1 Samuel 9:20

1Sa 9:20 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?

Ver. 20. And on whom is all the desire of Israel?] Sed cuius est omne desiderabile Israelis? so Martyr rendereth it. And whose shall be the best, or fairest, things of Israel? {a} so the Vulgate after the Septuagint. {See Trapp on "Hag 2:7"} They desire a king, and God hath pitched upon thee.

{a} Jerome in lib. Heb. Qu.

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.

1Sa 9:20. As for thine asses that were lost, &c. — This must have satisfied Saul that he was a prophet, as he hereby showed that he knew for what Saul came to him, though he had not told him. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? — That is, all Israel desire a king, and there is no one more fit for such an office than thyself. On all thy father’s house — That honour is designed for thee, and after thy death for thy family and posterity, if by thy sin thou dost not cut off the entail.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whom doth Israel desire to be their King, but thee?

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

on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?--This was a covert and indirect premonition of the royal dignity that awaited him; and, though Saul's answer shows that he fully understood it, he affected to doubt that the prophet was in earnest.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. As for thine asses] Thus he shows him that he knew what was in his heart, God having previously revealed these things to Samuel.

And on whom is all the desire of Israel?] Saul understood this as implying that he was chosen to be king.

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

20. three days ago] Heb. “to-day three days” = “the day before yesterday,” according to the inclusive Hebrew reckoning.

set not thy mind on them] “Set not thy heart on them.” Be not anxious for them.

on whom is all the desire of Israel] Rather, For whom are all the desirable things of Israel? are they not for thee and for all thy father’s house? i.e. ‘Care not for these asses for they are found: and even if they were lost, what matter? is not the best that Israel has to give at thy service?’

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 as for thine asses that were lost three days ago,.... Which, according to Kimchi, is to be understood not of the time from whence they were lost, but to be reckoned from the time that Saul had been seeking of them; so the Targum,"as to the business of the asses, which are lost to thee, and thou art come to seek them today, these three days:''though it is probable enough that the same day they were lost Saul set out to seek them, Now Samuel telling him of the asses that were lost, and of the time of their being lost, or of his seeking them, so exactly, before ever he said a word to him about them, must at once convince him that he was a true prophet, and which must prepare him to give credit to all that he should hereafter say to him:

set not thy mind on them, for they are found; of the truth of which he could not doubt, after he had said the above words; and which he said to make his mind easy, that he might the more cheerfully attend the feast, and be the more willing to stay all night:

and on whom is all the desire of Israel? which was to have a king; in this they were unanimous, and who so fit and proper as Saul, it is intimated, whom Samuel knew God had chosen and appointed to be king over them?

is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? not that the Israelites had their eye on Saul, and their desire after him to be their king, though he was such an one as they wished for; but that as this desire of theirs was granted, it would issue and terminate in him and his family; he should be advanced to the throne, which would be attended with the promotion of his father's house, as Abner particularly, who was his uncle's son, and was made the general of the army.

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

CHAPTER IX.

Best. The regal power, which all desired. Hebrew, "to or on whom is all the desire of Israel?" Any great felicity is called a desire, as the Messias, the spouse in the Canticle [of Canticles], v. 16. (Aggeus ii. 8.) Septuagint, "to whom the beautiful things of Israel?"

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).

Set not thy mind on them; trouble not thy mind about them.

On whom is all the desire of Israel? who is he that shall be that thing or person which all Israel desire to have, to wit, a king?

Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? that honour is designed for thee, and, after thy death, for thy family or posterity, if by thy sin thou dost not cut off the entail.

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

20. Thine asses… are found — This must have convinced Saul that a true seer looked upon his heart.

All the desire of Israel — Israel’s desire was for a king, and Samuel sees that Saul is the man to meet this desire. It is nowise improbable that Saul, the goodly, broad-shouldered youth of Gibeah, had already been talked of as a proper candidate for king, and many eyes in Israel had turned towards him with special interest. A man of great physical power and tall and commanding presence was the popular ideal of a king. And Saul filled this ideal well.

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

On whom - Who is he that shall be that, which all Israel desire to have, namely, a king. Father's house - That honour is designed for thee, and, after thy death, for thy family or posterity, is by thy sin thou dost not cut off the entail.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Then on whom are all the desires of Israel set? Is it not on you and all your father's house?

These questions are an expression of deep conviction that Saul is the one whom Yahweh wants to be the king that the Israelites are looking for. The questions can be translated as statements. AT: "You should know that it is on you that all the desires of Israel are set. They are set on you and your father's family." (See: Rhetorical Question)

Am not I a Benjamite ... of Israel? Is not my clan ... Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this manner?

Saul is expressing surprise because Benjamin was the smallest tribe in Israel, and other Israelites considered the tribe unimportant. Also, Benjamites considered the clan of which Saul was a member as unimportant. These questions can be translated as statements. AT: "I am from the tribe of Benjamin, the least important of all tribes. And my clan is the least important clan in our tribe. I do not understand why you are saying that the Israelite people want me and my family to do something important." (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

ancestor

house

tribe

clan

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

But for whom does all of Yisroel desire? Here he [Shmuel] hints to him the matter of the kingship.

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.