1 Samuel 16:1-6

1 ADONAI said to Sh'mu'el, "How much longer are you going to go on grieving for Sha'ul, now that I have rejected him as king over Isra'el? Fill your horn with oil, and set out; I will send you to Yishai the Beit-Lachmi, because I have chosen myself a king from among his sons."

2 Sh'mu'el said, "How can I go? If Sha'ul hears of it, he will have me killed."ADONAI said, "Take a female cow with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to ADONAI.'

3 Summon Yishai to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you are to anoint for me the person I point out to you."

4 Sh'mu'el did what ADONAI said and arrived at Beit-Lechem. The leaders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, "Are you coming in peace?"

5 He answered, "In peace. I have come to sacrifice to ADONAI. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." He consecrated Yishai and his sons and summoned them to the sacrifice.

6 When they had come, he looked at Eli'av and said, "This has to be ADONAI's anointed one, here before him."

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.