Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 9:24

"And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And [Samuel] said, Behold, that which hath been reserved! set it before thee and eat; because unto the appointed time hath it been kept for thee, for I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day." — 1 Samuel 9:24 (ASV)

And Samuel said. — “There is an error here in the English translation that requires correction. Although the matter is not one of great significance, it is nevertheless important and deeply interesting to notice the little details that the inspired historian considered it right to preserve in connection with this whole transaction. There was, no doubt, a very early and authentic tradition of the circumstance of this anointing of the first king, which was, of course, often recounted in the sacred assemblies of Israel. ‘Samuel’s name is not given in the Hebrew, and though inserted by the Septuagint and Vulgate, it is so only by a manifest error.’

The Syriac and Chaldee, like the Hebrew, make the cook the speaker. The correct translation is: And the cook lifted up the shoulder, with that which was upon it, and set it before Saul, and said, Behold, that which has been reserved is set (a participle, and not the imperative) before you; eat, for it has been kept for you until the appointed time, of which he (i.e., Samuel) spoke, saying, I have invited the people.

The word translated in the Authorized Version, “since I said,” is one that means saying, and nothing else. Since what comes before contains no verb to which saying can refer, it is plain that there is an ellipsis.

But if the cook is the speaker, the meaning is plain, as follows: When, on the previous day, the revelation was made to Samuel that Israel’s future king would present himself the next day, the prophet at once made preparations to receive him with appropriate solemnity. For this purpose, he arranged a sacrifice and invited thirty of the chief citizens of Ramah to assemble at the high place and sit at the banquet with him.

And then it was, when telling the cook of his invitation, that Samuel gave orders that the portion of honor should be carefully reserved, to be set at the fitting time before the stranger. The cook’s chat is entirely in the manner of ancient times and would show Saul how completely his coming had been foreseen and provided for.” —Dean Payne Smith, in Pulpit Comm.