1 Samuel 18:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.

NIV: The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand

NASB: Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand.

CSB: The next day an evil spirit sent from God came powerfully on Saul, and he began to rave inside the palace. David was playing the lyre as usual, but Saul was holding a spear,

NLT: The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand,

KJV: And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God 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.

NKJV: And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand.

Around the same time that Samuel anointed David and God's Spirit rushed on him, the Lord removed His Spirit from Saul (1 Samuel 16:12–14). God also sent a harmful spirit to torment the king (1 Samuel 16:15). One of the only things that could soothe Saul during these dark periods of agony was the music of the lyre performed by a boy Saul would later come to know as David the giant-killer (1 Samuel 16:23).

Another evil spirit strikes Saul after his jealousy towards David ignites (1 Samuel 18:6–9). This isn't an evil version of God's Holy Spirit. There is no evil in the Lord. Instead, most commentators agree that the Lord made use of a demon, sending it to afflict Saul because of his rebellion against Him. Saul's resistance to the Lord opens him up to such attacks.

When these episodes of spirit-torment come, Saul "raves" or "prophesies." If the Hebrew word used here is best understood as prophesying under the power of the harmful spirit, it's not meant in a positive or productive way. The sight and sound of the king spewing some kind of knowledge by way of a demon must be terrifying. Saul seems to completely lose himself in these moments.

While Saul rants, he keeps his spear nearby most of the time, perhaps as a symbol of his kingly authority (1 Samuel 20:33; 22:6; 26:7). But with a weapon in hand, he is also tempted by intrusive impulses (1 Samuel 18:11).

First Samuel 18:6–16 reveals the hastening story of King Saul's demise and David's rise. When the army returns from battle, David's victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 17) is celebrated more than the king's win over the Philistine army. The harmful spirit returns to Saul (1 Samuel 16:14–23). His jealousy of David turns to violence. Before long, Saul will use his own daughters as bait in traps to destroy his greatest warrior (1 Samuel 18:17–30).

Saul's son Jonathan becomes David's best friend. David succeeds in every military mission Saul sends him on. The people praise David as being even mightier than Saul. The king is furious and terrified that David will take his throne. After Saul's direct attempts to kill David fail, the king sends David to battle the Philistines using marriage to his daughter as bait. David not only survives, but he continues to prove himself to be a mightier warrior and leader than Saul. Saul knows the Lord is with David and not with him and cements himself as David's permanent enemy.

First Samuel 18 begins the story of how the changed work of the Holy Spirit on both Saul and David (1 Samuel 16:13–14) leads to the king's destruction and David's rise. David faithfully serves both Saul (1 Samuel 16:14–23) and Saul's kingdom (1 Samuel 17—18). But David wins the hearts of Saul's people and his children. Saul can't handle the competition (1 Samuel 19—20). Finally, David flees the royal court and raises his own army. He spends years fighting Israel's enemies from afar, patiently waiting until Saul dies in battle and the shepherd boy can take his rightful crown (1 Samuel 21—31).

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.