1 Samuel 9:9 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Beforetime in Israel. — This verse was evidently inserted in the original book of memoirs of the days of Samuel by a later hand. Three special words are found in the Divine writings for the inspired messengers or interpreters of the Eternal wilt; of these, the title seer (roeh) was the most ancient. It is the title, evidently, by which Samuel in his lifetime was generally known. “Is the seer here?” we read in this passage; and “Where is the seer’s house?” and “I am the seer.” As time passed on, the term, in the sense of an inspired man of God, became obsolete, and the word chozeh, “a gazer.” on strange visions, seemed to have been the word used for one inspired. The title nabi — prophet — began to come into common use in the time of Samuel, to whom the term is not unfrequently applied. The word nabi, or prophet, is found in nearly all the Old Testament books, from Genesis to Malachi, though rarely in the earlier writings. This note was inserted by some scribe who lived comparatively later (perhaps in the time of Ezra), but who must have been a reviser of the sacred text of very high authority, as this “note” has come down to us as an integral part of the received Hebrew text. The reason of the insertion is obvious. The title roeh — seer — as time passed on, no longer belonged exclusively to “a man of God.” The scribe who put in this expression was desirous of pointing out that when Samuel lived it was the word always used for a prophet of the Lord. In those early days it had not deteriorated in meaning.