Bible Strands
1 Samuel 9:7
“If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul speaks to his servant after the servant suggests visiting a respected man of God in the city to find their way. Saul questions what they can offer the prophet since their pack bread is exhausted and they lack a prepared gift.
The words — וַ/יֹּאמֶר (va/i.Yo.mer) marks the transition to Saul’s response, while וּ/מַה (u./mah) introduces his direct inquiry about available provisions. These terms frame the immediate logistical problem before the journey.
The thread — The concern over bringing a gift to a prophet appears in 1 Kings 14:3, 2 Kings 8:8, and 2 Kings 4:42, where travelers bring bread or barley loaves to seek divine guidance. This pattern establishes a customary practice of offering provisions to a man of God before receiving direction.
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to recognize how practical scarcity interrupts spiritual seeking. It forces the question of how one approaches divine guidance when immediate resources are depleted.
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
Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 14:3 Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”
- 2 Kings 8:8 So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- 2 Kings 4:42 Now a man from Baal-shalishah came to the man of God with a sack of twenty loaves of barley bread from the first ripe grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” said Elisha.
- Judges 6:18 Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.” And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.”
- Judges 13:15 “Please stay here,” Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”
- 2 Kings 5:5 “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.
- 2 Kings 5:15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “Now I know for sure that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”