John Gill 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)

And he has a son whose name was Saul
Of this name was the great apostle of the Gentiles before his conversion, and was of the same tribe also; but very different in stature; he was a little man, this a large tall man, like his father perhaps;

a choice young man, and a goodly ;
(1 Samuel 2:1–10) of a goodly aspect, a comely man, tall and well shaped, in the prime of his age, a very agreeable person, one among a thousand:

and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than
he ;
meaning not for the endowments of his mind, or his moral character and behaviour. There might be as good, or better men than he, on such accounts, but for his outward appearance, his bodily shape, and the dignity of his person:

from his shoulders and upwards he was higher than any of the people ;
this description of him is enlarged upon and explained, to show that he was just such a person the people desired to have a king over them, such an one as the nations about them had; and it was usual with the eastern people, and so with the Greeks and Romans, to choose persons to the highest offices of magistracy that had a more impressive personal appearance than others, which they often noted as a recommendation for princes.

Herodotus ^F12 reports of the Ethiopians, that they judged the largest person, and him who had strength according to his size, most worthy to be king. And the same writer observes ^F13 , that among the many thousands in Xerxes' army, there was not one who for comeliness and size was so worthy of the empire as Xerxes himself; so Ulysses, was more acceptable to the people of Corfu ^F14 because of his height;

so Alexander's captains, it is said ^F15 , might be thought to be kings because of their beautiful form, height, and great strength and wisdom. Julius Caesar is said to have been of high stature; and so Domitian {p}; Virgil ^F17 represents Turnus as more excellent in body than others, and a full head taller than them; and Anchises as walking statelier and taller than the rest ^F18 ; among the many encomiums Pliny ^F19 gives of Trajan, regarding his outward form and appearance, this is one: "proceritas corporis" (height of body), being taller than others;

the Gentiles had a notion that such men were closer to the deities, and looked more like them; so Diana is described as taller than any of the nymphs and goddesses ^F20 . Solomon, according to Josephus ^F21 , chose young men to ride horses and attend his person when he himself rode, who were conspicuous for their height and significantly taller than others.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F12: Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 20.
• F13: Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 187.
• F14: Homer. Odyss. 8. ver. 20, 21.
• F15: Justin. e Trogo, l. 13. c. 1.
• F17: Aeneid. l. 7. ver. 783, 784. & 9. ver. 29.
• F18: Ib. l. 8. ver. 162.
• F19: Panegyr. c. 4, 22.
• F20: "Tamen altior illis ipsa dea est". Ovid. Metam. l. 3. fab. 2. ver. 180, 181.
• F21: Antiqu. l. 8. c. 7. sect. 3.