Text -- 1 Samuel 16:1-6 (NET)

Samuel Anoints David as King

16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.” 16:2 Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out to you.” 16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?” 16:5 He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, “Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Sa 16:1

¹ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

³ tn Heb “for I have seen among his sons for me a king.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 16:2

¹ tn Heb “in your hand.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 16:3

¹ tn Heb “say”; KJV, NRSV “name”; NIV “indicate.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 16:4

¹ tn Heb “said.”

² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

³ tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the plural (“they said”).

NET Notes: 1Sa 16:6

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “saw.”

³ tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).

⁴ tn Heb “his anointed one.”