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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:14-23

We have here Saul falling and David rising. I. Here is Saul made a terror to himself (1 Sam. 16:14): The Spirit of the Lord departed from him. He having forsaken God and his duty, God, in a way of righteous judgment, withdrew from him those assistances of the good Spirit with which he was directed, animated, and encouraged in his government and wars. He lost all his good qualities. This was the effect of his rejecting God, and an evidence of his being rejected by him. Now God took his mercy... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:21

And David came to Saul, and stood before him ,.... As a servant, and ministered to him in the way, and for the purpose for which he was sent: and he loved him greatly ; being a comely person, and a well behaved youth, and especially as he was serviceable to him with his music, in driving away melancholy from him: and he became his armourbearer ; that is, he appointed him to this office, though we never read that he exercised it; nor did he go with Saul in this capacity to the battle... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:22

And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, let David, I pray thee, stand before me ,.... Continue in his service; which was great condescension in him, and great respect shown to Jesse, not to detain his son without his leave, and to ask it as a favour of him: for he hath found favour in my sight : was very acceptable to him which must be very pleasing to Jesse to hear; especially if he was in any fear that Saul had an ill design upon him, when he first sent for him. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:23

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul ,.... See 1 Samuel 16:14 though the word evil is not in the text here; wherefore Abarbinel thinks that this here was the Spirit of God, which stirred up in him thoughts of divine things, put him in mind of what God had said, that he had rejected him from being king, and had rent the kingdom from him; and this filled him with grief and trouble, and he became melancholy: that David took an harp, and played with his hands ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 16:23

The evil spirit from God - The word evil is not in the common Hebrew text, but it is in the Vulgate, Septuagint, Targum, Syriac, and Arabic, and in eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., which present the text thus: רעה אלהים רוח ruach Elohim raah , spiritus Domini malus , the evil spirit of God. The Septuagint leave out Θεου , of God, and have πνευμα πονηρον , the evil spirit. The Targum says, The evil spirit from before the Lord; and the Arabic has it. The evil spirit... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Disquietude caused by sin. The facts are— 1 . Saul, being left to himself, is troubled by an evil spirit from the Lord. 2 . His servants, in their concern for his peace, suggest music as an alleviation, and obtain permission to provide it. 3 . David, being famed for music, is sent for, and finds favour with Saul. 4 . The music of David brings relief to Saul's troubled spirit. The narrative relates the effect of God's judicial abandonment of Saul to the impenitent spirit he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:21-23

David came to Saul, and stood before him. The latter phrase means, "became one of his regular attendants." This, and his being appointed one of Saul's armour bearers, happened only after the lapse of some time. The armour bearer, like the esquire in the middle ages, had to carry his lord's lance, and sword, and shield, and was always a tried soldier, and one whom the king trusted. It was apparently after the combat with Goliath that Saul sent to Jesse, and asked that David might be always... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:23

The king and the minstrel. I. THE COMPLICATION OF MENTAL AND MORAL DISORDER . Saul was the victim of cerebral disease, but not an innocent victim. His unhingement of mind was due in large measure to causes for which he was morally responsible. The expression, "an evil spirit from the Lord was upon him," is just an Old Testament way of saying that the state into which he fell, as a result mainly of his own misconduct, bore the character of a Divine retribution. From the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 16:21

The difficulty of reconciling this verse with 1 Samuel 17:55-58, is met thus: The words here are the ultimate sequence of David’s first visit to Saul, and of his skill in music, and are therefore placed here; but they did not really come to pass until after David’s victory over Goliath (see 1 Samuel 18:2). It is quite conceivable that if David had only played once or twice to Saul, and then returned to his father’s house for some months, Saul might not recognize him. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 16:21

1 Samuel 16:21. David came to Saul and stood before him Ministered unto him among the rest of his servants. This sufficiently shows that Saul had no knowledge of the anointing of David, otherwise it cannot be supposed that he would have had him brought to his court. And he loved him greatly So there was something good in Saul still; he had not lost all, though he had lost the kingdom. He became his armour-bearer He had that place conferred upon him, though we do not read that he ever... read more

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