1 Samuel 16:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."

NIV: Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not chosen these."

NASB: So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, 'The Lord has not chosen these.'

CSB: After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, "The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these."

NLT: In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, 'The Lord has not chosen any of these.'

KJV: Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these.

NKJV: Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”

After God rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:22–29, 35), he told Samuel to stop grieving and anoint a replacement (1 Samuel 16:1). That new king would be one of Jesse the Bethlehemite's sons. Samuel is now in Bethlehem to anoint this son and to offer a sacrifice to the Lord (1 Sameul 16:2, 5). But the prophet does not know which son God has chosen (1 Samuel 16:3).

The sons are progressively presented to Jesse, and progressively rejected (1 Samuel 16:6–9). This happens seven times. Samuel tells Jesse that none of these sons are the one. We find out in the next verse that only seven of Jesse's eight sons were present at the time (1 Samuel 16:11). It must have been shocking to apparently come to the end of the sons and have each of them rejected.

Commentators point out that in the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 2, David is said to be the seventh son of Jesse (1 Chronicles 2:15). Scholars speculate that perhaps one of the other sons died without having children and was left out of the genealogy. First Samuel 17:12 confirms Jesse had eight sons. In 1 Samuel 16:11 David is said to be the "youngest" or the "smallest."

First Samuel 16:1–13 describes the anointing of David as Israel's next king. The Lord tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem because He has chosen one of Jesse's sons for that role. Samuel consecrates Jesse and his sons for a sacrifice and feast. Seeing Eliab, Samuel thinks this must be the chosen one. But the Lord rejects all the sons until Jesse calls his youngest from tending sheep. The Lord tells Samuel to anoint this overlooked son, David. When he does, the Lord's Spirit comes into David just as it did on the day Samuel first anointed Saul to be Israel's king. However, in this case, the Spirit of the Lord remains with David for the rest of his life.

The Lord sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons as king. The Lord reveals His choice to be David, Jesse's youngest son. Samuel anoints the young man. God's Spirit comes on David but departs from King Saul. When the Lord sends a harmful spirit on Saul, his servant suggests that the king recruit David to play the lyre whenever Saul is tormented. Saul does so, and he quickly bonds with David, making the young man his armor-bearer.

First Samuel 16 introduces David to the story of Israel's kings. David is the son of Jesse, who is the grandson of Ruth (Ruth 4:21–22). He will be anointed king as the Lord has rejected Saul (1 Samuel 15:26). The Lord's Spirit leaves Saul and comes to David (1 Samuel 16:13–14); this is different from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers today (John 14:26; 2 Timothy 1:14). David becomes a beloved musician and servant to Saul, but the king's heart will become violently jealous (1 Samuel 18:8, 11).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.