The Book of 1 Samuel
1 Samuel  Chapters 16 - 18

INTRODUCTION TO THIS STUDY

The purpose of this work is to guide you in Spirit Filled interpretation of this "Selected Study". As necessary we will provide outlines, historical backgrounds, note the purpose and focus of the text, and also provide the original Hebrew language definitions for the key words in the highlighted text. The English translation used is the King James (Authorized) Version, not because it is the best translation available, but because I just plain prefer it for study!

All Scripture text will be presented in normal cased lettering, and all notes within the text will be in TRUE TYPE FONT, as shown. This (I hope) will allow you to avoid confusion between God's Word and my notes. As I update this website, I will continue to embellish the text so that anyone using NETSCAPE 3.0 or MICROSOFT 3.0 or higher will be able to read the document easier.
 

An excellent site to study Biblical Hebrew is by Lee R. Martin, Biblical Hebrew. The following are excerpts from his Hebrew Dictionary (if you want more, go to his site):

ABSOLUTE: In Hebrew Greek grammar, a word is absolute when it stands independently and has no grammatical relation to other elements in the sentence. The most common instance in Greek is the genitive absolute.

ABSOLUTE STATE: The Hebrew absolute together with a word in the construct state expresses the genitive. Do not confuse with the infinitive absolute. Heb: king (absolute); horse of (construct) the king (absolute), i.e., the king's horse (genitive).

ACCIDENCE: That part of grammar that treats inflection; a subcategory of morphology.

ACCUSATIVE CASE: A substantive used as the direct object of a transitive verb is said to be in the accusative case. In Greek, the accusative is the case of extension. Heb: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). Gk: "He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

ACCUSATIVE ENDING: In Hebrew see DIRECTIVE h.

ACTIVE VOICE: In the active voice, the subject is the doer of the action that is expressed by the verb.

AKTIONSART: German for "kind of action."

ANARTHROUS: A word that appears without the article is anarthrous.

ARAMAIC: A branch of the northwest Semitic languages that is closely related to Hebrew. In the OT Masoretic text, Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan. 2:4b-7:28; and Jer. 10:11 are in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Aramaic had become the common language of the Jewish people by NT times.

CASE: Case shows the grammatical relation of inflected forms such as nouns and pronouns to other words (nominative, possessive, objective cases).

CAUSATIVE VERB: A transitive verb that can be said to cause the action depicted in a corresponding intransitive verb. Ex: lay ("cause to lie") is the causative of lie; raise, the causative of rise.

DIRECT OBJECT: The word, phrase, or clause that is the primary goal or result of the action of the verb (cf. accusative case); the person or thing is directly affected by the action of the verb. Heb: "God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). Gr: "He grabbed him and began to choke him" (Matt. 18:28).

GENITIVE: The case that expresses possession or specifies a relationship that can be expressed in English by "of." In Hebrew this is called a construct relationship. The Greek genitive is the specifying case answering the question "What kind?" Heb: "the expanse of the sky" (Gen. 1:21). Gk: "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Mark 1:4).

GUTTURALS: The mute consonants whose sounds are produced when the front of the tongue approaches the palate of the mouth. Four letters in Hebrew, a h j and [ are the guttural letters (r has some guttural characteristics). Hebrew gutturals cannot be doubled, prefer a-class vowels, and composite shevas. In Greek, the guttural letters are g k and c also called velars, laryngeals, or palatals.

HITHPAEL: A verbal form in Hebrew that expresses intensive or emphatic action (classified by some grammars as causative action) and reflexive voice. For this emphasis in Greek, middle voice. Heb: "A group of adventurers gathered around [lit., gathered themselves around] him" (Judg. 11:3).

HOPHAL: A verbal form in Hebrew that expresses causative action and passive voice. Heb: "Let seven of his male descendants be given [hophal] to us" (2 Sam. 21:6).

IMPERATIVE: A verb or verbal mood that expresses command or makes a request.

IMPERFECT: In Hebrew, the form of the verb used to express action that is incomplete or unfinished. Heb: "What if they do not believe me" (Exod. 4:1). The Greek imperfect tense expresses incomplete, linear action in past time. Gk: "People were eating and drinking..." (Luke 17:28). Other regular uses of the tense include iterative, frequentative, inceptive, and conative.

INFINITIVE: A verbal noun that has characteristics of both verbs and nouns. In English usually introduced by to. Hebrew has both infinitive absolute and infinitive construct forms. Heb: "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land" (Gen. 15:7). The Greek infinitive is used as a substantive, in subordinate clauses, with prepositions, and in epexegesis. Gk: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21).

INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE: A form of the Hebrew infinitive that may function in a number of ways: to express certainty or intensification ("you will surely die," Gen. 2:17); to express repeated or continued action ("Be ever hearing," Isa. 6:9); as a finite verb ("They...broke the jars," Judg. 7:19); to express an emphatic imperative ("Remember the Sabbath day," Exod. 20:8).

MASORETIC TEXT: The vocalized text of the Hebrew Bible, prepared by a group of Jewish scholars around A.D. 700 to preserve the oral pronunciation of the Hebrew words.

MOOD: Mood indicates the manner in which the action is conceived (or its relation to reality). Moods are indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and optative. Mood may be expressed by finite verbs in Greek and by various means (form, words, or context) in Hebrew. Mode.

NIPHAL: A verbal form (stem) in Hebrew that expresses simple action and passive or reflexive voice. Heb: "She was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah" (1 Sam. 18:19).

OPTATIVE MOOD: The mood of possibility and more doubtful assertion that expresses wish or desire. See also jussive and cohortative. Heb: "If only we had died in Egypt!" (Num. 14:2). Gk: "Maythe Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance" (2 Thess. 3:5).

PARTICIPLE: A verbal form that has characteristics of both noun and verb. In Hebrew it represents characteristic, continual, uninterrupted action. Heb: "The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" (Gen. 1:2). The Greek participle is widely used as a substantive, adjective, and adverb in phrases and clauses. Gk:"...in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him" (1 Peter 1:21).

PARTICLE: A unit of speech that is ranked as an uninflected word but expresses some kind of syntactical relationship or some general aspect of meaning. Some grammarians classify all conjunctions, prepositions, and negatives as particles.

PASSIVE VOICE: A voice form of the verb that represents the subject as receiver of the action. Heb: "This land was given to us as our possession" (Ezek. 11:15). Gk: "You were marked in him with a seal" (Eph. 1:13).

PERFECT/PERFECT TENSE: In Hebrew, this form of the verb is used to express completed action, whether in reality or in the thought of the speaker or writer. Heb: rm'v; is a perfect form of the verb and would be translated "he guarded." The Greek perfect tense, by contrast, represents a state of completion with abiding results and is often translated as a present perfect. Gk: The perfect leluke would be rendered "he has released."

PIEL: A verbal form in Hebrew that expresses intensive or emphatic action and active voice. Heb: "They destroyed the high places and the altars" (2 Chron. 31:1).

PREPOSITION: A word that shows relationships between its object and some other word in the sentence. Some common English prepositions are in, to, from, with, above, for, by.

PRETERITE: A Latin name for the past tense; it is the equivalent of the perfect in Hebrew and the aorist indicative in Greek.

PUAL: A verbal form in Hebrew that expresses intensive or emphatic action and passive voice. Heb: "There was Baal's altar, demolished" (Judg. 6:28).

QAL: A verbal form in Hebrew that expresses simple action and active voice; it is sometimes spelled Kal. Ex:"Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew" (Gen.25:34).

REFLEXIVE VOICE: Denotes an action that is directed back upon the agent or subject; expressed in Hebrew by the niphal and the hithpael, in Greek by the middle voice.Heb: "I have...kept myself from sin" (Ps. 18:23). Gk: "Then he went away and hanged himself" (Matt. 27:5).

ROOT: That part of a word left when all affixes are removed; the morpheme that carries the minimal unit of meaning in a word and can be common to several different words. The three consonants in Hebrew that ordinarily compose the basic uninflected spelling of a word are called the root letters. Occasionally a Hebrew word may have two or four root letters. Gk: the root dik- is common to dikaio", "righteous," dikh, "justice," and dikaiow, "to acquit." Also called "Lexeme."

STATIVE VERB, STATIC VERB: A stative verb is one that indicates a state of being or relationship rather than action. In Hebrew, its vowel pattern is different from that of verbs of action or motion. Greek statives include eijmi, ginomai, and uJparcw. Heb: "the hands...will be strengthened (2 Sam. 16:21). Gk: "Who, being in very nature God" (Phil. 2:6).

STEM: The noun or verb base formed by the addition of derivational affixes to the root. Thus, in Greek, doro- is the stem of the noun doron, "gift"; do- is the root, ro is the affix (in this case, a suffix). Also called base in recent grammars. In Hebrew, the term is used to designate verb forms that express certain kinds of action and voice; the major Hebrew verbal stems are qal, niphal, piel, pual, hithpael, hiphil, and hophal.

STRONG VERB: In Hebrew, the regular verb whose stem consonants do not change, i.e., remain unmodified in conjugation, in contrast to the weak verb. In Greek, a tense stem formed from the verb stem or root itself by vowel gradation.

VOICE: Voice is a modification of a verb that tells whether the subject of the verb acts or is acted upon. There are three voices in English, Hebrew, and Greek: active, passive, and reflexive.

WEAK VERB: In Hebrew, the verbs with gutturals or weak letters ( n in first root position, y and w in first or second root position, identical second and third root letters) as radicals, which produce modifications in the conjugation, in contrast to the strong verb. In Greek, a tense stem formed by adding a suffix to the verb stem or root.

If you discover obvious errors (as I am human, and do make mistakes), please let me know. Do not contact me to argue about the doctrinal differences that you may have with my teaching. I do not argue Theology with anyone, so all Legalists, cultists, and others with extremist views, please save your (and my) time. If you want to discuss your doctrinal differences, or share a viewpoint, please contact me at Didaskalos Ministries. I am not so arrogant as to think I know it all, or even 1% of what the scripture teaches.
 
 

1  And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn  ('abal [aw-bal'], to cry or weep over {}Hithpael Participle}. As Wesley wrote of this passage,  {"Saul was a king of the people's providing, he was the product of their sinful desires: but this is a king of my own providing, to fulfill all my will, and to serve my glory"}  The people had such high hopes for Saul, yet he kept failing the One Person he should have never failed)

for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn  (This was the anointing horn {qeren [keh'-ren], Flasks or vessels were made of horn (1 Sam. 16:1, 13; 1 Kings 1:39)}, a hollowed out animal horn used to carry the oil {oil was used for anointing to offices of trust. See Exo. 29:7; 1 Sam 10:1; 1 Kings 19:16} the prophet was to use to anoint the new king. )

with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. (The first King that God chose for Israel would come from Bethlehem. The last King God would choose for Israel, Jesus Christ our Lord, would also come from Bethlehem {Micah 5:2  "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting"} )
 

7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not  {nabat [naw-bat'], Hiphil Imperfect - stop looking at!} on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;  (The first king, Saul, was chosen because he was beautiful to look at. But the people did not know he was rotten on the inside. This king, David, would be chosen because God looked inside and saw his heart {Psalms 44:21  "Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart"} )

because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
 

11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. (ra`ah [raw-aw'], Qal Active Participle = he keeps on looking after/ pastoring the (sheep). What better place to learn about ruling people than over a herd of sheep? Both Moses and David, two of the greatest leaders ever had, came from the field to rule. Do not despise low positions in life. Those who will be great for God need the low positions to grow in Him, whereas those born of privilege often walk away from God in arrogance and pride. {1 Corinthians 1:27  "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty"} )

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. {Psalms 78:70-72 "He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:  From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands"}
 

12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, ( 'admowniy [ad-mo-nee'], red. His skin was red or tanned from being out in the sun all day)

and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David  (Good rulers were often indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God in the Old Testament era, so that God could control national events  {Daniel 4:8-9 "But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof"} )

from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
 

14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, (In the Old Testament era the Holy Spirit could leave a believer for falling out of fellowship.  {Psalms 51:11  "Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me"} )

and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. (God allowed a demon to attack Saul. To the question, "Can believers be demon oppressed?", the answer is emphatically yes! Though believers are freed from the bondage of sin we can willingly invite this bondage back into our lives. Further, God can allow demons to chastise us so as to refine us for further service  {2 Corinthians 12:7  "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure"} This latter is, of course, preferable to the former! Says Matthew Henry, {"Saul is made a terror to himself. The Spirit of the Lord departed from him. If God and his grace do not rule us, sin and Satan will have possession of us. The devil, by the Divine permission, troubled and terrified Saul, by the corrupt humors of his body, and passions of his mind. He grew fretful, peevish, and discontented, and at times a madman. It is a pity that music, which may be serviceable to the good temper of the mind, should ever be abused, to support vanity and luxury, and made an occasion of drawing the heart from God and serious things. That is driving away the good Spirit, not the evil spirit. Music, diversions, company, or business, have for a time often been employed to quiet the wounded conscience; but nothing can effect a real cure but the blood of Christ, applied in faith, and the sanctifying Spirit sealing the pardon, by his holy comforts. All other plans to dispel religious melancholy are sure to add to distress, either in this world or the next"} )
 

18  Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely  (to'ar [to'-ar], beautiful)

person, and the LORD is with him.
 

19  Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
 

20  And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. (Jesse was always trying to "butter someone up" in order to gain favor with them. {Psalms 5:9  "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue"} This emphasizes that David was God's chosen, not because he came of good stock or from a good family - for Jesse was neither - but because of God's overwhelming Grace)
 

21  And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. (nasa' [naw-saw'] kliy [kel-ee'], weapons or armor keeper. This was a great position of honor, and David could have promoted from this position to one of officer in the King's Armies. Yet David went back to his sheep after his term of service ended. David knew that promotion was not something he had to seek, but promotion came from obedience to the Lord.  {Psalms 75:6-7 "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another"} )
 
 

1  Now the Philistines  (Says Easton's, "a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the Jordan, and Crete and other Mediterranean islands. Some suppose them to have been a branch of the Rephaim (2 Sam. 21:16-22). In the time of Abraham they inhabited the south-west of Judea, Abimelech of Gerar being their king (Gen. 21:32, 34; 26:1). They are, however, not noticed among the Canaanitish tribes mentioned in the Pentateuch")

gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. ('Ephec Dammiym [eh'-fes dam-meem'], means "the edge of blood". This is an area about 16 miles southwest of Jerusalem)

4  And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (The common computation as to the length of the cubit (according to Easton's) makes it 20.24 inches for the ordinary cubit, and 21.888 inches for the sacred one. The span (according to International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE) is a measure of length equal to half a cubit or about 9 in. So Goliath was between 130.44 to 140.328 inches high, or 10.87 to 11.694 feet tall. The more conservative estimates, showing a cubit to be 18 inches (ISBE), place Goliath at 9 feet 9 inches tall. Whichever computation you use, this man was HUGE!)
 

5  And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; (a breastplate of metal, to protect the chest)

and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels  (Easton's states "the common standard both of weight and value among the Hebrews. It is estimated at 220 English grains, or a little more than half an ounce avoirdupois (the system of weight where one pound = 16 ounces)". Based on this the breastplate alone weighed around 2500 ounces, or between 148 to 156.25 pounds avoirdupois (allowing for differences in weight between silver and brass). This was not just a HUGE man, he was also a very STRONG man, as this was only part of his armor!)

of brass.

6  And he had greaves  (mitschah [mits-khaw'], shin guards)

of brass upon his legs, and a target (kiydown [kee-dohn'], shield. The man was a walking Sherman tank)

of brass between his shoulders.
 

7  And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels  (the spear head alone, not counting the staff, weighed between seventeen to 18.75 pounds)

of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
 

8  And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul?  (emphasis = we are the mighty Philistines, you the servants of that fool Saul. Yet he did not know what David knew,  {1 Samuel 17:47  "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands"} )

choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
 

12  Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. (idiomatic, Saul was an old man)
 

15  But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
 

16  And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
 

22  And David left his carriage  (kliy [kel-ee'], armor, instrument, weapon)

in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, (shamar [shaw-mar'], guard of the armor, quartermaster)

and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
 

25  And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: (David, having just come from the sheep, had no way of knowing that this infidel had challenged Israel for 40 days so far (see vv. 16). All David knew was that God would overcome, if they trusted in Him. See  {Psalms 18:2  "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower" ... Psalms 31:3  "For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me"} )

and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
 

26  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living  {chay [khah'-ee], forever fresh, forever young} God? (Here's the difference between David and Saul. To Saul and his men, the armies belonged to him, but to David the armies were God's. If God is invincible {Exodus 15:6  "Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy"} then the man or army that moves out for God is invincible!)
 

27  And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
 

28  And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? (These are the words of an unregenerate man who heard a heathen's taunts for 40 days --- and in cowardice, refused to respond. This is the standard method of operation for carnal or unsaved peoples. Rather than heed the truth of David's words in the light of God's Scripture, let's push the blame off on David. Rather than admit error in my life, let's blame the righteous. An excuse is the sorriest thing manufactured by man or woman. Jesus made it plain how He thought about making excuses rather than being responsible:  {Luke 14:16-24 "Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:  And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.  And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.  And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.  And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.  So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper"} Will you make excuses in the Judgment, or will you give a good account to the Master?)

and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride,  (the unbeliever tries to tarnish the believer with his own filthy sins)

and the naughtiness (roa` [ro'-ah], wickedness)

of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
 

29  And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
 

30  And he turned from him toward another,  (rather than argue with a heathen or carnal, David turned away from him. This is Biblical. See  {Titus 3:10-11 "A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject;  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself" ... and ... 2 John 1:9-11 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. } This is a far cry from the Liberal "live and let live" policy that has inculcated our Churches, both denominational as well as non-denominational)

and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
 

33  And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth,  (sense = "You have no experience". From a position of human viewpoint this makes sense: Goliath was a great warrior, but David had never fought in battle. Yet, truthfully, the battle was God's, not David's - David just had to be willing. God would be David's experience. See  {Psalms 144:1-2  "Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me"} )

and he a man of war from his youth. (Notice how divorced from reality Saul is. He has been calling for volunteers to fight Goliath for forty days. Now that he has a volunteer, he seeks to dissuade him)
 

34  And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
 

35  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard,  (zaqan [zaw-kawn'], beard, maine. This was an older, experienced lion, and David slew him, just as he would slay the older, experienced Goliath)

and smote him, and slew him.
 

38  And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. (Did Saul do this to be helpful? I doubt it. He more than likely dressed David in his armor so he could take part credit for the win, if David won. In reality Saul the King should have been meeting Goliath, trusting God - not hiring a boy to do his job. Regardless of Saul's motives, take heed to David, a wonderful type of Christ here. Matthew Henry says,  {"This reminds us of Christ, the good Shepherd, who not only ventured, but laid down his life for the sheep. Our experience ought to encourage us to trust in God, and be bold in the way of duty. He that has delivered, does and will continue to do so. David gained leave to fight the Philistine. Not being used to such armor as Saul put upon him, he was not satisfied to go in that manner; this was from the Lord, that it might more plainly appear he fought and conquered in faith, and that the victory was from Him who works by the feeblest and most despised means and instruments. It is not to be inquired how excellent any thing is, but how proper. Let Saul's coat be ever so rich, and his armor ever so strong, what is David the better if they fit him not? But faith, prayer, truth, and righteousness; the whole armor of God, and the mind that was in Christ; are equally needful for all the servants of the Lord, whatever may be their work"} )
 

39  And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed  (ya'al [yaw-al'], Hiphil Imperfect, hesitated to go. David had "proved" God in the field and knew that He worked, but had never "proved" this armor - and did not want to put his faith in it. God wants us to trust and try Him first, not as a last resort. See  {Malachi 3:10  "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it"} )

to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved (nacah [naw-saw'], Piel Perfect = tested and found them to be trustworthy)

them. And David put them off him. (What a power we would all be for God is we, rather than use Father as a last resort, trust and rest in Him from the beginning. Let all other things be the last resort, but Father the first resort)
 

40  And he took his staff  (maqqel [mak-kale], rod, hand stave, a weapon used like a club)

in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones (Why five stones? Did David think he'd miss that many times. No, but there were five giants, all brothers, in the Philistine army. See  {2 Samuel 21:16-22 "And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.  But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants"} David thought that he might have to fight all five. That was bravery!)

out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip;  (yalquwt [yal-koot'], wallet, bag)

and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
 

41  And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
 

42  And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained (bazah [baw-zaw'], Qal Imperative, to openly and sharply show contempt for)

him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
 

43  And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?  (maqqel [mak-kale], staff, rod, stick. Sense = "Is that the best you can do?")

And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ('elohiym [el-o-heem'], God(s), Godhead. The Philistine swore by the names of his gods or godhead that he would defeat David. This battle was not between David and Goliath, but between the Eternal Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit, and the created godhead of the heathen)
 

47  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth  (yasha` [yaw-shah'], Hiphil Imperfect = delivers, is a Savior to us)

not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. {Isaiah 30:18-19 "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.  For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee}
 

52  And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. (Easton says "(meaning) firm rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath")

And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
 
 
 

4  And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe (m`iyl [meh-eel'], outer garment, mantle, overcoat)

that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
 

7  And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. {sense = Saul was a hero, but David was a greater hero}
 

10  And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God (God allowed this attack, and gave the demon permission to attack Saul - though Saul invited this demon into his life by his actions. Says Wesley, {"His fits of frenzy returned upon him. The very next day after he conceived envy at David, the evil spirit was permitted by God to seize him again. Such is the fruit of envy and uncharitableness"} )

came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
 

13  Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand;  (Saul's intention was to legally kill David. He made David a Regimental Commander, and the RC always lead his troops into battle ... thus Saul hoped David would be killed. This backfired, because David was in fellowship with God, and under his protecting Hand  {Job 5:19-27 "He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.  In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.  At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good" } )

and he went out and came in before the people.
 

25  And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins  (`orlah [or-law'], foreskins, skin of circumcision. Though this seems grisly, this was a common eastern means of proving the death of your enemies. The Gentiles were uncircumcised, and would have had to have been killed in order to have been emasculated in this manner)

of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
 

27  Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale  (male' [maw-lay'], fully, full tally)

to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.