They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
- BSB So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.
- NKJV So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
- NASB So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
- NLT So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They bring Saul out, and he stands a head taller than everyone else. His impressive stature matches what the people wanted in a king.
Overview
Saul's height gives Israel the imposing figure they desired, 'a king like the nations.' The narrator notes his outward appearance, but the wider story will show that the Lord looks on the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7). Saul's stature is a fitting but ultimately superficial qualification for the office.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Sam 9:2He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people.
- 1 Sam 16:7But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”
- 1 Sam 17:4A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 10:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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