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1 Samuel 16:13

in 1 Samuel 16

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

KJV

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

This verse in 1 Samuel 16

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
The Spirit ... came upon David - The exact phrase used of the Judges and Saul. See 1Sa 10:6, note; Jdg 3:10, note; Jdg 6:34, note; Jdg 11:29, note; Jdg 14:18, note; Jdg 15:14, note.

This site's exposition

anointed him in the midst of his brethren

Samuel anoints David in the midst of his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him from that day forward, the same phrase Scripture used earlier of the judges and of Saul at his own anointing. Bethlehem, the town where Ruth's story ended on the name David, is where that name now receives the oil. Samuel's part is finished, and he returns to Ramah without a word of what has just been set in motion.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Not that he was at present invested with the royal power, but it was entailed upon him, to come to him in due time. (2.) A divine communication of gifts and graces, to fit him for the government, and make him a type of him who was to be the Messiah, the anointed One, who received the Spirit, not by measure, but without measure.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And a spirit of Adonoy passed over. A spirit of strength. 7 Targum renders ‘a spirit of prophecy.’
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Samuel 16:13:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

21 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took

    vaiyikachH3947966 times

  • שְׁמוּאֵ֜לSamuel

    shemuelH8050141 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • קֶ֣רֶן[the] horn of

    kerenH716176 times

  • הַשֶּׁ֗מֶן<the> oil

    hashemenH8081193 times

  • וַיִּמְשַׁ֣חand he anointed

    vaiyimshachH488670 times

  • אֹתוֹ֮<obj.> him

    ʾotoH85310935 times

  • בְּקֶ֣רֶבin [the] midst of

    bekerevH7130227 times

  • אֶחָיו֒brothers his

    ʾechavH251630 times

  • וַתִּצְלַ֤חand it rushed

    vatitzlachH674365 times

  • רֽוּחַ־[the] spirit of

    ruach-H7307378 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • דָּוִ֔דDavid

    davidH1732999 times

  • מֵהַיּ֥וֹםfrom the day

    mehaiyomH31172304 times

  • הַה֖וּא<the> that

    hahu'H19311879 times

  • וָמָ֑עְלָהand on -wards

    vamaelahH4605140 times

  • וַיָּ֣קָםand he arose

    vaiyakomH6965628 times

  • שְׁמוּאֵ֔לSamuel

    shemuelH8050141 times

  • וַיֵּ֖לֶךְand he went

    vaiyelekhH19801546 times

  • הָרָמָֽתָה׃ ס<the> Ramah towards

    haramatahH741436 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Hebrews 1:9

    You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 45:7

      You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.

    • Psalms 23:5

      You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

    • Isaiah 61:3

      to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 10:6

    Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 10:10

      When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Numbers 11:25

      Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Judges 3:10

      The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    John 3:34

    For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

    it leads to

    • Acts 10:38

      how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.

    • Matthew 12:18

      “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

Where this verse is studied

What the record shows

1 entry
  • David — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed

    Tel Dan Stele ('House of David'/bytdwd); Mesha Stele line 31 (restored, contested)

    Biblical figure (King of Judah/Israel (dynastic founder), ca. 1010-970 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.

    Counterpoint: Philip R. Davies, Niels Peter Lemche, and Thomas Thompson argued that bytdwd on the Tel Dan stele is a place name rather than a royal house, partly because the letters run together with no word divider. Most epigraphers now read 'House of David,' and the Mesha Stele line 31 parallel remains a contested restoration.

About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).