1 Samuel 16:1-13 – God Looks At The Heart

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 18 April 2021

Introduction

1) Kingmaker Take Two

2) Sacrifices at Bethlehem

3) David Anointed

Three Applications

  1. Don’t pine too long over the loss of leaders; get involved in the discipleship of new, godly leaders:

  1. Consecrate yourself to be a worshipper of God

  1. Follow God’s word rather than human opinion


APPENDIX: Timing of the anointing of David in relation to the sacrifice

1 Samuel 16:1-13 - Side-by side comparison of versionsA


LXX

Brenton

DRB

KJVB

NAW

MT

1

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Σαμουηλ ἕως πότε σὺ πενθεῗς ἐπὶ Σαουλ κἀγὼ ἐξουδένωκαC αὐτὸν μὴ βασιλεύειν ἐπὶ Ισραηλ πλῆσον τὸ κέρας σου ἐλαίου καὶ δεῦρο ἀποστεί­λω σε πρὸς Ιεσσαι [ἕως εἰς] Βηθλεεμ ὅτι ἑόρακα ἐν τοῗς υἱοῗς αὐτοῦ ἐμοὶ βασιλεύειν

And the Lord said to Samuel, How long dost thou mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come, I will send thee to Jessae, [to] Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me.

And the Lord said to Samuel: How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeingD I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have providedE me a king among his sons.

Presently, Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long are you going to be mourning over Saul? Now, as for me, I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill up your ram’s-horn with oil, and get going; I’m sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have noticed among his sons a king for myself!”

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל- שְׁמוּאֵל, עַד-מָתַי אַתָּה מִתְאַבֵּל אֶלF- שָׁאוּל, וַאֲנִי מְאַסְתִּיו, מִמְּלֹךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל; מַלֵּא קַרְנְךָ שֶׁמֶן, וְלֵךְ אֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֶל- יִשַׁי בֵּית-הַלַּחְמִי - כִּי- רָאִיתִי בְּבָנָיו לִי, מֶלֶךְ.

2

καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πῶς πορευθῶ καὶ ἀκούσεται Σαουλ καὶ ἀποκτενεῗ με καὶ εἶπεν κύριος δάμαλιν βοῶν λαβὲ ἐν τῇ χειρί σου καὶ ἐρεῗς θῦσαι τῷ κυρίῳ ἥκω

And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer X in thine hand and thou shall say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

And Samuel said: How shall I go? for Saul will hear of it, and he will kill me. And the Lord said: Thou shalt take with thee X a calf of the herd, and thou shalt say: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer X with theeX, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord.

But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears, he will then put me to death!” And Yahweh said, “A heifer from the herd is what you shall take by your hand, and you shall say, ‘It’s to sacrifice to Yahweh that I have gone.’

וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֵיךְ אֵלֵךְ, וְשָׁמַע שָׁאוּל וַהֲרָגָנִי; וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, עֶגְלַת בָּקָר תִּקַּחG בְּיָדֶךָ, וְאָמַרְתָּ, לִזְבֹּחַ לַיהוָה בָּאתִי.

3

καὶ καλέσεις τὸν Ιεσσαι εἰς τὴν θυσίαν καὶ γνωριῶ σοι ἃ ποιήσεις καὶ χρίσεις XH ὃν ἐὰν εἴπω πρὸς σέ

And thou shalt call Jessae to the sacrifice, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint X him whom I shall mention to thee.

And thou shalt call Isai to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou art to do, and thou shalt anoint X him whom I shall shew to thee.

And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I nameI unto thee.

And invite Jesse to the sacrifice. Then I myself will make known to you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I dictate to you.”

וְקָרָאתָ לְיִשַׁי, בַּזָּבַח; וְאָנֹכִי, אוֹדִיעֲךָ אֵת אֲשֶׁר-תַּעֲשֶׂה, וּמָשַׁחְתָּ לִי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ.

4

καὶ ἐποίησεν Σαμ­ουηλ [πάντα] ἃ ἐλάλη­σεν [αὐτῷ] κύριος καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Βηθλεεμ καὶ ἐξέστη­σανJ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τῆς πόλεως τῇ ἀπαντή­σει αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπαν εἰρήνη ἡ εἴσ­οδός σου [ὁ βλέπων]

And Samuel did [all] that the Lord told [him]; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and X said, Dost thou come peaceably, [thou Seer]?

Then Samuel did as the Lord had said [to him]. And he came to Bethlehem, and the ancients of the city wondered, and meeting him, they said: Is thy coming hither peaceable[?]

And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and X said, Comest thou peaceably[?]

So Samuel did what Yahweh said and he went to Bethlehem. But the town elders were skittish about greeting him, and {they} said, “Is peace [the object] of your coming, {Seer?}”

וַיַּעַשׂ שְׁמוּאֵל, אֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, וַיָּבֹא, בֵּית לָחֶם; וַיֶּחֶרְדוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר, לִקְרָאתוֹ, וַיֹּאמֶרK, שָׁלֹםL בּוֹאֶךָM.

5

καὶ εἶπεν εἰρήνη θῦσαι τῷ κυρίῳ ἥκω ἁγιάσθητε καὶ εὐφράνθητε μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ σήμερον καὶ ἡγίασεν τὸν Ιεσσαι καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν θυσίαν

And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice.

And he said: It is peaceable: I am come to offer sacrifice to the Lord, be ye sanctified, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Isai and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

And he said, Peace­ably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

And he said, “Peace. It was to offer a sacrifice to Yahweh that I came. Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice!” Then he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁלוֹם, לִזְבֹּחַ לַיהוָה בָּאתִי, הִתְקַדְּשׁוּN, וּבָאתֶם אִתִּי בַּזָּבַחO; וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת-יִשַׁי וְאֶת-בָּנָיו, וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶם לַזָּבַח.

6

καὶ ἐγενήθη ἐν τῷ αὐτοὺς εἰσιέναι καὶ εἶδεν τὸν Ελιαβ καὶ εἶπεν ἀλλὰ καὶP ἐνώπιον κυρίου χριστὸς αὐτοῦ

And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.

X X And when they were come in, he saw Eliab, and said: Is the Lord's anointed before him?

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.

So it was while they were coming that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the one for His anointing is in front of Yahweh!”

וַיְהִי בְּבוֹאָם, וַיַּרְא אֶת-אֱלִיאָב; וַיֹּאמֶר, אַךְ נֶגֶד יְהוָה מְשִׁיחוֹ. {ס}

7

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Σαμουηλ μὴ ἐπιβλέψῃς ἐπὶ τὴν ὄψιν αὐτοῦ μηδὲ εἰς τὴν ἕξιν μεγέθουςQ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐξου­δένωκα αὐτόν ὅτι οὐχ ὡςR ἐμβλέψεται ἄνθρωπος [ὄψεται ὁ θεός] ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὄψεται εἰς πρόσω­πον ὁ δὲ θεὸς ὄψεται εἰς καρδίαν

But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on XX his stature, for I have rejected him; for [God sees] not as man looks; for man looks at the [outward] appearance, but God looks at the heart.

And the Lord said to Samuel: Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stat­ure: because I have rejected him, X nor do [I judge] ac­cording to the look of man: for man seeth X those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth X the heart.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stat­ure; because I have refusedS him: for [the Lord seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the [outward] appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t make observations based on his looks or based on his imposing height, because I have rejected him. For {God} doesn’t {see} the way man sees; man only sees to the extent of the eyes, but God sees to the extent of the heart.”

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל- שְׁמוּאֵל, אַל-תַּבֵּט אֶל-מַרְאֵהוּ וְאֶל- גְּבֹהַּ קוֹמָתוֹ--כִּי מְאַסְתִּיהוּ: כִּי לֹא, אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה הָאָדָם --כִּיT הָאָדָם יִרְאֶה לַעֵינַיִם, וַיהוָה יִרְאֶה לַלֵּבָב.

8

καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Ιεσ­σαι τὸν Αμιναδαβ καὶ παρῆλθεν κατὰ πρόσωπον Σαμουηλ καὶ εἶπεν οὐδὲ τοῦτον ἐξελέξατο κύριος

And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has GodU chosen this one.

And Isai called Abinadab, and brought him before Samuel. And he said: Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

Then Jesse called to Abinadab and made him pass by in front of Samuel, but he said, “It’s the same with this one; Yahweh has not chosen him.”

וַיִּקְרָא יִשַׁי אֶל- אֲבִינָדָב, וַיַּעֲבִרֵהוּ לִפְנֵי שְׁמוּאֵל; וַיֹּאמֶר, גַּם-בָּזֶה לֹא-בָחַר יְהוָה.

9

καὶ παρήγαγεν Ιεσσαι τὸν Σαμα καὶ εἶπεν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ οὐκ ἐξελέξατο κύριος

And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

And Isai brought Samma, and he said [of him]: Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this.

So Jesse made Sham­mah pass by, but he said, “It’s the same with this one; Yahweh has not chosen him.”

וַיַּעֲבֵר יִשַׁי, שַׁמָּה; וַיֹּאמֶר, גַּם-בָּזֶה לֹא-בָחַר יְהוָה.

10

καὶ παρήγαγεν Ιεσσαι τοὺς ἑπτὰ υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐνώπ­ιον Σαμουηλ καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ X XV οὐκ ἐξελέξατο κύριος ἐν τούτοις

And Jessae caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said X X, the Lord has not chosen these.

Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samu­el: and Samuel said to Isai: The Lord hath not chosen [any] one of these.

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Sam­uel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.

So Jesse made seven of his sons pass by in front of Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.”

וַיַּעֲבֵר יִשַׁי שִׁבְעַת בָּנָיו, לִפְנֵי שְׁמוּאֵל; וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-יִשַׁי, לֹא-בָחַר יְהוָה בָּאֵלֶּה.

11

καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Ιεσσαι ἐκλε­λοίπασινW τὰ παιδάρια καὶ εἶπεν ἔτι X ὁ μικρὸς X ἰδοὺ ποιμαίνει ἐν τῷ ποιμνίῳ καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς Ιεσσαι ἀπόστειλον καὶ λαβὲ αὐτόν ὅτι οὐ μὴ κατακλιθῶμενX ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῗν αὐτόν X

And Samuel said to Jessae, Hast thou no more sons? And [Jessae] said, There is yet a little one; X behold, he tends X the flock. And Samuel said to Jessae, Send and fetch him for we may not sit down till he comes X.

And Samuel said to Isai: Are here all thy sons? X He answered: There remaineth yet a young one, X X who keepeth X the sheep. And Samuel said to Isai: Send, and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth X the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

Finally Samuel said to Jesse, “Are your boys done?” And he said, “There is still the littlest one remaining, but, you see, he’s with the flock shepherding.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Please send someone to get him, because we’re not going to turn around until his arrival here!”

וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל- יִשַׁי, הֲתַמּוּ הַנְּעָרִים, וַיֹּאמֶר עוֹד שָׁאַר הַקָּטָן, וְהִנֵּה רֹעֶה בַּצֹּאן; וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-יִשַׁי שִׁלְחָה וְקָחֶנּוּ, כִּי לֹא -נָסֹבY עַד-בֹּאוֹ פֹה.

12

καὶ ἀπέστειλεν καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτόν καὶ οὗτος πυρράκης μετὰ κάλλους ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἀγα­θὸς ὁράσει κυρίῳ καὶ εἶπεν κύριος [πρὸς Σαμουηλ] ἀνάστα [καὶ ]χρῗσον τὸν [Δαυιδ] ὅτι οὗτος [ἀγαθός] ἐστιν

And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said [to Samuel], Arise, [and] anoint [David], for he is good.

He sent therefore and brought him Now he was ruddy and beautiful to behold, and of a comely face. And the Lord said: Arise, [and] anoint him, for this is he.

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenanceZ, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

So he sent and had him come. And he was ruddy, with handsome eyes, and was good looking. And Yahweh said, “Get up. Anoint him, for this is he.”

וַיִּשְׁלַח וַיְבִיאֵהוּ וְהוּא אַדְמוֹנִי, עִם- יְפֵה עֵינַיִם וְטוֹב רֹאִי; {פ}

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה קוּם מְשָׁחֵהוּ, כִּי-זֶה הוּא.

13

καὶ ἔλαβεν Σαμου­ηλ τὸ κέρας τοῦ ἐλαίου καὶ ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐφήλατοAA πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπὶ Δαυιδ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ἐπάνω καὶ ἀνέστη Σαμου­ηλ καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς Αρμαθαιμ

And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel rose up, and went to Ramatha.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord cameAB upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

So Samuel took his ram’s-horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. And the Spirit of Yahweh advanced on David from that day and onward. Samuel then got up and went to Ramah.

וַיִּקַּח שְׁמוּאֵל אֶת- קֶרֶן הַשֶּׁמֶן, וַיִּמְשַׁח אֹתוֹ בְּקֶרֶב אֶחָיו, וַתִּצְלַח רוּחַ-יְהוָה אֶל-דָּוִד, מֵהַיּוֹם הַהוּא וָמָעְלָה; וַיָּקָם שְׁמוּאֵל, וַיֵּלֶךְ הָרָמָתָה.



1The Hebrew is the word carov “nearness,” prefixed with the beth locative or associative preposition. If the author had intended “privately, away from his brothers,” he would have used the mem ablative prefix as the preposition instead. Goldman commented, “This can only mean ‘in the presence of his brethren.’” There is, nevertheless, a tradition from Kimchi and Abarbinel to Patrick and Gill and Jamieson that it should be interpreted “away from the presence of this brothers.”

2Isaiah 7 is the only other mention of it, and that doesn’t have to do with sacrifice, only farming. However, Lev. 3:1 states a “female” of the “herd” could be offered as a peace offering, although ‘eglat/heifer is not explicitly stated there.

3Goldman, following the Targum and Rashi, instead rendered “meet him eagerly,” but even the AJV reads “trembling.”

4“As Samuel must be the subject to the verb וַיֹּאמֶר in vs. 8-10, we may assume that he had communicated the object of his coming to Jesse… In all probability Samuel said nothing [to David] at the time [of his anointing], since, according to v.2 he had good reason for keeping the matter secret, not only on his own account, but still more for David's sake; so that even the brethren of David who were present knew nothing about the meaning and object of the anointing, but may have imagined that Samuel merely intended to consecrate David as a pupil of the prophets.” ~Keil & Delitzsch

51 Chron. 2:15 lists David as the 7th son of Jesse, whereas this passage says that Jesse showed Samuel 7 sons before it says that he brought David in. The Bible itself doesn’t give further clarification, but this apparent discrepancy can be reconciled in a number of ways: 1) I suggest that the number seven is the sum total - including David, used anachronistically in the story. If you read the wording of this passage carefully, it doesn’t actually say that Jesse had 8 sons or that David was not the 7th. (It appears that McCarter and Tsumura also came to this conclusion.) 2) Another possibility might be that a son was lost between this time and the writing of 1 Chronicles. This was John Gill’s position:the fourth we nowhere read of; perhaps he died quickly after this, was an obscure person, and of no fame and note, or might be by another woman” (Tsumura cites Baldwin and Bergen as supporting this position also), 3) or the total could include a family member technically called a son, but not in the sense that modern Westerners would consider it: the eighth is supposed to have been one of the elder brother’s sons, maybe Jonadab the son of Shammah... for in the Hebrew phrase, nephews were called sons.” ~Andrew Willett

6That’s my interpretation of the paragogic he at the end of the word “send.”

7Seder Olam Rabba (c. 13. p. 36) estimated David at 29 years old (which doesn’t leave enough time for all David’s sojournings between his anointing and Saul’s death), Lightfoot estimated him at 25 years old, Andrew Willett at 23 years old, Gill “hardly... more than 20,” Matthew Henry at 20, and Jamieson at 15. Josephus’ claim that David was fewer than 10 years old seems too young for the military exploits he pulls off soon thereafter.

AMy original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB, or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. Dead Sea Scroll 4Q52 Samuel contains parts of verses 1-11 of 1 Samuel 16 (colored purple where it agrees with the MT); it is dated to around 250 B.C. I have highlighted with yellow the LXX where is corroborates with the DSS and/or the Vulgate against the Masoretic Text. Where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I’ve marked my translation of it with {pointed brackets}.

BUnfortunately, the all-caps LORD convention for translating the tetragrammaton got stripped out in my computer program, so all instances now read with lower-case “Lord.” I haven’t had the opportunity to go back and correct that.

Ccf. Symmachus’ synonym apedokimasa “disregarded”

DNASB, NIV, ESV = “since” The Hebrew is merely a vav conjunction.

ENASB = “selected,” NIV = “chosen,” but the Hebrew and Greek words are actually “seen”

FSome Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts read עלover” (cf. Greek epi, which also means “over”)

GThe DSS does not have the tav prefix to this word, agreeing with the LXX that it was imperative. The MT changed it to a second person imperfect, which makes no difference in English translation.

HDSS is obliterated at this point in the verse, but there is plenty of space between the characters which are legible to include the extra letters in the MT Hebrew which spell “for me.”

INASB = “designate,” NIV = “indicate, “ESV = “declare,” Lit. “say’”

JSecond and third-century AD Jewish translations by Aquila (Aq.) and Symmachus (S.) made to correct the Septuagint read with the synonym exeplaghsan (“struck outof their senses – astounded, overwhelmed) less likely to be confused with “ecstatic.” But all the Greek versions clearly interpreted the literal physical “trembling” from the Hebrew word charad as figuratively describing an emotional state.

KTranslations from first to last (including Targums, LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and practically every English version) plus many Hebrew manuscripts render this verb plural (“they [the elders] said”), although the MT is singular (“he [Samuel] said”). The DSS is obliterated here, but there is room for the extra vav character which the plural would require. John Gill and Keil & Delitzsch advocated for the singular, suggesting that the elders were represented by one spokesman (perhaps Jesse himself) who voiced this concern. Tsumura suggested that the singular spelling could actually, by a trick of syntax, represent the plural, as equivalent to an infinitive, citing Driver who equivocated it with a participle and Rendsburg who wrote of it as a colloquialism. Whatever the case, it makes no difference to the story whether the elders spoke together or through a spokesman.

LAlthough there is no explicit marker in the MT of this being a question, it has been interpreted as such so widely that some Hebrew manuscripts prefix this word with an interrogative -ה. For what it’s worth, there is room in the obliterated part of the DSS containing this verse for that extra interrogative character.

MDSS 4Q52 dating to 250 BC ends this verse with the word harh, matching the LXX “seer,” and making it clear that the previous verb “said” should be plural, not singular as the MT has it.

NOther instances of this word are Num. 11:18; Jos. 3:5; 7:13; 1 Chr. 15:12; 2 Chr. 5:11; 29:5; 30:3, 17. All describe ceremonial preparations to be in God’s special presence, including washing clothes, body-washing, and avoiding contact with dead or unclean animals or body fluids for a day.

OLXX reads differently (but not in such a way as to really change the story), but the Lucian rescription corrects to the MT with eiV thn qusian , and other ancient versions support the MT (Targum, Syriac, Vulgate). DSS is illegible here.

PThe LXX is literally “but and,” meaning “surely” as Brenton’s translation bears out. Other expressions have been suggested (A.,Q. plhn, S. ara), but they mean the same thing.

QThe Vaticanus, perhaps the oldest-known manuscript of the LXX, drops this word out, but it’s in the MT, and Aquila and Theodotian included it in their Greek translations tou uyouV metewrothta (“height of greatest measure”). Except for intensifying the idea of height, it doesn’t really change the story. The NIV followed the Vaticanus here.

RSyriac and Targums also support a comparative translation (“as”) of what would normally be an indefinite pronoun (“what”) in Hebrew. The NIV stands alone in translating it as a pronoun, though.

SNASB, NIV, ESV = “rejected”

TThere is more room in this obliterated section of the DSS than the MT has words for, supporting an extra “God sees that,” the omission of which could easily be explained by dittography since “man sees” is also found before this phrase in the verse.

UThe Vaticanus here reads theos, so Brenton correctly translated “God,” but the majority of LXX manuscripts according to Rohlf read kurios (“Lord”), which is consistent with the MT’s Yahweh. In the next verse, however, the Vaticanus agrees with Rohlf’s majority text of the LXX with kurios, yet Brenton accidentally carried over the “God” from this verse, perhaps because the verses are so similar otherwise. Since, however, “God” and “Lord” refer to the same entity, there is no real difference in meaning or application.

VAlthough the DSS is obliterated at this point, there’s the right amount of space betwen legible sections to include the phrase “to Jesse” which is in the MT but omitted in the LXX.

WAq. eteleiwqhsan = done” – closer to the word in the MT, but still fairly synonymous

XThis word, in Greek culture, describes preparing to eat a meal, as does the synonym chosen by Aq. anapeswmen. Matthew Henry also interpreted it as “sitting down to meat” but see next note on the Hebrew word:

YThis verb literally has to do with “going around.” If, as the other versions suggest, this meant “sitting/lying down” to eat a meal, I would expect a different verb, such as yashub. The last time this sbb verb occurred was to describe Samuel “turning around” to walk away from Saul (1 Sa. 15:27), and, before that, it was used to speak of Samuel “making the circuit” of the villages for his judging and priestly duties (1 Sam. 7:16), so I suspect this verb here has more to do with leaving and going elsewhere. However, in the Soncino commentary, Goldman commented (albeit without proof), “The Hebrew verb denotes ‘sitting down to a meal,’ and the reference is to the sacrificial feast.” And Keil & Delitzsch explain סָבַב as “to surround... the table, upon which the meal was arranged.” But nowhere else in scripture is sbb associated with eating, and in the one verse where it occurs with the verb for eating (1Kings 21:4), it describes Ahab NOT eating because he had “turned around,” so I remain skeptical. Tsumura came to the same conclusion independently, translating it “leave.”

ZLiterally “eyes” (NASB), NIV = “appearance”

AAAs we’ve seen earlier in 1 Sam, this more-specialized Hebrew word has a wider range of opinions among Greek translators as to how to render it: Aq. enhulisqh (“lodged within), S. wrmhsen (“roar?”), Q. epefanen (“appeared”)

ABNASB, NIV = “came mightily,” ESV = “rushed”