In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, 1 Sam. 16:1–5 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, 1 Sam. 16:6–10 who being then with his father’s sheep, was sent for and was anointed, 1 Sam.

And the Lord said unto Samuel In a vision or dream, or by an articulate voice: how long wilt thou mourn for Saul? he does not blame him for mourning, but for mourning so long; but how long that was cannot be said; and though his affection for him might cause him to indulge to it, yet it was in…

And Samuel said, how can I go? &c.] Which argues weakness of faith in Samuel, and fear of man, and a diffidence in and distrust of divine power; for otherwise he that sent him on such an errand could protect him: if Saul hear it, he will kill me; should hear that Samuel went and anointed another…

And call Jesse to the sacrifice His family, both him and his sons, to partake of the peace offerings; as every offerer had a right to invite his friends, and whomsoever he pleased, to eat of those parts of them which belonged to him, as a feast before the Lord: and I will show thee what thou shall…

And Samuel did that which the Lord spake He filled a horn of oil, and took an heifer with him: and came to Bethlehem; where Jesse and his family lived, which, according to Bunting [[23]], was sixteen miles from Ramah; though it could hardly be so much, since Ramah was six miles from Jerusalem on…

And he said, peaceably I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord, &c.] Which he could say with truth, it being one end of his coming, though not the only one for which he came, and which he was not obliged to tell: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice; prepare themselves for it, which…

And it came to pass, when they were come Jesse and his sons, into the house where the entertainment was; and perhaps before they sat down, went into a private apartment by the direction of Samuel, where he acquainted Jesse with the business he came upon: that he looked on Eliab; who was Jesse’s…

But the Lord said to Samuel By a secret impulse upon his mind, as if he had spoken with an articulate voice to him: look not on his countenance; which was comely and majestic: or on the height of his stature; which was like that of Saul’s; and because the Lord had chosen him, who was superior to…

Then Jesse called Abinadab His second son, and made him pass before Samuel: that he might take a full view of him: and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew by a private suggestion from him.

Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by His third son, , sometimes called Shimma, and Shimeah, and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this; which he knew in the same way as before.

Again Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel Not seven more, for he had but eight sons in all with David, but four more, which with the other three made seven; three of these four are mentioned by name, Nathanael, Raddai, and Ozem, (1 Chron. 2:14, 1 Chron.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, are here all thy children? &c.] For neither of these being the person God would have anointed king, and yet it was one of Jesse’s sons that was to be anointed, he concluded he must have more, at least one more, and therefore puts this question to him: and he said, there…

And he sent and brought him in Sent messengers into the field and to the flock for him, and being come home Jesse introduced him into the room where Samuel was: now he was ruddy; which some understand not of the ruddiness of his complexion, or of his cheeks, but of the redness of his hair; the…

Then Samuel took the horn of oil Out of his pocket, which he brought along with him by the direction of God: and anointed him in the midst of his brethren; not in the presence of them, they sitting around, or standing by and seeing the ceremony performed; which is not consistent with the secrecy…

But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul As a spirit of prophecy as at first, as a spirit of wisdom and prudence in civil government, and as a spirit of fortitude and courage, as the Targum: and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him; the reverse of the former, which by the permission of…

And Saul’s servants said unto him His courtiers, who observing him to act in a frantic manner, to be dull and melancholy, timorous, and irresolute, unsteady, divided, and distressed; or his physicians, who were called in to assist him, and remove his disorder from him: behold, now an evil spirit…

Let our Lord now command thy servants which are before thee, &c.] Meaning either themselves, or some of a more inferior rank, who were in some post and office at court, waiters there, such as yeomen of the guards: to seek out a man who is a cunning player on the harp: a musical instrument much in…

And Saul said unto his servants Approving of, and pleased with the advice they gave: provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me; for being a sovereign prince, he could command whom he would to attend to his person and service.

Then answered one of the servants Which the Jews say [[11]] was Doeg the Edomite, who out of envy and ill will to David spake of him, that Saul might have an opportunity of slaying him; but this is not at all likely; rather it was one of David’s friends and acquaintance, that was desirous of…

Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse For David; not choosing to take him without his leave, though Samuel suggests that kings would do so, and said, send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep; he had learnt his name, and what was his employment; and which last he mentions not by way of…

And Jesse took an ass laden with bread Laden with a load of bread, as the Targum; with as much as it could carry, or was used to carry; the Septuagint version is, an omer of bread, which was as much as a man could eat in one day; and, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, it may be interpreted an…

And David came to Saul, and stood before him As a servant, and ministered to him in the way, and for the purpose for which he was sent: and he loved him greatly; being a comely person, and a well behaved youth, and especially as he was serviceable to him with his music, in driving away melancholy…

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, let David, I pray thee, stand before me Continue in his service; which was great condescension in him, and great respect shown to Jesse, not to detain his son without his leave, and to ask it as a favour of him: for he hath found favour in my sight: was very…

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul See (1 Sam. 16:14, 1 Sam. 16:15) though the word evil is not in the text here; wherefore Abarbinel thinks that this here was the Spirit of God, which stirred up in him thoughts of divine things, put him in mind of what God had said,…