1 Samuel 16

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1 Samuel 16
  chapter 15
chapter 17  
Samuel e david.jpg
"Samuel Anoints David" from a synagogue interior wood panel at Dura-Europos, Syria (from second/third century CE).
Book First book of Samuel
Hebrew Bible part Nevi'im
Order in the Hebrew part3
Category Former Prophets
Christian Bible part Old Testament
Order in the Christian part9

1 Samuel 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. [1] According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, [2] but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. [3] [4] This chapter contains the anointing of David by Samuel and David's early service for Saul. [5] This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 which records the rise of David as the king of Israel. [5]

Contents

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 23 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). [6] Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q52 (4QSamb; 250 BCE) with extant verses 1–11. [7] [8] [9] [10]

Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century). [11] [lower-alpha 1]

Places

Analysis

The section comprising 1 Samuel 16 to 2 Samuel 5 is known as the "History of David's Rise", with David as the central character, within which 1 Samuel 16:1 to 2 Samuel 1:27 form an independent unit with a central theme of "the decline of Saul and the rise of David". [5] The part emphasizes that David is God's chosen king (1 Samuel 16:1–13; 'the LORD was with him' 1 Samuel 16:18; 18:14), but Saul was still king and David was careful not to take over the kingdom from God's anointed (1 Samuel 24:6; 26:9), even it is shown throughout that David was under blessing, while Saul was under curse. [5] The narrative stresses that David did not come to power by killing Saul's family, and that Saul and his son Jonathan knew that David was the chosen successor; Jonathan even assisted David by his own virtual abdication, while Saul tried to oppress David due to jealousy. [5]

Samuel Anoints David as King of Israel (16:1–13)

The narrative of David's anointing bears some similarities to Saul's own election to the kingship: [13]

Despite the similarities, this narrative the major difference introduced by is that Saul was rejected but David chosen, explicitly shown in verse 13 with the 'transfer of YHWH's spirit from Saul to David and the abandonment of Saul to a malevolent spirit'. [14]

Verse 1

Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." [15]

Verse 2

And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me."
And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'" [19]

After Saul's rejection (verse 1), Samuel was fear of Saul's reprisal, so he had to have a pretence of going to Bethlehem to anoint Saul's replacement. [5]

Verse 7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” [21]

Although David was handsome (verse 12), it is emphasized that God does not look on the 'outward appearance', as it was precisely for that reason that Eliab, who was as tall as Saul, was rejected. [5]

David in Saul's service (16:10–35)

"Saul and David" by Rembrandt (between 1650 and 1670) Saul and David by Rembrandt Mauritshuis 621.jpg
"Saul and David" by Rembrandt (between 1650 and 1670)

Not long after David was anointed and endowed with YHWH's spirit, Saul became unwell (verse 14), which turned out to be an opportunity for David to enter the court. David was brought in because of his skill in playing music (verse 18), but inside the court he had palace training that would be useful for his future. Apparently David's military prowess also attracted the attention of Saul, whose policy was to enlist all capable men in his fight against the Philistines (1 Samuel 14:52), so David additionally was appointed as Saul's armor-bearer. Furthermore, David was said to have good intellectual judgement, was a man of presence (verse 18), and on top of those, 'YHWH is with him'. [14] Verse 21 even states that 'Saul loved him' ('Saul' was explicitly mentioned in the Greek Septuagint, instead of ambiguous subject in Masoretic Text), which later turned to a love-hate relationship between the two. [14] An important statement in verse 23: Saul was entirely in David's hands, and David took that responsibility seriously. [14]

Verse 14

Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. [22]

Verse 18

Then one of the servants answered and said,
"Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him." [25]

See also

Notes

  1. The whole book of 1 Samuel is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus. [12]

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References

  1. Halley 1965, pp. 181–182.
  2. Hirsch, Emil G. "SAMUEL, BOOKS OF". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
  3. Knight 1995, p. 62.
  4. Jones 2007, p. 197.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jones 2007, p. 207.
  6. Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
  7. Ulrich 2010, pp. 276–277.
  8. Dead sea scrolls - 1 Samuel
  9. Fitzmyer 2008, p. 35.
  10. 4Q52 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library
  11. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
  12. Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  13. Jones 2007, pp. 207–208.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Jones 2007, p. 208.
  15. 1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV
  16. Evans 2018, p. 174.
  17. Evans 2018, pp. 174–175.
  18. Note on 1 Samuel 16:1 in NKJV
  19. 1 Samuel 16:2 ESV
  20. Note on 1 Samuel 16:2 in NET Bible
  21. 1 Samuel 16:7 MEV
  22. 1 Samuel 16:14 NET Bible
  23. Note on 1 Samuel 16:15 in NET Bible
  24. Evans 2018, p. 175.
  25. 1 Samuel 16:18 NKJV
  26. Note [c] on 1 Samuel 16:18 in NET Bible
  27. Note [d] on 1 Samuel 16:18 in NET Bible

Sources

Commentaries on Samuel

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