1 Samuel 16:12

12 So he sent and brought him. Now he [was] ruddy with beautiful eyes and of {handsome} appearance. And Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him, for this [is] he."

1 Samuel 16:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 16:12

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 former seems best:

and withal of a beautiful countenance;
of comely features: or "beautiful eyes" F5; bright, clear, and sparkling; eyes that are black or blue are reckoned beautiful:

and goodly to look to;
of a pleasant countenance, delightful to behold; he carried sweetness as well as majesty in his face; in this he was a type of Christ, ( Song of Solomon 5:10 Song of Solomon 5:16 ) . A beautiful aspect, as well as shape and height, recommended persons for government, as with the Ethiopians, as Aristotle F6 relates; so Agamemnon is represented by Priamus F7 for his personable appearance, as like a king, and fit to be one:

and the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he;
that he had spoken to him of, and who it was his pleasure should be anointed king; and therefore, by a secret strong impulse upon his mind, was put upon doing it immediately, without any hesitation or delay.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 (Mynye hpy Me) "simul pulcher oculis", Montanus; "cum pulchritudine oculorum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F6 Politic. l. 4. c. 4.
F7 Homer. Iliad. 3. v. 166.

1 Samuel 16:12 In-Context

10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen any of these."
11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, "{Are all the young men here}?" And he said, "The youngest still remains, but look, he [is] shepherding the flock." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him, for we cannot {sit down} until he comes here."
12 So he sent and brought him. Now he [was] ruddy with beautiful eyes and of {handsome} appearance. And Yahweh said, "Arise, anoint him, for this [is] he."
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. Then the Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day {on}. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah.
14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul and an evil spirit from Yahweh tormented him.

Footnotes 1

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.