest, rules them.'

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.