Bible Strands
1 Samuel 11:5
Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul returns from working his oxen in the field and encounters the grieving people at Gibeah. He directly asks them what is troubling them and why they are weeping before they explain the threat from the men of Jabesh.
The words — The text notes Saul was ba' acharei habbaqar min-hasadeh (coming after the cattle from the field), marking his sudden shift from agricultural labor to national crisis. He then yo'mer (said) to demand the cause of the crowd's visible distress.
The thread — The narrative parallels Elijah finding Elisha plowing with oxen in 1 Kings 19:19, both depicting a prophetic figure encountering a successor during field work. It also aligns with the genuine inquiries in Genesis 21:17 and Judges 18:23, where figures ask about observable distress without presuming the answer.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize how ordinary labor is interrupted by urgent communal crisis. It demands attention to the moment before divine intervention, showing that inquiry precedes action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 19:19 So Elijah departed and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve teams of oxen, and he was with the twelfth team. Elijah passed by him and threw his cloak around him.
- Genesis 21:17 Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
- Judges 18:23 When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
- 1 Samuel 9:1 Now 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.
- Isaiah 22:1 This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
- Psalms 78:71 from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.