1 Samuel 9:21

1Sa 9:21 And Saul answered and said, [Am] not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?

Ver. 21. Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest, &c.] Yet out of the rubbish of Benjamin doth God raise the throne. That is not ever the best and fittest that God chooseth; but that which God chooseth is ever the fittest.

Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?] This he speaketh not in hypocrisy, whereof yet afterwards he was grossly guilty, but in simplicity and truth: likens Frederick, the elector of Saxony, refused the empire when it was offered him: and would take no money of those that accepted it. Gideon also might have been king, and would not. {Jdg 8:22-23}

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 9:21. Of the smallest of the tribes of Israel — Such indeed the tribe of Benjamin was, having been all cut off except six hundred, (Judges 20.,) which blow they never recovered, and therefore they were scarce reckoned as an entire tribe, but as a remnant of a tribe; and being ingrafted into Judah, in the division between the ten tribes and the two, they in some sort lost their name, and together with Judah were accounted but one tribe.

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

9:21 the smallest tribe: Saul tried to downplay Benjamin’s prominence, but they were powerful warriors (Judg 20:14-31; cp. study note on 1 Sam 10:17). What better tribe to lead in battle? • least important of all the families: Cp. 9:1.

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

And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, &c.--By selecting a king from this least and nearly extinct tribe (Jdg 20:46-48), divine wisdom designed to remove all grounds of jealousy among the other tribes.

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 21. Am not I a Benjamite] This speech of Saul is exceedingly modest; he was now becomingly humble; but who can bear elevation and prosperity? The tribe of Benjamin had not yet recovered its strength, after the ruinous war it had with the other tribes, Jdg 20:29-46.

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

21. the smallest of the tribes of Israel] The warlike tribe of Benjamin, the smallest except Manasseh at the time of the numbering in the wilderness (Num_1:37), was reduced to insignificance by the terrible slaughter recorded in Jdg_20:46.

of the tribe of Benjamin] Heb. the tribes, If this reading is right, tribe here = clan or subdivision of a tribe, as in Num_4:18; Jdg_20:12 (Heb. tribes of B.). But the Sept. and all ancient versions read “tribe” in the singular.

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 Saul answered and said, am not I a Benjamite,.... Or the son of Jemini, the name of one of his ancestors, see Sa1 9:1 or rather, as the Targum, a son of the tribe of Benjamin:

of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? having been greatly reduced, even to the number of six hundred men, by the fatal war between that tribe and the rest, on account of the Levite's concubine, and is called little Benjamin, Psa 68:27.

and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? the smallest in number, had the least share of authority in the tribe, and of land and cattle, wealth and substance:

wherefore then speakest thou so to me? Saul presently understood Samuel's meaning, that he should be chosen king of Israel, the affair of a king being at this time in everyone's mind and mouth; but could not believe that one of so small a tribe, and which sprung from the youngest son of Jacob, and of so mean a family, would be raised to such dignity, but that a person of great figure and character would be settled upon; and, therefore he took Samuel to be in joke, as Josephus (m) says, and not in earnest.

(m) Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.

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

The tribe of Benjamin, originally the smallest of all the tribes Num 1:36, if Ephraim and Manasseh are reckoned as one tribe, had been nearly annihilated by the civil war recorded in Judg. 20. It had of course not recovered from that terrible calamity in the time of Saul, and was doubtless literally much the smallest tribe at that time. Nothing could be more improbable, humanly speaking, than that this weak tribe should give a ruler to the mighty tribes of Joseph and Judah.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Jemini, or Benjamin, which was always one of the smallest tribes, and, since the unfortunate war, still more reduced; so that none of the other tribes could well take umbrage, or be filled with jealousy, when they saw a king selected from it. --- Last. Though all were equally noble, yet some families were more numerous, possessed greater riches, or had filled the posts of honour more frequently than others. Nothing can be more charming than the modesty of Saul on this occasion. (Calmet) --- Happy would he have been, had he continued always to cherish the like sentiments. (Haydock) --- He and his posterity might then have long enjoyed the regal dignity, chap. xiii. 13. (Menochius)

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).

The smallest of the tribes; for so indeed this was, having been all cut off except six hundred, Jdg 20, which blow they never recovered, and therefore they were scarce reckoned as an entire tribe, but only as a remnant or fragment of a tribe; and being ingrafted into Judah, in the division between the ten tribes and the two, they in some sort lost their name, and they, together with Judah, were accounted but one tribe, as 1Ki 11:32, &c.

The least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin, i.e. one of the least; obscure and inconsiderable, in comparison of divers others; whence it may seem that Saul’s family was not so noble and wealthy as some imagine: See Poole "1Sa 9:1".

Wherefore then speakest thou so to me? why dost thou feed me with vain hopes of the kingdom?

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

21. Smallest of the tribes — And once almost annihilated by the tribal war. Judges 20. Saul is now little in his own eyes, but elevation to power developed in him a spirit of insubordinate ambition and pride. 1Sa_15:17.

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

Wherefore then speakest thou so to me? Though Samuel"s words contained the promise of supreme power, for to whom less than a king could all that was desirable in Israel belong? yet Saul probably regarded them as a high-flown compliment, such as Orientals love to use, and gave a modest and proper answer. Benjamin, already the smallest tribe, had been so crushed that its power must have been very small, and Soul"s house, though opulent, was not a leading one; how then could one of its members expect so high a dignity? For families of the tribe of Benjamin the Hebrew has "tribes," probably owing to some confusion with the words "tribes of Israel" just before.

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

The smallest - For so indeed this was, having been all cut off except six hundred, Judg. xx, 46-48, which blow they never recovered, and therefore they were scarce reckoned as an entire tribe, but only as a remnant of a tribe; and being ingrafted into Judah, in the division between the ten tribes and the two, they in some sort lost their name, and together with Judah were accounted but one tribe.

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