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Texts -- 1 Samuel 18:13-30 (NET)

Context
18:13 Saul removed David from his presence and made him a commanding officer . David led the army out to battle and back. 18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did , for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David , for he was the one leading them out to battle and back . 18:17 Then Saul said to David , “Here’s my oldest daughter , Merab . I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior for me and fight the battles of the Lord .” For Saul thought , “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines !” 18:18 David said to Saul , “Who am I ? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father in Israel that I should become the king’s son-in-law ?” 18:19 When the time came for Merab , Saul’s daughter , to be given to David , she instead was given in marriage to Adriel , who was from Meholah . 18:20 Now Michal , Saul’s daughter , loved David . When they told Saul about this, it pleased him. 18:21 Saul said , “I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David , “Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law .” 18:22 Then Saul instructed his servants , “Tell David secretly , ‘The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king’s son-in-law .” 18:23 So Saul’s servants spoke these words privately to David . David replied , “Is becoming the king’s son-in-law something insignificant to you? I’m just a poor and lightly-esteemed man !” 18:24 When Saul’s servants reported what David had said , 18:25 Saul replied , “Here is what you should say to David : ‘There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins , so that he can be avenged of his enemies .’” (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines .) 18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed to become the king’s son-in-law . Now the specified time had not yet expired 18:27 when David , along with his men , went out and struck down two hundred Philistine men . David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king’s son-in-law . Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage . 18:28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him . Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on . 18:30 Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out , and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants . His name was held in high esteem .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • TALE

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. tokhen, "a task," as weighed and measured out = tally, i.e., the number told off; the full number (Ex. 5:18; see 1 Sam. 18:27; 1 Chr. 9:28). In Ezek. 45:11 rendered "measure." (2.) Heb. hegeh, "a thought;" "meditat...
    [isbe] TALE - tal (tokhen, mithkoneth, micpar; leros): In the King James Version of the Old Testament (with one exception, Ps 90:9) "tale" (in the sing.) means number. "Tell" often has the same meaning, e.g. "I may tell (i.e. recko...

  • Saul

    [isbe] SAUL - sol (sha'ul; Saoul): (1) The first king of Israel. I. EARLY HISTORY 1. Name and Meaning 2. Genealogy 3. Home and Station 4. Sources for Life 5. Election as King 6. Reasons for It II. REIGN AND FALL 1. His First Action...
    [nave] SAUL 1. Called also Shaul. King of Edom, Gen. 36:37, 38; 1 Chr. 1:48, 49. 2. King of Israel. A Benjamite, son of Kish, 1 Sam. 9:1, 2. Sons of, 1 Chr. 8:33. His personal appearance, 1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23. Made king of Israel,...

  • SAMUEL, BOOKS OF

    [isbe] SAMUEL, BOOKS OF - || I. PLACE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL IN THE HEBREW CANON II. CONTENTS OF THE BOOKS AND PERIOD OF TIME COVERED BY THE HISTORY III. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS 1. Life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1 through 15) 2. Reign and D...

  • Rulers

    [nave] RULERS Appointed and removed by God. See: Government, God in. Chastised, Dan. 4. See: Nation. Monarchical, See: Kings. Patriarchal, Gen. 27:29, 37. Instances of Nimrod, Gen. 10:8-10. Abraham, Gen. 14:13-24; 17:6; 21:2...

  • Prudence

    [nave] PRUDENCE. Job 34:3, 4; Psa. 39:1; Psa. 112:5; Prov. 6:1, 2; Prov. 8:12; Prov. 11:13, 15, 29; Prov. 12:8, 23; Prov. 13:16; Prov. 14:8, 15, 16, 18; Prov. 15:5, 22; Prov. 16:20, 21; Prov. 17:2, 18; Prov. 18:15, 16; Prov. 19:2;...

  • Malice

    [nave] MALICE. Gen. 3:15; Lev. 19:14, 17, 18; Deut. 27:17, 18; Deut. 32:32, 33; 2 Kin. 6:21, 22; Job 31:29, 30; Psa. 4:2; Psa. 7:14-16 Job 15:35. Psa. 10:7-10, 14; Psa. 21:11; Psa. 22:7, 8; Psa. 35:15, 16, 19-21; Psa. 38:16, 19; P...

  • LORDS OF THE PHILISTINES

    [isbe] LORDS OF THE PHILISTINES - (ceren, same as Hebrew word for "axle," probably a native designation): These "lords" (Josh 13:3; Jdg 3:3; 16:5, etc.; 1 Sam 5:8,11, etc.), elsewhere called "princes" (sar, 1 Sam 18:30; 29:3,4,9), ...

  • KING; KINGDOM

    [isbe] KING; KINGDOM - king'-dum: I. KING 1. Etymology and Definition 2. Earliest Kings 3. Biblical Signification of the Title II. KINGDOM 1. Israel's Theocracy 2. Period of Judges 3. Establishment of the Monarchy 4. Appointment of...

  • Judges, Book of

    [ebd] is so called because it contains the history of the deliverance and government of Israel by the men who bore the title of the "judges." The book of Ruth originally formed part of this book, but about A.D. 450 it was separate...

  • Jealousy

    [nave] JEALOUSY. Prov. 6:34; 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6. Law concerning, when husband is jealous of his wife, Num. 5:12-31. Image of, Ezek. 8:3, 4. Forbidden, Rom. 13:13. Attributed to God, Ex. 20:5; 34:13, 14; Num. 25:11; Deut...

  • JONATHAN (2)

    [isbe] JONATHAN (2) - (yehonathan; also yonathan, "Yahweh has given"; Ionathan): The eldest son of Saul, the first king of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. 1. Three Periods: The life of Jonathan, as far as we are told about him, f...

  • ESTEEM

    [isbe] ESTEEM - es-tem' (chashabh; hegeomai): "To esteem" means sometimes simply "to think" or "reckon"; in other connections it means "to regard as honorable" or "valuable." We have examples of both senses in the Bible. The word m...

  • David

    [ebd] beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother's name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam. 17:25. As to his personal ...
    [isbe] DAVID - da'-vid (dawidh, or dawidh, "beloved"; Daueid, also in New Testament, Dauid, Dabid; see Thayer's Lexicon): I. NAME AND GENEALOGY II. EARLY YEARS 1. Shepherd 2. Slinger 3. Harpist 4. Poet 5. Psalmist 6. Tribesman III....
    [smith] (well-beloved), the son of Jesse. His life may be divided into three portions: His youth before his introduction to the court of Saul; His relations with Saul; His reign. The early life of David contains in many important re...
    [nave] DAVID 1. King of Israel. Genealogy of, Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Sam. 16:11; 17:12; 1 Chr. 2:3-15; Matt. 1:1-6; Luke 3:31-38. A shepherd, 1 Sam. 16:11. Kills a lion and a bear, 1 Sam. 17:34-36. Anointed king, while a youth, by the ...

  • DOWRY

    [ebd] (mohar; i.e., price paid for a wife, Gen. 34:12; Ex. 22:17; 1 Sam. 18:25), a nuptial present; some gift, as a sum of money, which the bridegroom offers to the father of his bride as a satisfaction before he can receive her. ...
    [isbe] DOWRY - dou'-ri: In all Hebrew marriages, the dowry held an important place. The dowry sealed the betrothal. It took several forms. The bridegroom presented gifts to the bride. There was the mohar, "dowry" as distinguished f...

  • DELIGHT

    [isbe] DELIGHT - de-lit' (verb, chaphets, ratsah, sha`a`; sunedomai): "To delight" is most frequently expressed by chaphets, which means originally "to bend" (compare Job 40:17, "He moveth his tail"), hence, "to incline to," "take ...

  • Character

    [nave] CHARACTER. of Saints Attentive to Christ's voice, John 10:3, 4; blameless and harmless, Phil. 2:15; bold, Prov. 28:1; contrite, Isa. 57:15; 66:2; devout, Acts 8:2; 22:12; faithful, Rev. 17:14; fearing God, Mal. 3:16; Acts ...

  • BARZILLAI

    [isbe] BARZILLAI - bar-zil'-a-i, bar-zil'-i (barzillay; Berzelli, "man of iron" (BDB, but compare Cheyne, Encyclopedia Biblica)): (1) A Gileadite of Rogelim who brought provisions to David and his army to Mahanaim, in their flight ...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • AWE

    [isbe] AWE - o: Fear mingled with reverence and wonder, a state of mind inspired by something terrible or sublime. In the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) it occurs in Ps 4:4: "Stand in awe, and sin...

  • ABEL-MEHOLAH

    [isbe] ABEL-MEHOLAH - a'-bel-me-ho'-lah ('abhel meholah, "meadow of dancing"): The residence of Elisha the prophet (1 Ki 19:16). When Gideon and his 300 broke their pitchers in the camp of Midian, the Midianites in their first pani...

Arts

Questions

  • I'm going to copy some articles on this subject, but let me give you my summation of all of them. In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the one who normally received a double inheritance, and was the one who would inher...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • After Shechem the Canaanite raped Dinah, Simeon and Levi gained revenge by deceiving the Shechemites into being circumcised as the condition for Dinah's marriage. Then they murdered the incapacitated men of the city."The stor...
  • Statements in the Book of Samuel imply that someone who had witnessed at least some of the events recorded wrote it. However the original writer must have written most of it after Samuel's death (i.e., -1 Sam. 25-2 Sam. 24) a...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • I. Eli and Samuel chs. 1-3A. The change from barrenness to fertility 1:1-2:101. Hannah's condition 1:1-82. Hannah's vow 1:9-183. Hannah's obedience 1:19-284. Hannah's song 2:1-10B. The contrast between Samuel and Eli's sons 2...
  • "In addition to being the middle chapter of 1 Samuel, chapter 16 is pivotal in another way as well: Its first half (vv. 1-13), ending with a statement concerning David's reception of the Spirit of God, describes David's anoin...
  • Earlier the writer narrated Saul's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him (chs. 10-11). Now he followed the same pattern by recording David's anointing, military success, and the popular reaction to him ...
  • We have already seen that Jonathan was a man of faith and courage (14:1-15). Jonathan found a soul brother in David, a man who committed himself to trusting and obeying God as he did. This common purpose on the deepest level ...
  • The evil spirit from the Lord (cf. 16:4, whatever it was) afflicted Saul the very next day. David and Saul each had something in their hand. David held a harp with which he sought to help the king by playing soothing music. S...
  • Since he had been unsuccessful in murdering David himself, Saul also tried to get other people to kill him (cf. 2 Sam. 11:15). Saul had promised his daughter in marriage to Goliath's victor (17:25). Nevertheless now Saul adde...
  • Saul now abandoned pretense (18:22) and ordered Jonathan and his servants to put David to death (cf. v. 11). He "went public"with his attacks against David feeling driven, like Pharaoh, to more desperate measures. This create...
  • This section records Saul's fourth attempt to kill David. The writer set his account of these attempts in chiastic form.ASaul directly tried to kill David. 18:10-16BSaul indirectly tried using the Philistines. 18:17-20B'Saul ...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. The First Book of Samuel. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1971._____. "The Verb Love--'Aheb in the David-Jonathan Narratives--A Footnote."Vetus ...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
  • A tabernacle, evidently the Mosaic tabernacle, and the Mosaic tabernacle's bronze altar still stood at Gibeon (lit. little hill; 1 Chron. 16:39-40; 21:28-29; 2 Chron. 1:3, 5-6). Gibeon was one of the so-called high places whe...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 1 Samuel 18:5-161 Samuel 18:5 anticipates 1 Samuel 18:13-16. It is the last verse of a section which interrupts the even flow of the story, and which is absent from the Septuagint. Verse 6 follows immediately on 1 Samuel 17:5...
  • The growing awe of him is marked in 1 Samuel 18:12, 15, and the word in the latter verse is stronger than that in the former. It is a pathetic picture of the gradual creeping over a strong man of a nameless terror. Ever-thick...
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