Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 9:2

"And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a 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." — 1 Samuel 9:2 (ASV)

A choice young man, and a goodly. —The Hebrew word which is rendered in English by “a choice young man” cannot signify both these epithets. The translators were probably influenced by the Vulgate (Latin) Version, which translates the Hebrew word by electus, “chosen, or choice,” the more common meaning of the Hebrew word being avoided, because at this time Saul appears to have had a son (Jonathan) who must have nearly reached his maturity.

But the term "young" was not inappropriate for Saul, who was still in the full vigor of manhood as contrasted with Samuel's old age, being about forty to forty-five years old. Therefore, translate it simply as “a young man,” etc. In the childhood of nations, heroic proportions were highly valued, and the king's gigantic stature and remarkable beauty undoubtedly contributed to his ready acceptance by the still semi-barbarous Israelites. (Compare Herodotus, 3:20, 7:187; Aristotle, Politics, 4:29; Virgil’s description of Turnus, Aeneid, 7:650, 783; and Homer’s words about Ajax, Iliad, 3:226.)

The asses. —Literally, And the she-asses. At this period of Jewish history, asses were much used by the people. The horse was forbidden by the Law. Asses were used not only for purposes of agriculture but also for riding; so in the song of Deborah we find, Speak, ye that ride on white asses (Judges 5:10); and again we read of the thirty sons of Jair, the Gileadite judge, each one ruler of a city, who rode on thirty ass colts (Judges 10:4). These belonging to the farm of Kish, being probably kept for breeding purposes, were untethered, and so strayed from the immediate neighborhood and were lost.

The whole of this chapter and part of the following is full of picturesque details of the pastoral life of the people. In many of the little pictures, we see how strongly at this early period the religion of the Eternal colored almost all parts of the everyday life of Israel.

One of the servants. —The “servant,” not “slave;” the Hebrew word for the latter would be different. The servant was evidently a trusty dependent of the house of Saul’s father and was on familiar terms with his young master. We hear of his giving wise advice in the course of the search (1 Samuel 9:6); he was the one in charge of the money (1 Samuel 9:8); and this servant, we are especially told, was treated by Samuel the judge as an honored guest at the sacrificial feast at Ramah. He was traditionally believed to have been Doeg the Edomite, afterwards so famous as one of the most ruthless of the great captains of King Saul. (See 1 Samuel 22:18.)