1 Samuel 18:5-16

David’s Successes Arouse Saul’s Suspicions

5 David went out {whenever} Saul sent him, [and] he succeeded. So Saul appointed him over the men of the war, and it {pleased} all the people and even {pleased} the servants of Saul.

6 {When they were coming back} after David had returned from striking down the Philistine, the women went out from all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

7 And the women sang as they danced, and they said, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his ten thousands!"

8 {Saul became very angry}, and {this saying displeased him}, and he thought, "They have attributed to David ten thousands, but to me they have attributed thousands! {What more can he have but the kingdom}?"

9 So Saul was watching David [with suspicion] from that day onward.

10 {On} [the] next day, the evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of the house. Now David was playing [the lyre] with his hand on [that] day {as usual}, and the spear was in Saul's hand.

11 Then Saul hurled the spear and thought, "{I will pin David to the wall}." But David eluded him twice.

12 {Now Saul was threatened by the presence of David} because Yahweh was with him, but had departed from Saul.

13 So Saul removed him {from his presence}, and made him commander of a thousand, {so he marched in and out at the front of the army}.

14 And David was achieving success in all his ways and Yahweh [was] with him,

15 but when Saul saw that he [was] very successful, {he was severely threatened by him}.

16 However, all of Israel and Judah [were] loving David, for he was going forth and marching ahead of them.

1 Samuel 18:5-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 18

This chapter gives an account of the respect shown to David by Saul and Jonathan, by the servants of Saul, and all the people, and of what was said in his praise in the songs of the women, 1Sa 18:1-7; which latter gave Saul a great offence, and upon which he envied him, and eyed him, and indeed sought his life, and removed him from him; and yet still he continued the darling of the people, behaving wisely among them, which greatly embarrassed Saul, that be knew not what to do, 1Sa 18:8-16; he proposed his eldest daughter to him in marriage, which he had a claim to by killing the Philistine, and then he cheated him by giving her to another, 1Sa 18:17-19; and then he offered his youngest daughter to him, on condition that he would bring him an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, execution of which he thought his life would be exposed to danger, which yet he performed, 1Sa 18:20-27; and having the affection of his wife, and the good esteem of the servants of Saul, Saul was more afraid of him, and became his enemy, 1Sa 18:28-30.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "in all that"
• [b]. Literally "was good in the eyes of"
• [c]. Literally "was good in the eyes of"
• [d]. Literally "And it happened at their coming"
• [e]. Literally "And it was very hot for Saul"
• [f]. Literally "this thing was bad in his eyes"
• [g]. Literally "And still for him [is] only the kingdom"
• [h]. The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads "sin"; the translation follows the reading tradition (Qere) which has "eyeing" or "watching"
• [i]. Literally "And it happened from"
• [j]. Literally "as day on day"
• [k]. Literally "I will strike David and to the wall"
• [l]. Literally "And Saul was afraid from the presence of David"
• [m]. Literally "from with him"
• [n]. That is, David
• [o]. Literally "for he [was] going out and [was] coming in before the army"
• [p]. Literally "he [was] terrified from his face"