Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 18 April 2021
1 Samuel 15:35 And Samuel did not take it upon himself to see Saul until the day of his death; Samuel did, however, mourn concerning Saul. And Yahweh switched tactics after he had caused Saul to reign over Israel. 16:1 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 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!” 2 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.’ 3 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.” 4 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?}” 5 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. 6 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!” 7 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.” 8 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.” 9 So Jesse made Shammah pass by, but he said, “It’s the same with this one; Yahweh has not chosen him.” 10 So Jesse made seven of his sons pass by in front of Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.” 11 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 he gets here!” 12 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.” 13 So Samuel took his 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.
The chapter starts out with a gentle rebuke from God to His prophet. The Hebrew grammar of this verse emphasizes the discrepancy between how God felt and how Samuel felt about Saul.
Samuel is still mourning over Saul’s fall from grace,
but God has moved on and is ready to get the next king anointed.
It was also in the best interest of the nation. “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.” ~Robert Jamieson, of JFB, 1871 A.D.
Part of keeping our eyes on Jesus is staying on track with God’s heart. When God says it’s time to move on emotionally, we need to be ready to sync our emotions up with how God feels about things rather than getting wrapped around the axle and making ourselves useless to Him.
The parallels between Saul’s anointing and David’s are striking, and I think that’s part of the Bible’s intent to highlight the differences between these first two kings of Israel.
Both start with a command from God to Samuel,
Both of the men anointed were from the southern tribes of Benjamin and Judah.
Neither Saul nor David were expecting it,
Both occasions revolved around a sacrifice and a ceremonial meal in a village,
And both Kings had follow-up anointings when they were actually installed as king.
There were some differences though:
This chapter, verse 2, is the first time that the word “king” is is qualified by the first person singular “for me” (the Lord) instead of the second or third person plural “for you/them” - the people. In 1 Samuel chapter 8 the elders said, “Install for us a king [לנו מלך] (v.5)... give to us a king [לנו מלך] (v.6) ... a king over us [מלך ... עלינו](v.19)... our king [מלכנו] (v.20),” so God obligingly told Samuel, “Cause to reign for them a king [להם מלך](v.22). Then in chapter 12, Samuel said, ‘I have caused a king to reign over y’all [עליכם מלך] (v.1)... the LORD gave over y’all a king [עליכם מלך] (v.13)... y’all asked for yourselves a king [לכם מלך] (v.17) ... Here is y’all’s king [מלככם] (v.25)…” But now in chapter 16 God says of David, “a king for myself [לי מלך]!” For God! This is going to be the LORD’s man!
Another difference is that Samuel used a bottle for Saul’s anointing oil but a hollow animal-horn for David’s anointing oil. I don’t know if there is any significance intended in this, but commentators Matthew Henry and John Gill suggested that a horn would be larger and more durable than a bottle and would therefore symbolize a larger measure of the Spirit poured upon David and a more enduring throne.
Another difference is that Saul’s prophetic anointing was done secretly, whereas David’s was done in1 the presence of his brothers (and perhaps other people were there too).
Most of us have - or will have - children. Wouldn’t you love for God to be able to say of your children, “I have noticed and chosen/selected/provided for myself a leader for the community or for the church among his children. Make it your aim; make it your prayer, “Lord, whether or not my children ever become bigwigs, let all of them be men and women ‘for You,’ in whom You will take delight!”
Now, Samuel’s first response to God’s command is, “How?”
Samuel knows how mercurial King Saul is. He knows how insecure Saul is about keeping his throne: Saul will kill anyone who threatens his position.
Later we will read about Saul slaughtering all the priests simply because one of them offered food to a contender to his throne,
and we’ll read about Saul trying to spear his own son to death for being friendly toward a contender to the throne.
So, Samuel asks God, “How do I anoint another man king without getting myself killed over it?”
This response of “How?” is much better than “No way!”
“[T]his question moved by Samuel, proceedeth not from any doubt or diffidence, but from a desire to be instructed, by what way and means with the least danger this business might be compassed... like as Mary, after she had heard the Angel’s salutation: asked, ‘how that could be,’ not doubting of the effect, but desirous for her further confirmation to understand the manner.” ~Andrew Willett, 1607 A.D.
If God asks you to do something that seems impossible, you can reply, “O.K. How are we doing to do this?” Don’t say, “No way,” like Jonah did.
God’s reply was that Samuel should grab a young cow and lead it along with him to Bethlehem and then make a sacrifice of it.
The only other mention of this kind of heifer in the law2 is in Deut. 21:3, where a murder has occurred, but the officials can’t figure out who the guilty party is. This is the kind of animal offered to ask God to remove His curse from the community over the murder.
Rabbis, such as Ben Gershom and Abarbinel, have suggested that anyone who saw a priest leading a heifer like that somewhere wouldn’t even need to ask what that priest was doing, because the only thing he could be doing was atoning for a murder mystery that the elders of more than one town had already deliberated over and left unsolved, thus Saul would not have any reason to stop Samuel.
So Samuel took the trek of about 10 miles miles southward to Bethlehem.
Samuel disguised his mission by making a sacrifice to God when he came to Bethlehem. Apparently, Samuel went through the main gate of the town and then up to a hill where sacrifices were made, inviting all the elders of the city and their families to sacrifice with him, as was his custom as an itinerant priest. (It’s entirely possible that Samuel had a cadre of interns with him from the school of prophets over which he presided.)
The elders at the city gate got up and walked forward to meet Samuel as he came into town, but it says they were “trembling3.” Apparently Samuel’s visit raised some fears in their minds.
Perhaps they saw the heifer and worried that Samuel was bringing the news that somebody had been murdered. (Actually, there was a provision in Leviticus chapter 3 for a female of the herd to be offered as a peace offering, so what Samuel was doing was legit, just perhaps unusual.)
Or perhaps it was unusual for Samuel to even come to their town (It wasn’t in the circuit of towns mentioned in chapter 7), so the elders may have been worried that “some grievous sin had been committed among them, and that the Prophet was sent of God, to be the minister of some great judgment or punishment.” ~Andrew Willett
The world teaches us that brute strength and financial or political leverage is the way to make people respect you, but here we have an old prophet's presence causing the leaders of a city to tremble. Why? Because they knew that Samuel was a man of God, and they were afraid of what GOD might do through him!
Would that we might be known for what Jesus does through us, that men might fear Him, as they did in Samuel's presence.
And, conversely, when men of the world, (or even in the church) come before our eyes, may we have the wisdom not to fear them based on their appearance, but respect them based on their relationship with You.
At some point, Samuel found opportunity to scope out Jesse's family.
Many scholars think that Jesse was one of the elders of the town. He, of course, was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth, whose family had been in Bethlehem for a long time and were part of the tribe of Judah (Ruth 4:17-22, 1 Chron. 2:3-12).
My conjecture is that, after 5 hours of walking, Samuel himself needed to clean up in preparation for his priestly duty, so he went to Jesse’s house to freshen up and help them get ceremonially clean too.
Washing clothes and washing themselves was part of preparing to meet with the LORD (Ex. 19:10, Num. 8:21) and in this context, Samuel was able to scrutinize each son.
The Bible doesn’t say at what point Samuel explained to Jesse and his family that he was looking to anoint a king.
Perhaps they had no idea until Samuel was pouring the oil on David’s head,
or perhaps they became aware of the prophet’s intentions before that4 (Samuel does seem to say out loud in verses 8 & 9, “The LORD has not chosen this guy.”),
but Samuel knew what he was there to do. He was looking for a man who would make a good king.
v.7 "Man looks only so far as the outward appearance, but God looks as far as the heart."
Left to himself, Samuel would have used the same criteria by which Saul was chosen, namely, outward appearance! (It makes me wonder if Samuel was short and had a complex about tall people being better leaders than him!)
Maybe for you it’s hair color, or fluency of speech, or smooth skin or athletic ability that you think would make you more acceptable, but those aren’t God’s criteria for accepting or rejecting folks.
This is such an important principle. God perceives far more than we do. He understands people at a far deeper level than we ever can.
Speaking of Jesus’s discernment in judgment, the book of Hebrews says, “The word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, even penetrating up to the apportionment of both soul and spirit – both of joints and of cavities-between-bones, and He is discerning of thoughts and resolutions of the heart, and there is nothing that is not obvious to Him, for all things are naked and have been laid bare to His eyes, before whom the reckoning will be for us.” (Heb. 4:12-13, NAW)
So don’t judge by outward appearances. Ask Jesus to give you insights that He has concerning people’s hearts.
Samuel is keeping an ear out to hear from God as One by one, Jesse’s sons pass by him, from the oldest down.
God outright “rejects” the firstborn, using the same word as His “rejection” of Saul. Eliab’s heart is apparently not right with God, as we’ll see later in his mistreatment of David in chapter 17 (v.28). (Willett)
The next couple are simply “not chosen” by God.
As Samuel got to the end of Jesse’s sons – Nethanel (number 4), Raddai (number 5), Ozem (number 6), Samuel must have started getting nervous. Had he heard God right? Was he making a fool of himself? Had he made it all up in his mind that he was supposed to anoint one of Jesse’s sons? Was he not going to anoint any of them after all? God had told him that there was a king among Jesse's sons, yet none of Jesse's sons5 were God's choice for king! Have patience, Samuel, God will make it clear in time…
God did that to Adam too, in Genesis chapter 2, didn’t He? “I’ve been through all the primates all the reptiles, and all the mammals, and I still haven’t found a mate suitable for me! Maybe God is just making a fool out of me and never intended to provide for me?” Be patient, Adam, God has a lovely surprise for you…
And it happened to the Apostle Paul on his second missionary journey too. In Acts 16, he tried to go to Asia Minor, but the Holy Spirit forbade it. He tried to Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. “What the heck am I supposed to do, Lord? You told me to preach, but everywhere I try to go you forbid me!” Just hang on, Paul, God has a way-bigger vision for you than anything you ever dreamed of.
Sometimes God wants us to see for ourselves that nothing but God’s choice will do. Are you willing to wait and trust that God’s word is true?
The next thing Samuel said required faith. There must be another son because God told me that He had found a king among Jesse’s sons. So, even though it seems unbelievable that Jesse would have left out one of his sons on an occasion like this, Samuel asks the question that could have made him look stupid - but which his faith required: “Are these all your sons? Do there happen to be any more?”
This could have made an enemy of a powerful man. Jesse could have taken insult, “How dare you accuse me of bring any less than all my sons? Who do you think you are telling me that God doesn’t like any of my sons? Run this false prophet out of town on a rail!”
But Samuel’s faith in God’s word pays off. It is revealed that there is one more son.
Why hadn't David been brought along?
Although the name “David” means “beloved,” what kind of message did it send to David for his father to leave him out when it was time for a worship service?
I detect in Jesse’s words a bit of disparagement concerning David:
“Don’t you see, Samuel, he’s in the middle of a bunch of dirty, smelly animals. You don’t want him here smelling like that do you?”
Besides, he’s “the youngest.” He’s not important. He lags behind all his big brothers. We usually leave him.
How do you suppose David felt about having to do the dirty-work of the farm while his big brothers all got to see the famous prophet Samuel?
If David loved God, wouldn't he have wanted to see Samuel and sacrifice to God? It has been suggested that maybe he didn’t and that perhaps David’s passion for the Lord came after his anointing, as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I don’t know.
Whatever the case, Samuel politely6 but firmly lets Jesse know that David should have been invited. After all, Samuel had invited them all to the sacrifice, back in v.5.
So, a servant is dispatched to bring David in from the pastures, and, when he arrives, he is described as “ruddy” – The root of this Hebrew word is the color “red.”
Some scholars say it was his hair color (LXX, Josephus, Latin commentators, K&D),
others relate it to skin color (Willett, Gill),
and still others related it to both hair and skin color (Goldman).
Also, the Hebrew text literally says his “eyes were handsome,” and John Gill commented that, in those days, black eyes or blue eyes were thought to be the most beautiful, but there are many other attractive – or unattractive – things about a person’s character that we can judge from looking at their eyes – or perhaps they way they use their eyes.
Commentators peg David’s age at this point around 20 years old7, allowing for about ten years of rivalry with King Saul before David became king at age 30.
As Samuel anointed David, perhaps he delivered the words quoted in 2 Sam. 5:2, “thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.” (Willett)
This is the first of David’s anointings. In 2 Samuel 2, he will be anointed by the men of Judah to be their king, and then in 2 Samuel 5, he will be anointed by the elders of of Israel to be king over them too.
Here, David was anointed “in the midst of” his brothers. His brothers saw it, but it appears that either they did not accept or they did not realize the full meaning of this act.
But God knew what He was doing, and we are told that the Holy Spirit rushed/advanced/ came mightily upon David from that time on. Puritan commentator Andrew Willett describes what that meant as follows, “By the spirit, we understand the excellent graces and gifts of the spirit, which now David was endued with, and made fit for the kingdom, and Saul thereof deprived, beeing rejected from the kingdom: as the gift of fortitude and magnanimitie... whereby he feared not to encounter with a lion and a bear. 2. He had the gift of prophesie.... whereby he began to endite and sing divine Psalms and hymns to the praise of God. 3. The blessing of God was with David, and his spirit assisted him... whereby he did all things... prosperously: for so the word tzalach signifieth, to prosper.... 4. Beside, the spirit of God... framed David's heart to obedience unto the will of God... and it wrought in him true sanctification, which Saul had not…”
Don’t pine too long over the loss of leaders; get involved in the discipleship of new, godly leaders:
You might be sad that Ronald Reagan isn’t around anymore, or that Donald Trump didn’t win a second term, but God is moving forward with new leaders. God is at work raising up godly men, even when evil men are currently in office. But all human leaders are going to have feet of clay, so there’s an even greater leader coming. Life under the administration of King Jesus is going to be awesome!
You might be sad that religious leaders like Ravi Zacharias and Doug Phillips and Tom White got sucked into sexual sin and tanked out, but God is raising up men and women – maybe even from our own families – who will continue to lead God’s people spiritually, Don’t leave the young and weak and unimportant out of kingdom work. But if they lack integrity at points, we have a greater spiritual leader whose coming we look forward to. No one will ever be able to find fault with Jesus.
And whether you enjoy contemporary worship music but are disappointed with the crumby theology and self-centeredness, or whether you wish the stations would play more oldies – whether Fanny Crosby and Ira Sankey or Keith Green and Larry Norman, we’re just going to have to work with the new leaders God raises up. Encourage & support godly leaders rather than competing with them and putting them down. In the future, the worship we’re going to get in Heaven is going to be out-of-this world!
Consecrate yourself to be a worshipper of God
“Before solemn ordinances there must be a solemn protestation. When we are to offer spiritual sacrifices, it concerns us, by sequestering ourselves from the world and renewing the dedication of ourselves to God, to sanctify ourselves.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 A.D.
This includes asking forgiveness of your own sins before God. David gives us an example of this kind of consecration in Psalm 51: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psa 51:7-10, NKJV)
In First Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul described this process in terms of self-examination, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Now a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself by not distinguishing the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a few too many sleep [in death]. But if we had been distinguishing ourselves rightly, we would not have been judged out [of line].” (1 Cor. 11:27-29, NAW)
Consecration before worship also involves resolving conflicts with other people. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:22-24, “...every one who is enraged toward his brother will be guilty in the judgment... If therefore, you are lifting your gift upon the altar, and there you happen to remember that your brother has something against you [or if you’ve walked in the door, grabbed a bulletin and reached into your pocket to grab a check to put into the tithe box], let go of your gift right there in front of the altar and start climbing down; first be reconciled to your brother, and then, when you come [back], start offering your gift.” (NAW)
Follow God’s word rather than human opinion
Be quick to carry out God’s will. Don’t depend on your opinion when it looks impossible and tell God, “No way.” Ask God “How” like Samuel did, when you don’t see how to obey. Trust God’s judgment and don’t give up too quickly. Be patient until He reveals the whole picture.
And don’t allow yourself to be impressed by outward appearances. Cultivate an appreciation for godly attitudes in yourself and others, and ask God for His deeper insights before making decisions.
Some commentators place the anointing after the sacrifice:
“Samuel biddeth them not to the sacrifice itself, but to the feast after the sacrifice, as the Chalde translateth, and Iosephus expoundeth, which is called the sacrifice, because the feast was made of the remainder of the peace offerings, and eucharistic sacrifices” ~Andrew Willett, 1607 A.D.
“Samuel rose up and went to Ramah his native place, and where he resided; that is, after the festival of the peace offerings, to which Jesse and his sons were invited; for the anointing seems to be before that.” ~John Gill, 1766 A.D.
“that is, the social feast that followed the peace offering. Samuel, being the offerer, had a right to invite any guest he pleased.” ~Robert Jamieson, 1871 A.D.
“When they came, sc., to the sacrificial meal, which was no doubt held in Jesse's house, after the sacrifice had been presented upon an altar…” ~Keil & Delitzsch, 1891 A.D.
Others before the sacrifice
Samuel assisted them in their family preparations for the public sacrifice, and, it is probable, chose out David, and anointed him, at the family-solemnities, before the sacrifice was offered or the holy feast solemnized.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714, A.D.
|
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 |
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 |
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 |
And
call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt
do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I |
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 |
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 |
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 |
And
he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify
yourselves, and |
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: |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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
|
And
Samuel said to Isai: Are here
all thy sons? X He answered: There remaineth yet |
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
|
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 על “over” (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 out” of 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”