Bible Strands
1 Samuel 9:2
And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative author describes Kish’s son Saul at the opening of the Samuel account, immediately preceding the incident with the wandering donkeys.
The words — בָּח֣וּר (ba.Chur) translates as a young man or choice one, and וָ/ט֔וֹב (va./Tov) means and good or handsome.
The thread — Human standards of physical stature and beauty appear in Genesis 6:2 and Numbers 13:33, while 1 Samuel 16:7 explicitly contrasts this by stating the LORD does not look at outward appearance or height.
Why it lands — The text records Saul’s exceptional physical attributes before the narrative shifts to God’s rejection of human metrics for leadership.
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 he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
Cross-references
- Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
- Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- 2 Samuel 14:25 Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.
- 1 Samuel 17:4 Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- Jeremiah 9:23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 1 Samuel 10:23 So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.