1 Samuel 16:1-6

Samuel Anoints David

1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

1 Samuel 16:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 16

In this chapter Samuel is ordered to anoint a king among the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem, 1Sa 16:1-5 all whose sons were made to pass before him, excepting David, 1Sa 16:6-10 who being then with his father's sheep, was sent for and was anointed, 1Sa 16:11-13, after which the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and he became melancholy, and it was advised to seek out a musician for him, and David was mentioned to him as a proper person, 1Sa 16:14-18 upon which he was sent for, and acted as a musician to Saul, and also became his armourbearer, which was the first rise of him, 1Sa 16:19-23.

Cross References

• 1. S 1 Samuel 8:6; S 1 Samuel 15:35
• 2. S 1 Samuel 13:14; 1 Samuel 15:23
• 3. S 1 Samuel 10:1; 2 Kings 9:1
• 4. S Ruth 4:17; 1 Samuel 9:16
• 5. 2 Samuel 5:2; 2 Samuel 7:8; 1 Kings 8:16; 1 Chronicles 12:23; Psalms 78:70; Acts 13:22
• 6. Exodus 4:15
• 7. S Deuteronomy 17:15; 1 Samuel 9:16
• 8. S Genesis 48:7; Luke 2:4
• 9. 1 Samuel 21:1
• 10. 1 Kings 2:13; 2 Kings 9:17
• 11. S Exodus 19:10,22
• 12. 1 Samuel 17:13; 1 Chronicles 2:13