Bible Strands
1 Samuel 9:8
The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The servant addresses Saul at the precise moment they realize they lack a gift for the man of God. He steps forward to present the silver he carries, directly responding to Saul’s earlier question about available resources.
The words — וַיֹּסֶף (va.yoséf) means “and he repeated,” marking the servant’s own continuation of his answer rather than Saul’s interrupted speech. נִמְצָא (nim’tza’) translates literally as “is found,” emphasizing the servant’s active discovery of the quarter shekel.
The thread — The verse advances the narrative concern of securing a tangible offering for divine inquiry, directly answering Saul’s doubt in 1 Samuel 9:7. This pattern of presenting silver to a seer or prophet for guidance recurs throughout the Samuel narrative as a practical step in seeking revelation.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to recognize that seeking divine direction in this context involves a concrete, culturally recognized exchange. It demands attention to how material provision and spiritual inquiry are linked in the narrative’s immediate context.
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 the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.