1 Samuel 16:4

4 Then Samuel did, as the Lord spake to him; and he came into Bethlehem, and the elder men of the city wondered, and came to him, and said, Whether thine entry be peaceable? (Hast thou come in peace?/Is all well?)

1 Samuel 16:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 16:4

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 ^F25, was sixteen miles from Ramah; though it could hardly be so much, since Ramah was six miles from Jerusalem on one side, as Bethlehem lay six miles from it on the other ^F26;

and the elders of the town trembled at his coming;
for he being now an old man, and seldom went abroad, they concluded it must be something very extraordinary that brought him thither; and they might fear that as he was a prophet of the Lord, that he was come to reprove them, or denounce some judgment upon them for their sins. The Targum is,

``the elders of the city gathered together to meet him;''

out of respect and in honour to him, and to the same sense Jarchi's note is,

``they hasted to go out to meet him'';

see ( Hosea 11:11 )

and, said comest thou peaceably?
the word "said" is singular; one of the elders put this question, the chiefest of them, perhaps Jesse; and the meaning of it is, whether he came with ill news and bad tidings, or as displeased with them himself on some account or another; or with a message from God, as displeased with them; or whether he came there for his own peace and safety, to be sheltered from Saul; and which, if that was the case, might not be for their peace and good; but would draw upon them the wrath and vengeance of Saul; for they doubtless knew that there was a variance, at least a shyness, between Saul and Samuel.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 Travels of the Patriarchs p. 125.
F26 Vid. Hieron. de loc. Heb. fol. 89. F. & 94. B.

1 Samuel 16:4 In-Context

2 And Samuel said, How shall I go? for Saul shall hear (of it), and he shall slay me. And the Lord said, Thou shalt take a calf of the drove in thy hand (Thou shalt take a calf from the herd with thee), and thou shalt say, I came to make sacrifice to the Lord.

3 And thou shalt call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I shall show to thee (and I shall tell thee), what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint whomever I shall show to thee.

4 Then Samuel did, as the Lord spake to him; and he came into Bethlehem, and the elder men of the city wondered, and came to him, and said, Whether thine entry be peaceable? (Hast thou come in peace?/Is all well?)

5 And he said, It is peaceable; I came to make sacrifice to the Lord; be ye hallowed, and come ye with me, that I make sacrifice. Therefore he hallowed Jesse, and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. (And he said, Yea, I have come in peace/all is well; I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord; be ye hallowed, and then come ye with me, and make ye also the sacrifice. Then he hallowed Jesse, and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.)

6 And when they had entered, he saw Eliab, and said, in his heart, Whether before the Lord is his christ? (Is this the Lord's anointed?)