Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Samuel 9:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Traces the unsuccessful search through several regions.
Read It With
- 1 Samuel 9:1–9:10
Verse 9:4 belongs to “Lost donkeys lead Saul toward the seer.” It traces the unsuccessful search through several regions; detached from the full unit, that contribution can be mistaken for the unit's whole claim.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit “Lost donkeys lead Saul toward the seer” needs this line's precise work: it traces the unsuccessful search through several regions. The verse remains one part of the scene rather than its complete claim.
What Remains True
Traces the unsuccessful search through several regions. Within 1 Samuel 9:1–9:10, this contribution supports the unit's enduring claim: Leadership and loyalty remain answerable for the effects traced here: Kish's unusually tall son Saul searches unsuccessfully for lost donkeys until his servant proposes consulting the respected seer with a small gift. The introduction does not make appearance, height, wealth, gender, or social standing a measure of fitness to lead, and seeking a seer is not a modern divination method.
How It Can Shape Life
- Traces the unsuccessful search through several regions. The proportionate response is therefore the one traced from the complete unit: In situations that resemble “Lost donkeys lead Saul toward the seer,” act truthfully, attend to the people affected, and choose accountable care rather than copying an ancient actor or forcing the scene into a modern slogan. The introduction does not make appearance, height, wealth, gender, or social standing a measure of fitness to lead, and seeking a seer is not a modern divination method.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Samuel 9:1–9:10 — Lost donkeys lead Saul toward the seerSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: 1 Samuel 9:1–9:10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 9:1–9:10; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: 1 Samuel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 9:1–9:10
Open source ↗