1 Samuel 16:1–23

16:2 Samuel has deep misgivings about implementing the Lord’s instructions. The obvious route from Ramah to Bethlehem is through Gibeah, and Saul will ask questions. It is already evident that he no longer displays tolerance toward opponents but will react negatively to any threat to his kingdom. Anointing his successor will put Samuel’s life under threat.

The Lord provides Samuel with a prudent cover story: he is to go to Bethlehem with a heifer and offer a sacrifice in a special ceremony. So, while Samuel is not obliged to disclose all that he is about, what he does say will be factual.¹

16:3 Moreover, Samuel is to “invite Jesse to the sacrifice,” especially to the feast afterward. Further directions will be given to Samuel as events progress. The main aim of the exercise remains: “You shall anoint [cf. comment on 2:10] for me him whom I declare to you.”

16:4 When Samuel unexpectedly arrives at Ramah, the local elders are flustered. They know about what happened at Gilgal and do not want to be drawn into trouble with the king. Through a spokesman they inquire, “Do you come peaceably?”

16:5 Samuel assures the elders that he has come in peace, inviting them to get ready to participate in the sacrifice and feast (similar to that at Ramah; 9:12–13). “Consecrate” indicates the need for ritual purity, including abstinence from sexual activity, avoidance of contact with any dead body, washing one’s body, and wearing clean garments (cf. Ex. 19:14–15). Samuel makes sure that Jesse and his sons comply with these requirements when he invites them to the sacrifice. The occasion obviously has special significance for them, but no clue is given as to what that might be.

16:6 At the sacrificial meal, Jesse’s sons are introduced to Samuel. When he looks (from “to see”; cf. comment on 16:1) at the firstborn, Eliab (17:13), Samuel thinks that he fits the part of “the Lord’s anointed” (cf. comment on 2:10) “before him,” that is, before the Lord. Eliab appears suitably regal, just as Saul had done in his day (and as Absalom would later; 2 Sam. 14:25–26).

16:7 The Lord, however, corrects Samuel’s mistake of judging by outward impressions by telling him inwardly that the choice should be based not on appearance (from “to see”) or height, as obviously had been the case with Saul (9:2; 10:23–24), but on inner disposition. The Lord has already scrutinized and rejected Eliab (as in 16:1), because “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart,” where “looks” repeats the verb “to see.” Samuel the seer is not seeing as the Lord sees. He must base his judgments on what is perceptible, but the secrets of the heart are open to the Lord.

16:8 Jesse realizes that Samuel is looking for a particular individual, and he makes his sons pass in turn before the prophet, probably by going over to him and identifying themselves. Abinadab is identified as Jesse’s second son in 17:13.

16:9–10 Shammah is identified as Jesse’s third son in 17:13. He is not selected either. The same procedure is followed until Samuel is acquainted with “seven of his sons,” at which point he explicitly tells Jesse that none of them have been chosen by the Lord.

16:11 Since Samuel knows one of Jesse’s sons is to become king, he is puzzled and asks Jesse if all of his sons are present. Jesse admits that his youngest son is not present. No one has thought him of sufficient significance to attend the feast, and he has been left “keeping the sheep” (lit., “shepherding the flock”). Since “shepherd” is widely used as a royal title, there is an element of irony here: the one to shepherd Israel is already acting as a shepherd. Proceedings cannot start until he is present.

16:12 The scene climaxes when Jesse presents his eighth and youngest son. While an attractive appearance is not determinative in the selection of a king, it is obviously no barrier, either: David is a fine-looking young man. “Ruddy” or “reddish” may refer to his hair or to his skin, which was possibly of a lighter color. He “had beautiful eyes,” which could perhaps be translated as “beautiful to look at [“see”; v. 7].” All in all he is “handsome.” When David appears, the Lord directs Samuel to “arise” (that is, to “act” rather than to “get up from sitting”) and anoint him as the Lord’s chosen one (cf. Ps. 78:70–71).

16:13 David is anointed in the presence of his brothers. “Horn of oil” forms an inclusio with verse 1 in order to close the episode. Anointing designates David as one divinely appointed to a special role, but it is not reported if Samuel makes it clear to the others that kingship is in view. Perhaps the procedure is also used to enlist a young man in one of Samuel’s prophetic companies. In the subsequent narrative, his brothers do not appreciate the full significance of what has been done.

The outward rite of anointing is accompanied by the inward reality of empowerment by the Spirit. At last the name of David (most probably meaning “beloved”) is used. “And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David” in a way similar to what happened to Saul (10:6, 10; 11:6), but this time it is a permanent enabling in order to fulfill his responsibilities as covenant king.

His duty done, Samuel returns to his hometown of Ramah (8:4), presumably after presiding at the sacrificial meal. Although Samuel lives on for some time, this act is a fitting conclusion to his public career.

16:14 This passage is placed here primarily for thematic reasons. “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed [or “had departed”] from Saul” is not necessarily the next event in a sequence but is the logical counterpart of David’s empowerment. The Spirit had twice come upon Saul (10:10; 11:6), but the Lord has now judicially deprived him of that support (perhaps in connection with 15:23). God has also sent a “harmful spirit” (lit., “evil spirit,” in the sense of one causing injury), which “tormented him.” This is more than the pangs of an uneasy conscience. God permits a demonic spirit to attack Saul so that he is periodically drawn into a vortex of depression and plagued by irrational anxieties and jealous fear.²

16:15 Though “Saul’s servants” could refer to either his household attendants or his royal officials, the use of “young men” in verse 18 favors the former. In their daily dealings with Saul they diagnose the external spiritual origin of his malady and have the collective courage to raise their concerns with him.

16:16 Using courtly, third-person language, Saul’s servants also respectfully suggest that soothing music might help to ease Saul’s spirit, and they recommend finding a skillful player of the lyre (cf. 10:5) whose music might ease the king’s anxiety and dejection.

16:17 Saul agrees to the proposal. “Provide [lit., “see”] for me a man” echoes the Lord’s initial announcement (v. 1), and the irony is intensified because the same individual will be in view. So the Lord confounds human plans, and Saul unwittingly introduces his successor into his court.

16:18 In a scene reminiscent of the help provided to Saul earlier (9:5–10), one of his attendants recalls that he has “seen” (Hb. raʼah) a suitable candidate among the sons of Jesse and recommends him in effusive terms. Primarily he meets the specification of being “skillful in playing,” though the lyre is not specified. “Man of valor” (cf. 14:52) suggests that the servant has heard of David’s exploits with a bear and a lion (cf. comment on 17:34–36). While “man of war” refers to one capable of fighting, if the narrative is sequential at this point this is probably the servant’s assessment of David’s potential, given that he has not yet served in the army. “Prudent in speech” refers not to David’s poetic abilities but to his discretion. He will not spread news of Saul’s condition. “Man of good presence” describes him as handsome (16:12). What more could be asked for from a court musician?

There is, however, a sixth and final qualification: “The Lord is with him.” This will be the key to David’s career (18:12, 14, 28; 2 Sam. 5:10; 7:3, 9; cf. also 1 Sam. 3:19; 17:37; 20:13). He is rendered capable of achieving what he will through the presence of the Spirit in his life.

16:19–20 The servant must have said more than is recorded because Saul now knows David’s name and occupation. He orders Jesse to send David to the royal court. Because it would be a major breach of etiquette to appear before a monarch emptyhanded, Jesse also sends the king a gift of provisions, consisting of the same items carried by the men who met Saul prior to his anointing (10:3).

16:21 David “entered his service” (lit., “stood before him”). His personable character soon commends him at court, and “Saul loved him greatly,” as many others will do (18:16, 20, 22; 20:17). Consequently, the king makes him a member of the royal entourage as his “armor-bearer” (cf. comment on 14:1). There would be others with the same rank, enabling David to become acquainted with the life of the court, the demands made on a ruler, and the king himself.

16:22 Saul subsequently asks Jesse to permit David to become a permanent member of his court (cf. 14:52). It is a polite request, but coming from a king it brooks no refusal. For the timing of these events, cf. comment on 17:15.

16:23 Thus whenever Saul is troubled by the “harmful spirit from God” (cf. v. 15; though “harmful” is a translator’s supplement here), David’s natural talent as a lyrist brings comfort to Saul (18:10; 19:9), supplemented no doubt by some of the sacred lyrics of the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1). The fact that the “harmful spirit departed from him” suggests that its influence was limited to external attack and did not possess Saul. “Refreshed” (a play on the word “spirit”) denotes relief such as what comes from passing out of a constrained environment into a freer one. It is not clear how long David stays at court, but apparently improvements in Saul’s condition permit David to return home from time to time.

An inclusio formed by the departure of the Spirit of the Lord (v. 14) and the departure of the “harmful spirit” (v. 23) brackets this section and emphasizes Saul’s dire condition, which warps the remainder of his reign.