1 Samuel 16:2

David Anointed King

1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, ^a“How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? ^bFill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to ^cJesse the Bethlehemite. For ^dI have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ^a‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”

4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town ^atrembled at his coming, and said, ^b“Do you come peaceably?”

5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. ^aSanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

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1 Samuel 16:2

It was the purpose of God that David should be anointed at this time as Saul' s successor, and as the ancestor and the type of His Christ. It was not the purpose of God that Samuel should stir up a civil war, by setting up David as Saul' s rival. Secrecy, therefore, was a necessary part of the transaction. But secrecy and concealment are not the same as duplicity and falsehood. Concealment of a good purpose, for a good purpose, is clearly justifiable. There is therefore nothing in the least inconsistent with truth in the occurrence here related. Compare Exodus 7:16; Exodus 8:1; Exodus 9:13.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing 1 Samuel 16:2:**

2 Kings 8:15
John 6:44
John 7:41-42
Romans 11:3

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1 Samuel 16:3 >>

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