Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 25 April 2021
In the last sermon we looked at the first half of chapter 16, in which God chooses David as the next king. Now we are looking at the second half of chapter 16, in which the choice of David is made by King Saul. Of course we know that it was God’s choice of David which resulted in Saul’s choice, but, “It will take some time for Saul to know this fact and admit it…” (Tsumura)
The Hebrew word for “spirit” occurs 8 times in these ten verses. Our passage opens in v.14 with the Holy Spirit of the Lord “advancing upon David” and “turning away from” Saul, opening Saul up to the influence of an “evil/hurtful spirit,” which he then becomes preoccupied with trying to “send away”!
In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, NKJV)
For King Saul, the loss of God’s spirit may1 or may not have implied the eternal loss of saved status in relationship with God, but it certainly denoted a loss (a transfer to David) of the special power, wisdom, and favor which God added to leaders.
READ PASSAGE: 13 So Samuel took his animal-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. And the Spirit of Yahweh went away from being with Saul, instead an evil spirit from Yahweh overwhelmed him. So the servants of Saul said to him, “Look, please, an evil spirit of God is overwhelming you; please let our lord tell his servants before his face, ‘Seek out a man knowledgeable at strumming on the guitar, and it shall be when the evil spirit of God is upon you that he shall strum with his hand and it will be good for you!” So Saul said to his servants, “Please look for me for a man who has gotten good at strumming, and y’all bring him to me.” Then one of the servant-boys answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son belonging to Jesse the Bethlehemite who is knowledgeable at strumming. He is also a mighty man of means, and a man for battle, and is insightful of speech, also a man who is in-shape, and Yahewh is with him.” So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Please send to me David your son who is among the flock.” So Jesse took a donkey-load2 of bread, and a container of wine, and one kid from the goats and sent them by the hand of David his son to Saul. Thus David came to Saul and stood before his face, and he really liked him, so he was an armor bearer for him. Presently, Saul sent a message to Jesse to say, “Please let David keep standing before my face, for he has found favor in my eyes.” So it came to pass, when the {evil} spirit of God was upon Saul, that David would take his guitar and strum with his hand, and it was inspiring for Saul, and it was good for him, and the evil spirit would turn away from upon him. (NAW)
The KJV, NASB, and NIV call it an “evil spirit,” the ESV calls it “harmful,” and the New King James calls it “distressing,” but it is not the Hebrew word which the KJV usually3 translates as “distressing” [צור] this is the common word for “evil.”
Some modern scholars have suggested that Saul was merely afflicted physiologically by a manic-depressive mental disorder. (Jamieson, Goldman)
The Hebrew word רוח (ruach) has a range of meaning even broader than the English word “spirit” has. It can mean “air/wind/breath” or a personal spiritual being (as in an "evil spirit" or "demon") or "spirit" can mean a certain disposition or attitude.
If we take it in the letter sense, we could say that Saul had a "bad temper" – which certainly bears out in history, and which would understandably be influenced by music.
This impersonal temperament seems to be the meaning of the only other instance of a ruach ra’ah in the Old Testament. Judges 9:23 “After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years, God sent [an evil spirit4] between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, that the crime done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be settled and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who aided him in the killing of his brothers. (9:22-24, NKJV)
But the consensus of Bible commentaries I read was overwhelmingly in favor of interpreting “spirit” here in 1 Samuel in terms of a personal spiritual being.
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament called it “the spirit of Yahweh which brings forth disaster.” (Tsumura, 2007 A.D.)
“This demon is called ‘an evil spirit (coming) from Jehovah,’ because Jehovah had sent it as a punishment…” ~Keil & Delitzsch, 1891 A.D.
“an evil spirit [allowed5] by God” ~John Gill, 1766 A.D.
“The devil, by the divine permission, troubled and terrified Saul, by means of the corrupt humours of his body and passions of his mind. He grew fretful, and peevish, and discontented, timorous and suspicious, ever and anon starting and trembling; he was sometimes, says Josephus, as if he had been choked or strangled, and a perfect demoniac by fits.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 A.D.
“Saul [was] 1. perplexed with the conscience of his sin: 2. tormented with ambition and griefe for the losse of the kingdome: 3. hence was bred melancholy, and thereupon frensie, and immoderate rage: 4. his bodie also as vexed and disquieted by the evil spirit, wherewith he seemed as it were possessed for the time.” ~Andrew Willett, 1607 A.D.
In ch. 18:10 & 19:9, the “evil spirit from the LORD” is mentioned again coming upon Saul, making him speak in an unusual way and inducing him to spear David to death.
There is a variety of synonyms for “evil spirit” in the Bible, from “demon” to “unclean spirit” to “principality” but only two passages in the New Testament which use the phrase “evil spirit” and they are:
Luke 7:21-8:2, which mentions in passing Jesus’ preaching6 and healing ministry in which Mary Magdalene was delivered from the influence of seven “demons” called “evil spirits,” and
Acts 19:11-17 “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” (NKJV) These are clearly personal beings which possess independent speech.
But how can “evil spirits” be associated with God?
One possible interpretation of the evil spirit from elohim in vs. 15, 16, and 23 is that elohim refers evil spiritual beings who are other than Yahweh God.
Throughout the Old Testament, I estimate about 7% of the time the word elohim refers to false Gods, then less than 1% of the time it refers to human leaders, and the other 93% of the time it refers to the one true God.7
The word elohim is indeed used several times in the book of 1 Samuel to denote pagan gods such as Dagon and Ashtoreth (7:3, 8:8, 17:43, 28:13),
but since the interpretation can go either way, it’s important to look at the context of our passage to narrow down the meaning, and in verse 14, the meaning of elohim is narrowed down for us: it says that the evil spirit was “from Yahweh,” so the context does not permit us to say that the evil spirit came from some other source than the one true God.
But the fact that this evil spirit came from Yahweh does not mean it was somehow part of God’s nature or fellowship. This is simply a recognition that the activity of this evil spirit was permitted by the one true God who, as Romans 8 puts it, “works all things [good things and evil things – all things] together for good for those who love Him…”
One thing is clear: Evil spirits - Bad attitudes, Demons, even Satan himself – are all under the authority and control of God:
Demons were created by God (Psalm 148:2-5, Col. 1:16) and were originally good, but they, like us humans, have rebelled against God and fallen and become evil (2 Pet. 2:4, Jude 6). So, in the ultimate sense of where they came from, spirits which are now evil came from God because God made them. But in the more immediate sense of “Does God send them and use them?” The answer is also “Yes.”
1 Kings 22:19-22 The true prophet Micaiah said, "...I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. "The LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this while another said that. "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' "The LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.'" (NASB)
In the first chapters of the book of Job, Satan is goaded by God into actions that God puts limits on, so Satan is clearly under God’s authority and doing God’s will.
Zechariah 13:2 "It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit [רוח הטמאה] to depart from the land.” (NKJV) God is in control over both the comings and goings of evil spirits, and this is nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the Lord Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels:
Mark 1:27 When Jesus cast out the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue at Capernaum, the congregation was “amazed... saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."
Mark 3:11 “And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, ‘You are the Son of God.’” (NKJV)
Matthew 8:16 “...they carried to Him many who were demonized, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who had illness.” (NAW)
Jesus had authority to command the legion of demons to leave the Gadarene demoniacs in Matt .8, and those demons asked His permission for what they could do next, and, interestingly enough, Jesus permitted them to enter a herd of pigs, knowing surely it would upset the villagers, but Jesus was in complete control of the demons. Jesus possessed authority over evil spirits and even had the power to share that authority with His disciples:
Matthew 10:1 “Now, after He summoned His twelve disciples, He [Jesus] gave to them authority over unclean spirits [πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων], in order to cast them out and to heal every illness and every infirmity.” (NAW, cf. Matt. 28:18)
And
that authority continues into the future, where John’s vision
saw Jesus as a great warrior-king riding down from heaven on a
white horse to punish Satan and his minions:
Revelation
19:20-20:3
“And
the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed
the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had
received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image;
these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with
brimstone. And the rest were
killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on
the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Then
I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the
abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the
dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound
him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut
it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations
any longer…” (NASB)
But Saul had no power over this evil spirit, instead it had power to “overwhelm/torment” him. So, in v.16 Saul’s counselors8 urge him to get a court musician9.
John Gill’s commentary from the 18th century mentioned music therapy being used in his day to cure snake bites, spider bites, sciatica, and certain nervous disorders. But therapy like this could not address the deeper spiritual issues of Saul’s rebellion against God.
“...wherein appeareth the carnal counsel of Saul's servants, that only provided for his corporal ease, not seeking for his spiritual comfort: they should first have sent for Samuel the Lord’s Prophet, to have prayed for Saul, and comforted him in God... Much like unto them, are such carnal friends and assistants of them that are sick in these days, who first counsel them to seek out unto the Physician. The Minister and man of God, is the last that is consulted with for the health of their souls.” ~Andrew Willett
There is value in medicine. Jesus affirmed in all three synoptic gospels that the “sick need a doctor” (Mat. 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31). But we need to consider causes in our spiritual relationship with God which might lead to us feeling bad rather than merely popping a pain-relief pill whenever we feel bad. If it is possible to wait for God to heal you, why not ask the elders to pray for your healing, like James chapter 5 says, before spending lots of time and money on physicians? If the cause is spiritual, their medicine isn’t going to do you any good.
“[W]e must not think, that musical sounds and melodie have any force10 to drive away evills… [any more than] Tobie drave away the devil with the perfume of the broyled liver of a fish [Tobit 6:19]: for, as the Apostle saith, The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 2. Cor. 10.4. spiritual evils are not chased away with carnal means... David's pleasant harmonie therefore first naturally allayed Saul's melancholy passions, and cheered and revived his dead and pensive spirits, which were the instruments of Satan’s working… And beside this, David by his godly songs and prayers did also prevail to chase away the evil spirit...” ~A. Willett
Although this passage only mentions David’s guitar-picking (or harp strumming), surely David shared the words of his psalms along with his instrumental music, and those words of faith and prayer may have been the influence which silenced the demon. (Josephus, Henry)
Conversely, how many times I have cranked up music over my speakers or my headphones (I guess they are called “earbuds” these days.) in order to soothe or mask my emotions, and, in doing so, failed to bring these matters to God in prayer and failed to resolve conflicts with the people I needed to talk to? Let’s be careful not to use music as a substitute for God or as a substitute for personal relationships, but use music in its proper place to glorify God.
At any rate, one of Saul’s servant-boys said he knew just the man for the job and proceeded to give...
David must have been a remarkable young man, indeed!
The first two words in this description “knowledgeable at strumming” “skillful/cunning at playing music” are only used of string instruments. It indicates that David worked hard at studying music and practicing; he had developed expertise.
The next two words - “mighty” and “valiant/brave/strong” - are the two words from the end of chapter 14 describing the sorts of men Saul was looking-for to grow his army, so the courtier is thinking of killing two birds with one stone – one more warrior to swell the ranks as well as a minstrel who can calm the king down.
The problem of whether David actually had any experience yet as a warrior has been explained in different ways.
The Jewish Soncino commentary from the 20th century surprisingly suggested that it was just “the exaggerated panegyric of a courtier” and not actually true.
Keil and Delitzsch, the great 19th century German commentators suggested that “The description... does not presuppose that David had already fought bravely in war, but may be perfectly explained from what David himself afterwards affirmed respecting his conflicts with lions and bears. The courage and strength which he had then displayed furnished sufficient proofs of heroism for any one to discern in him the future warrior.”
And the 21st Century New International Commentary on the Old Testament suggested that it “may refer to David’s family background rather than his own ability… He is the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who is a member of the ruling class, like Kish, and a trained fighter.”
Something to note about the next quality of David having “insightful speech” or being “prudent in matters of speech/well-spoken” is that David prayed for this quality in Psalm 119:169 “My hollering will come near to your presence, Yahweh. Cause me to understand according to Your word.” (NAW) David gained this “prudence/insight” from God’s “word,” which, according to David in Psalm 119:98, “makes [us] wiser than [our] enemies.”
Then it says in Hebrew that David was toar,
which is variously interpreted “comely/handsome/fine-looking/good presence/in-shape.”
It’s a word which describes the outer contours of a body;
in other words, he is “ripped,” his muscles are in tone, and he doesn’t have a beer-belly or a slouch to his physique.
Certainly this is a judgment based on the outward appearance, yet it also points to a life of diligent work and self-discipline.
Finally, they say that “the LORD is with him.” How would they know that?
Perhaps from his attitude of joy. He expressed that well in Psalm 9: “I will respond to Yahweh with all my heart; I will recount all of Your wonders. I will be happy and exuberant in You. I will play music about Your preeminent Name… I will recount all Your praises within the gates of the daughter of Zion, [and] rejoice in Your salvation.” (Ps. 9:1-2&14, NAW) Do you have joy in your demeanor that would lead people to say, “Yeah, God is with her!”
Perhaps they also discerned that The LORD was with David from the life-successes that he had. Man alive, he attacked a lion, and it didn’t kill him? The LORD must be watching out for that kid!
Or perhaps they knew that the LORD was with him because he had shared his faith with them and told them so. Maybe they had heard his 23rd Psalm: “Yahweh is my shepherd… Even when I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid of evil because You are with me. Your rod and Your staff will comfort me.” (vs 1 & 4, NAW)
Wouldn’t you love for these things be said of your children and your grand-children? – skillful in playing [music], mighty warriors [both physically and spiritually], skillful in speech, good-looking, and – most importantly – showing clear evidence that God is with them! Lord, please grant this!
Well, with a reference that good, of course David got the job, so we read in...
Despite having been anointed as king, David is still out in the fields, tending sheep.
Were his brothers jealous and trying to keep him in his place?
Perhaps he just enjoyed the outdoors, and the nature of the job gave him time and place to practice music and martial arts.
John Gill commented that “it [was] not... reckoned mean and despicable even in the sons of great personages, in those times and countries, to attend flocks and herds… Saul himself had done the same.”
Notice that the royal summons was given to David's father, not to David. Even King Saul realized that, in the absence of a criminal offense, his authority as king did not transcend the sovereignty of a father over his household.
“Probably Jesse, who knew what his son David was designed for, was aware that Providence was herein fitting him for it... [so Jesse] followed Providence very cheerfully when he saw it plainly putting him into the way of preferment.” ~Matthew Henry
Jesse sent David to the palace with a bunch of food from their farm as a gift.
This placed David right where God wanted him – the future king in an internship with the reigning king!
Saul “loved” David “greatly” and made David both “armor-bearer” and personal musician!
Now, in the next chapter, we don’t see David yet serving as Saul’s right-hand-man in battle, so perhaps the title Saul gave him had a different meaning, such as “bearer of dishes” (vasa, Montanus), or “bearer of [musical] instruments” (Abarbinel. Piscator, Gill), as the Hebrew word calim has quite a wide range of meaning. But whatever it was, it put David very close to the king, a position of high honor and influence!
“God's providence herein appeareth, in bringing David to Saul's court, that he might be acquainted with the affairs of state, before he took upon him the kingdom.” ~A. Willett
“Those whom God designs for any service his providence shall concur with his grace to prepare and qualify for it…” ~Matthew Henry
Has God called you to be a father or mother? He will prepare you and qualify you for it by shaping your character, and He will provide a spouse and a fertile womb when the time is right.
Has God called you to be a deacon or elder in the church or a civil magistrate in the legislature or judge’s chamber or executive office? Or a missionary on a foreign field? He will make sure you get the training and opportunities you need. His providence can be trusted!
So what can we do while we wait on God’s providence?
Practice walking in the Spirit
In the New Testament, this practice was described in Acts 9:31 “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (NKJV)
Will you walk “in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” - living a life organized around showing respect for God and His word and accepting the ongoing personal interaction of the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin and to pour God’s love through you to others?
Galatians 5:16-25 “...Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh... 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (NKJV, cf. Romans 8)
2. Draw upon the Holy Spirit to develop skill/cunning/knowledgeability/expertise in your craft, like David did with his lute and his fighting weapons.
For you it may be cooking or debate or metallurgy or medical knowledge or economics or computer programming – whatever you’ve been called to do, get good at it for the glory of God. Work hard and ask God to give you the wisdom to do it excellently.
Prov. 22:29 “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.”
If it’s music, then, “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy. For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.” (Psalm 33:1-5 , NKJV)
Whatever it is, 2 Tim. 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
|
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
13 |
καὶ ἔλαβεν Σαμουηλ τὸ κέρας τοῦ ἐλαίου καὶ ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐφήλατοB πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐπὶ Δαυιδ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ἐπάνω καὶ ἀνέστη Σαμ-ουηλ 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 cameC upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. |
13 So Samuel took his animal-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. |
14 |
καὶ πνεῦμα κυρίου ἀπέστη ἀπὸ Σαουλ καὶ ἔπνιγενD αὐτὸν πνεῦμα πονηρὸν παρὰ κυρίου |
And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. |
But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. |
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evilE spirit from the LORD troubledF him. |
14 And the Spirit of Yahweh went away from being with Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh overwhelmed him. |
וְרוּחַ יְהוָה סָרָה, מֵעִם שָׁאוּל; וּבִעֲתַתּוּ רוּחַ-רָעָה , מֵאֵת יְהוָה. |
15 |
καὶ
εἶπαν οἱ παῗδες
Σαουλ πρὸς
αὐτόν ἰδοὺ δὴ
πνεῦμα |
And
Saul’s servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from
the |
And the servants of Saul said to him: Behold now an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. |
And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. |
15 So the servants of Saul said to him, “Look, please, an evil spirit of God is overwhelming you; |
וַיֹּאמְרוּ עַבְדֵי- שָׁאוּל, אֵלָיו: הִנֵּה- נָא רוּחַ-אֱלֹהִיםG רָעָה, מְבַעִתֶּךָ. |
16 |
HX
X εἰπάτ |
Let
now X X thy servants speak before thee, [and] let them seek [for
our lord] a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to
pass when an evil spirit X X comes upon thee and he shall play on
his |
Let
our lord give orders, [and] thy servants who are before thee will
seek out a man skillful in playing on the harp, that when the evil
spirit from the |
Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunningK player on an harpL: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his handM, and thou shalt be well. |
16 please let our lord tell his servants before his face, ‘Seek out a man knowledgeable at strumming on the guitar, and it shall be when the evil spirit of God is upon you that he shall strum with his hand and it will be good for you!” |
יֹאמַר-נָא אֲדֹנֵנוּ, עֲבָדֶיךָ לְפָנֶיךָ--יְבַקְשׁוּ, אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ מְנַגֵּן בַּכִּנּוֹר; וְהָיָה, בִּהְיוֹת עָלֶיךָ רוּחַ-אֱלֹהִים רָעָה--וְנִגֵּן בְּיָדוֹ, וְטוֹב לָךְ. {פ} |
17 |
καὶ εἶπεν Σαουλ πρὸς τοὺς παῗδας αὐτοῦ ἴδετε δή μοι ἄνδρα ὀρθῶςN ψάλλοντα καὶ εἰσαγάγετε αὐτὸν πρὸς ἐμέ |
And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skillful player, and bring him to me. |
And
Saul said to his servants: |
And
Saul said unto his servants, |
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Please look for me for a man who has gotten good at strumming, and y’all bring him to me.” |
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, אֶל- עֲבָדָיו: רְאוּ-נָא לִי , אִישׁ מֵיטִיב לְנַגֵּן , וַהֲבִיאוֹתֶם, אֵלָי. |
18 |
καὶ ἀπεκρίθη εἷς τῶν παιδαρίων αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἑόρακα υἱὸν τῷ Ιεσσαι Βηθλεεμίτην καὶ αὐτὸν εἰδότα ψαλμόν καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ συνετός καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ πολεμιστὴς καὶ σοφὸς λόγῳ καὶ ἀνὴρ [ἀγαθὸς] τῷ εἴδει καὶ κύριος μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ |
And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessae the Bethleemite, and he understands playing on the harp, and the man is prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man is handsome, and the Lord is with him. |
And one of the servants answering, said: Behold I have seen a son of Isai the Bethlehemite, a skillful player, and one of great strength, and a man fit for war, and prudent in his words, and a comely person: and the Lord is with him. |
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiantP man, and a man of war, and prudent in mattersQ, and a comelyR person, and the LORD is with him. |
18 Then one of the servant-boys answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son belonging to Jesse the Bethlehemite who is knowledgeable at strumming. He is also a mighty man of means and a man for battle and is insightful of speech, also a man who is in-shape, and Yahewh is with him.” |
וַיַּעַן אֶחָד מֵהַנְּעָרִים וַיֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּה רָאִיתִי בֵּן לְיִשַׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי, יֹדֵעַ נַגֵּן וְגִבּוֹר חַיִלS וְאִישׁ מִלְחָמָה וּנְבוֹן דָּבָר, וְאִישׁ תֹּאַרT; וַיהוָה, עִמּוֹ. |
19 |
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Σαουλ ἀγγέλους πρὸς Ιεσσαι λέγων ἀπόστειλον πρός με τὸν υἱόν σου Δαυιδ τὸν ἐν τῷ ποιμνίῳ [σου] |
And Saul sent messengers to Jessae, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with [thy] flock. |
Then Saul sent messengers to Isai, saying: Send me David thy son, who is in the pastures. |
Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. |
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Please send to me David your son who is among the flock.” |
וַיִּשְׁלַח שָׁאוּל מַלְאָכִים, אֶל-יִשָׁי; וַיֹּאמֶר, שִׁלְחָה אֵלַי אֶת-דָּוִד בִּנְךָ אֲשֶׁר בַּצֹּאן. |
20 |
καὶ ἔλαβεν Ιεσσαι γομορU ἄρτων καὶ ἀσκὸν οἴνου καὶ ἔριφον αἰγῶν ἕνα καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν ἐν χειρὶ Δαυιδ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς Σαουλ |
And Jessae took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul. |
And Isai took an ass [laden with] bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid of the flock, and sent them by the hand of David his son to Saul. |
And Jesse took an ass [laden with] bread, and a bottleV of wine, and a kid X XW, and sent them by X XX David his son unto Saul. |
20 So Jesse took a donkey-load of bread and a container of wine and one kid from the goats and sent them by the hand of David his son to Saul. |
וַיִּקַּח יִשַׁי חֲמוֹר לֶחֶם, וְנֹאד יַיִן, וּגְדִי עִזִּים, אֶחָד; וַיִּשְׁלַח בְּיַד-דָּוִד בְּנוֹ, אֶל-שָׁאוּל. |
21 |
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Σαουλ καὶ παρειστήκει ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠγάπησεν αὐτὸν σφόδρα καὶ ἐγενήθη αὐτῷ αἴρων τὰ σκεύηY [αὐτοῦ] |
And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became X his armour-bearer. |
And
David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him
exceedingly, and |
And David came to Saul, and stoodZ before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. |
21 Thus David came to Saul and stood before his face, and he really liked him and he was an armor bearer for him. |
וַיָּבֹא דָוִד אֶל- שָׁאוּל, וַיַּעֲמֹד לְפָנָיו; וַיֶּאֱהָבֵהוּ מְאֹד, וַיְהִי-לוֹ נֹשֵׂא כֵלִיםAA. |
22 |
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Σαουλ πρὸς Ιεσσαι λέγων παριστάσθω δὴ Δαυιδ ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ ὅτι εὗρεν χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῗς μου |
And Saul sent to Jessae, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes. |
And Saul sent to Isai, saying: Let David stand before me: for he hath found favour in my sight. |
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. |
22 Presently, Saul sent a message to Jesse to say, “Please let David keep standing before my face, for he has found favor in my eyes.” |
וַיִּשְׁלַח שָׁאוּל, אֶל- יִשַׁי לֵאמֹר: יַעֲמָד- נָא דָוִד לְפָנַי, כִּי-מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינָי. |
23 |
καὶ
ἐγενήθη ἐν τῷ
εἶναι πνεῦμα
|
And
it came to pass when the |
So whensoever the [evil] spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David took his harp, and played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed, and was better, for the evil spirit departed from him. |
And it came to pass, when the [evil] spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. |
23 So it came to pass, when the {evil} spirit of God was upon Saul, that David would take his guitar and strum with his hand, and it was inspiring for Saul, and it was good for him, and the evil spirit would turn away from upon him. |
וְהָיָה, בִּהְיוֹת רוּחַ-אֱלֹהִיםAE אֶל-שָׁאוּל, וְלָקַח דָּוִד אֶת-הַכִּנּוֹר, וְנִגֵּן בְּיָדוֹ; וְרָוַחAF לְשָׁאוּל וְטוֹב לוֹ, וְסָרָה מֵעָלָיו רוּחַ הָרָעָה. {פ} |
1cf. Ezekiel 36:25-28 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (NKJV)
2Tsumura suggested this was an Akkadian borrow-word denoting the amount that a donkey could carry, that is 80-160 liters, arguing that a mere loaf represented by an Omer would not be enough to give as a gift to a king.
399% of the 664 times this Hebrew word occurs in the Old Testament, the NKJV does not translate it “distressing,” and the ESV does not translate it “harmful.” Clearly those translators wanted to avoid the translation “evil” in this passage.
4NKJV renders ruach ra’ah as “a spirit of ill-will,” but the word “will” is not there in the Hebrew
5his word was “suffered”
6cf. Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus said, “Now, whenever an unclean spirit goes out from a man, it goes through waterless places, seeking – yet not finding – rest. Then it says, ‘I will go back into my house from which I went out!’ And when it has come, it finds [the house] unoccupied, swept and decorated. Then it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself and, upon entering, they take up residence there, and that man's last [state of affairs] become worse than the first. Thus it will be also to this evil generation.” (NAW)
7Based on an e-Sword search of the KJV which yielded 2601 hits on H430, 188 hits on H430-“God” and 4 hits on H430+“judges.”
8There is a Jewish tradition that it was Doeg the Edomite. John Gill’s commentary argued against it, but gave the following references for this tradition: “T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 2. So in Hieron. Trad. Heb in lib. Reg. fol. 76. C.”
9See the respect with which Saul's servants laid out a request to Saul? How much more respectfully should we approach the God of the universe in prayer!
10“Music cannot work upon the devil, but it may shut up the passages by which he has access to the mind.” ~M. Henry
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. There is no known Dead Sea
Scroll containing this passage. Where the LXX and Vulgate support
omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BAs we’ve seen earlier in 1 Samuel, 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”).
CNASB, NIV = “came mightily,” ESV = “rushed”
Dcf. synonymous verbs by later translators: Aquila: eqambei (“surprised”), Symmachus (S.) suneicen (“possessed”)
EESV = “harmful” NKJV = “distressing,” same in v.15 and following
FNASB = “terrorized” Same in v.15 and following
GSeveral Hebrew manuscripts read hwhy like the LXX and old Latin versions, but it’s speaking of the same God.
HSymmachus corrected the LXX to the MT by adding kurie hmwn.
ILater Greek translators rendered “harp” with different synonyms: S. & Q. kiqara. A. yalthrion – same in v.23.
JThe old Latin and Syriac versions apparently support this omission; the Lucian rescention adds it back in to match the MT. It doesn’t change the meaning, however, because the omitted phrase occurs before and after, so it is not negated.
KAll other English versions but the NIV render this “skillful;” the NIV strangely renders it “can.” Also in v.18.
LNIV, ESV = “lyre”
MStrangely, the NIV and ESV omit the Hebrew phrase “with his hand.” The Greek reads “on his harp” as though the Hebrew read בכנורו instead of בידו.
NLater Greek translators corrected the LXX “right” to the MT “good” (S. kalwV. Q. agaqwV)
OThe Hebrew and Greek words have to do with “looking” rather than with “providing” (KJV, NASB, ESV) or “finding” (NIV). The same verb is translated “seen” by all the English versions in the next verse.
PNIV = “brave” The KJV translated it “mighty man of power” when the same phrase occurred in 9:1.
QThe Hebrew word dbr can be translated “matters/things,” but is usually translated “word,” and here it is translated “speech” by practically all the other English versions.
RNASB = “handsome,” NIV = “fine-looking,” ESV = “of good presence”
SKish was described in these words in 9:1 “mighty man of means” Depending on context, khiyl can mean wealth, weapons, soldiers, strength, mighty deeds, or valor.
TRachel, Joseph, Abigail, Adonijah, and Esther are all described as “fair/good form/shape,” but Isaiah prophecied that the Messiah would not have such good “form” in 52:14 & 53:2.
ULXX transliterates the Hebrew, which sounds like the unit of measure “homer” (and frankly makes more sense than “a donkey of bread”), and McCarter followed that interpretation, but everywhere else that this unit of measure occurs, it is spelled חמר not חמור as it is here. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpreted this as “heap” of bread, but the Lucian rescention of the LXX corrected it to the MT “donkey.”
VNASB = “jug,” NIV & ESV = “skin”
WThe Hebrew and Greek read literally “one kid from the goats” NASB & NIV read “a young goat”
XThe Hebrew, Greek, and Latin all read “by the hand/agency of David...”
Ycf. synonym from S. oploforoV
Zcf. NASB = “attended,” NIV & ESV render very loosely “entered his service” Literally the Hebrew reads “stood before his face” Same in the next verse, except NASB abandons “attend” for “stand”
AAGoldman: “One of his personal attendants, like the Squire of the Middle Ages.”
AB Other Greek translators and the Lucian rescention rendered pneuma qeou, following the MT.
ACInstead of an upward motion of the “soul,” Aquila brought it closer to the MT with anepnee, an upward motion of the “spirit” (or breath – as in a sigh?).
AD Symmachus paraphrased a bit: euforoV egeneto (“he became euphoric”).
AE Joseph (Gen. 41:38), Bezalel (Ex. 31:3), Baalam (Num. 24:2), Saul (10:10, 11:6, 19:23), and the prophet Azariah (2 Chron. 15:1) are all cited as having this same rouach elohim in a positive sense for prophecy. The omission of the word “evil” at this point in the narrative in Hebrew was problematic for many translators and editors, although the fact that it was “evil” is obvious from the end of the verse. The Septuagint substituted “evil” for “from God,” some Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum simply added the word “evil.”
AFAll but one of the previous instances of this word denoted “smelling” Gen. 8:21; 27:27; Exod. 30:38; Lev. 26:31; Deut. 4:28. The other indicates “burning” Jdg. 16:9.