What Does 1 Samuel 10:14 Mean in the King James?
And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
In Hebrew, “we saw” and Samuel the “seer” come from the same root, so noticing what is missing leads Saul to the one who sees.
THE MEANING
When what you seek seems nowhere to be found, its absence can redirect you toward someone whose sight reaches beyond the errand. Saul, the “asked-for one”, sees that the donkeys are absent and comes to Samuel, the seer; the failed search becomes an arrival.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief is that a search that does not recover its object has yielded nothing. Here, the missing donkeys bring Saul to Samuel.
THE ROOT
וַנִּרְאֶה
vannir'eh
GROWS FROM
ראה
to see, perceive, or look upon
The verb translated “saw” and Samuel’s title, “seer,” share this Hebrew root. English separates noticing the absence from approaching the seer; Hebrew links them, making the recognition of what is missing the path to Samuel.
ALSO GROWS
ra'ah: to see or perceive
רָאָה
This is the verb behind “we saw,” the recognition that the donkeys are absent.
ro'eh: seer; one who sees
רֹאֶה
Samuel is called a seer in 1 Samuel 9:9, so the verse moves from seeing the lack to coming to the one who sees.
שָׁאוּל
Sha'ul
GROWS FROM
שאל
to ask or request; in a passive form, one asked for
Saul’s name means “asked for” and grows from the same root as asking or making a request. The verse gathers that name around a question, a search, and an arrival at Samuel.
ALSO GROWS
sha'al: to ask or request
שָׁאַל
This verb shares Saul’s root and echoes the uncle’s question about where they went.
she'elah: a request or petition
שְׁאֵלָה
This noun shows the root can name the request itself, while Saul’s name carries the sense of the one asked for.
לְבַקֵּשׁ
le-vaqqesh
GROWS FROM
בקש
to seek, search for, or request
“seek” in this verse is le-vaqqesh. The Hebrew word for seeking also carries the sense of pursuing or requesting. The same root appears in the search for the LORD’s face, so this practical errand shares its language with a search for encounter.
ALSO GROWS
biqqesh: he sought or requested
בִּקֵּשׁ
It is a form of the root behind Saul’s search for the missing donkeys.
mevaqqesh: one who seeks; a seeker
מְבַקֵּשׁ
This form appears in the language of seeking a face, as in Psalm 27:8, joining the errand to a search for presence.
THE PATTERN
Naming what is absent can turn a search into a route toward discovery.
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:THE THREAD
(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)In 10:14, “we saw” and in 9:9, “seer” come from the Hebrew root ראה (ra’ah, to see or perceive). Saul sees the absence and comes to Samuel, whose title grows from that same root.
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