1 Samuel 10:14

And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) Saul’s uncle.—Most probably, this uncle was the subsequently famous Abner—so Ewald, Josephus, and others. Kish, the father of Saul, a quiet, plain man, evidently was quite content that his beasts were found, and that his son had returned in safety and so asks no curious questions about his son’s journey. Not so Abner, who was a restless, ambitious man, and who, very probably, had heard something already from the servant who accompanied Saul (traditionally supposed to have been Doeg) of the strange honours paid to his nephew by the great and revered judge of Israel, the famous Samuel, and also of the long private interview between them. Abner, the uncle of the future king, an observant man, might well have been struck with the change that had passed over his nephew since he had last seen him; hence his question, “Tell me what Samuel said unto you?”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:9-16 The signs Samuel had given Saul, came to pass punctually; he found that God had given him another heart, another disposition of mind. Yet let not an outward show of devotion, and a sudden change for the present, be too much relied on; Saul among the prophets was Saul still. His being anointed was kept private. He leaves it to God to carry on his own work by Samuel, and sits still, to see how the matter will fall.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From the order of the narrative, and the mention of Saul's servant, it looks as if Saul found his uncle at the high place. Perhaps some solemnity similar to that mentioned in 1 Samuel 9:19 was going on at this time, in which the prophets had been taking part.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12. But who is their father?—The Septuagint reads, "Who is his father?" referring to Saul the son of Kish.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Saul’s uncle, being there present, and observing this great alteration in his nephew.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Saul's uncle said unto him, and to his servant, whither went ye?.... Since they had been absent so long a time. This was his father's brother, as the Targum, and so Aquila; whose name was Ner, the father of Abner, 1 Samuel 14:50 who met with him at the high place, or found him in the city, in his father's house it may be. Josephus (g) says, Saul went into the house of his kinsman Abner, whom he loved above all his relations, and that it was he that discoursed with Saul, and asked him, the questions before and after related:

and he said, to seek the asses: he first observes the end of their going, the business they went upon, in which not succeeding, then he answers more directly to the question:

and when we saw that they were nowhere; could not see them, nor find them any where, or hear of them where they went:

we came to Samuel; at Ramah, to inquire of him, if he could direct us which way to go, and what methods to take, to find the asses.

(g) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4.) sect. 3.

Geneva Study Bible

And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. Saul’s uncle] Possibly Ner. See note on 1 Samuel 14:50. He may have been at the high-place for some public solemnity, at which the prophets also had been present; or the conversation may have occurred on a subsequent occasion.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 14-16. - Saul's uncle. According to 1 Samuel 14:50, 51; 1 Chronicles 8:33, this would be Abner. The conversation probably took place after Saul had returned from the Bamah and gone to his own home, for in so brief a summary much necessarily is omitted. It is curious that the conversation should have taken place with the uncle, and not with the father; but possibly the latter was too well pleased to have his son back again to be very particular in his inquiries. Not so Abner. He was evidently excited by his nephew s visit to the prophet, and struck perhaps by the change in Saul himself, and would gladly have heard more. But Saul does not gratify his curiosity. Of the matter of the kingdom... he told him not. It was not merely prudent, but right to keep the matter secret. An able man like Abner would probably have begun to scheme for so great an end. Saul s silence left the fulfilment of the prophet's words entirely to God.

CHAPTER 10:17-27 PUBLIC SELECTION OF SAUL AS KING (vers. 17-24). 1 Samuel 10:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When Saul had left off prophesying, and came to Bamah, his uncle asked him and his attendant where they had been; and Saul told him, that as they had not found the asses anywhere, they had gone to Samuel, and had learned from him that the asses were found. But he did not relate the words which had been spoken by Samuel concerning the monarchy, from unambitious humility (cf. 1 Samuel 10:22, 1 Samuel 10:23) and not because he was afraid of unbelief and envy, as Thenius follows Josephus in supposing. From the expression "he came to Bamah" (Eng. ver. "to the high place"), we must conclude, that not only Saul's uncle, but his father also, lived in Bamah, as we find Saul immediately afterwards in his own family circle (see 1 Samuel 10:14.).