2 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 How can I go? H3212 if Saul H7586 hear H8085 it, he will kill H2026 me. And the LORD H3068 said, H559 Take H3947 an heifer H1241 H5697 with thee, H3027 and say, H559 I am come H935 to sacrifice H2076 to the LORD. H3068
And they answered H6030 them, and said, H559 He is; H3426 behold, he is before H6440 you: make haste H4116 now, for he came H935 to day H3117 to the city; H5892 for there is a sacrifice H2077 of the people H5971 to day H3117 in the high place: H1116
And he said, H559 Let me go, H7971 I pray thee; for our family H4940 hath a sacrifice H2077 in the city; H5892 and my brother, H251 he hath commanded H6680 me to be there: and now, if I have found H4672 favour H2580 in thine eyes, H5869 let me get away, H4422 I pray thee, and see H7200 my brethren. H251 Therefore he cometh H935 not unto the king's H4428 table. H7979
And he said, H559 What have I sinned, H2398 that thou wouldest deliver H5414 thy servant H5650 into the hand H3027 of Ahab, H256 to slay H4191 me? As the LORD H3068 thy God H430 liveth, H2416 there is no H3426 nation H1471 or kingdom, H4467 whither H834 my lord H113 hath not sent H7971 to seek H1245 thee: and when they said, H559 He is not there; he took an oath H7650 of the kingdom H4467 and nation, H1471 that they found H4672 thee not. And now thou sayest, H559 Go, H3212 tell H559 thy lord, H113 Behold, Elijah H452 is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone H3212 from thee, that the Spirit H7307 of the LORD H3068 shall carry H5375 thee whither I know H3045 not; and so when I come H935 and tell H5046 Ahab, H256 and he cannot find H4672 thee, he shall slay H2026 me: but I thy servant H5650 fear H3372 the LORD H3068 from my youth. H5271 Was it not told H5046 my lord H113 what I did H6213 when Jezebel H348 slew H2026 the prophets H5030 of the LORD, H3068 how I hid H2244 an hundred H3967 men H376 of the LORD'S H3068 prophets H5030 by fifty H2572 in a cave, H4631 and fed H3557 them with bread H3899 and water? H4325 And now thou sayest, H559 Go, H3212 tell H559 thy lord, H113 Behold, Elijah H452 is here: and he shall slay H2026 me.
Then thou shalt say H559 unto them, I presented H5307 my supplication H8467 before H6440 the king, H4428 that he would not cause me to return H7725 to Jonathan's H3083 house, H1004 to die H4191 there. Then came H935 all the princes H8269 unto Jeremiah, H3414 and asked H7592 him: and he told H5046 them according to all these words H1697 that the king H4428 had commanded. H6680 So they left off speaking H2790 with him; for the matter H1697 was not perceived. H8085
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 16
Commentary on 1 Samuel 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
1Sa 16:1-10. Samuel Sent by God to Bethlehem.
1. the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul—Samuel's grief on account of Saul's rejection, accompanied, doubtless, by earnest prayers for his restitution, showed the amiable feelings of the man; but they were at variance with his public duty as a prophet. The declared purpose of God to transfer the kingdom of Israel into other hands than Saul's was not an angry menace, but a fixed and immutable decree; so that Samuel ought to have sooner submitted to the peremptory manifestation of the divine will. But to leave him no longer room to doubt of its being unalterable, he was sent on a private mission to anoint a successor to Saul (see on 1Sa 10:1). The immediate designation of a king was of the greatest importance for the interests of the nation in the event of Saul's death, which, to this time, was dreaded; it would establish David's title and comfort the minds of Samuel and other good men with a right settlement, whatever contingency might happen.
I have provided me a king—The language is remarkable, and intimates a difference between this and the former king. Saul was the people's choice, the fruit of their wayward and sinful desires for their own honor and aggrandizement. The next was to be a king who would consult the divine glory, and selected from that tribe to which the pre-eminence had been early promised (Ge 49:10).
2. How can I go?—This is another instance of human infirmity in Samuel. Since God had sent him on this mission, He would protect him in the execution.
I am come to sacrifice—It seems to have been customary with Samuel to do this in the different circuits to which he went, that he might encourage the worship of God.
3. call Jesse to the sacrifice—that is, the social feast that followed the peace offering. Samuel, being the offerer, had a right to invite any guest he pleased.
4. the elders of the town trembled at his coming—Beth-lehem was an obscure town, and not within the usual circuit of the judge. The elders were naturally apprehensive, therefore, that his arrival was occasioned by some extraordinary reason, and that it might entail evil upon their town, in consequence of the estrangement between Samuel and the king.
5. sanctify yourselves—by the preparations described (Ex 19:14, 15). The elders were to sanctify themselves. Samuel himself took the greatest care in the sanctification of Jesse's family. Some, however, think that the former were invited only to join in the sacrifice, while the family of Jesse were invited by themselves to the subsequent feast.
6-10. Samuel said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him—Here Samuel, in consequence of taking his impressions from the external appearance, falls into the same error as formerly (1Sa 10:24).
1Sa 16:11-14. He Anoints David.
11. There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep—Jesse having evidently no idea of David's wisdom and bravery, spoke of him as the most unfit. God, in His providence, so ordered it, that the appointment of David might the more clearly appear to be a divine purpose, and not the design either of Samuel or Jesse. David having not been sanctified with the rest of his family, it is probable that he returned to his pastoral duties the moment the special business on which he had been summoned was done.
12. he was ruddy, &c.—Josephus says that David was ten, while most modern commentators are of the opinion that he must have been fifteen years of age.
13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him—This transaction must have been strictly private.
14-18. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him—His own gloomy reflections, the consciousness that he had not acted up to the character of an Israelitish king, the loss of his throne, and the extinction of his royal house, made him jealous, irritable, vindictive, and subject to fits of morbid melancholy.
19. Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David—In the East the command of a king is imperative; and Jesse, however reluctant and alarmed, had no alternative but to comply.
20. Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them … unto Saul—as a token of homage and respect.
21. David came to Saul—Providence thus prepared David for his destiny, by placing him in a way to become acquainted with the manners of the court, the business of government, and the general state of the kingdom.
became his armour-bearer—This choice, as being an expression of the king's partiality, shows how honorable the office was held to be.
23. David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well—The ancients believed that music had a mysterious influence in healing mental disorders.