1 Samuel 18:10
in 1 Samuel 18The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. And Saul had his 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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 18
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe evil spirit from God - See on 1Sa 16:14 (note), etc. He prophesied in the midst of the house - He was beside himself; made prayers, supplications, and incoherent imprecations: “God preserve my life,” “Destroy my enemies,” or such like prayers, might frequently escape from him in his agitated state. The Arabic intimates that he was actually possessed by an evil spirit, and that through it he uttered a sort of demoniacal predictions.
This site's exposition
The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul
on 1 Samuel 18:10-11
The spirit of distress from God comes upon Saul a second time, following 16:14, and the text does not soften the phrase. Wesley reads it as permission, God allowing what He does not author, while Clarke notes an old tradition of outright possession behind the words "he prophesied" here. The spear appears in Saul’s hand and stays there, hurled at David again at 19:10 and at Jonathan at 20:33.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It was also through a wicked angel that the transgressor was tempted in the account of the book of Kings [Samuel], where it says "The evil spirit from God came upon Saul." Just men, too, like Job and the apostle Paul and others of that …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Saul was holding a spear, etc. The people of the Jews held the power of the kingdom and exercised it against the Lord Savior; thinking that they could extinguish His faith and glory by persecuting Him, in the manner of other mortals whose praise and …
After the next day, an evil spirit from God invaded Saul, etc. As the light of the faithful gradually increased, so did the insanity and blindness of the perfidious Jews, who, aroused by an unclean spirit in the midst of their Synagogue against the Lord, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The very next day after he conceived envy at David, the evil spirit was permitted by God to seize him again. Such is the fruit of envy and uncharitableness. Prophesied - That is, he used uncouth gestures, and signs, as the prophets often did.
No life is thought too precious to be sacrificed to malice. If a grateful sense of the great service David had done to the public could not assuage Saul's fury, yet one would think he should have allowed himself to consider the kindness David was now doing him, in relieving him, as no one else could, against the worst of troubles.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass on the morrow,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul--This rankling thought brought on a sudden paroxysm of his mental malady. he prophesied--The term denotes one under the influence either of a good or a bad spirit. In the present it is used to express that Saul was in a frenzy.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He prophesied - This, as the effect of the evil spirit coming upon him, is singular as regards Saul, but is borne out by what we read in 1Ki 22:22. (Compare Act 16:16-18; Act 19:15; 1Jn 4:1-3). It is impossible to give the sense of “raving” to the word “prophesied,” as though a merely natural state of frenzy were intended. The “prophesying” here was as directly the effect of the coming of the evil spirit upon Saul, as the “prophesying” in 1Sa 10:10 was the effect of the Spirit of God coming upon him. At the same time it is quite true that “madness” and “prophesyings” were considered as near akin (see Jer 29:26; 2Ki 9:11).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And he raved. [Literally 'he prophesied'] but Targum renders, 'and he raved.' A prophet and a madman speak in unintelligible hints.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I will strike Dovid and the wall. I will strike one blow so, that the spear will pierce Dovid and the wall. 2 Shaul wanted to strike Dovid in a manner that it would appear that it was unintentional.
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. 5 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
19 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִֽמָּחֳרָ֗ת | mimochorat | from [the] next day | H4283 → | 32 times |
| וַתִּצְלַ֣ח | vatitzlach | and it rushed | H6743 → | 65 times |
| רוּחַ֩ | ruach | a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֨ים׀ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| רָעָ֤ה׀ | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וַיִּתְנַבֵּ֣א | vaiyitnabe' | and he prophesied | H5012 → | 115 times |
| בְתוֹךְ־ | vetokh- | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַבַּ֔יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְדָוִ֛ד | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מְנַגֵּ֥ן | menagen | [was] playing an instrument | H5059 → | 15 times |
| בְּיָד֖וֹ | beyado | with hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כְּי֣וֹם׀ | keyom | as a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בְּי֑וֹם | beyom | in a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וְהַחֲנִ֖ית | vehachanit | and the spear | H2595 → | 47 times |
| בְּיַד־ | beyad- | [was] in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| שָׁאֽוּל׃ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִֽמָּחֳרָ֗תfrom [the] next day
mimochoratH4283 →32 times
וַתִּצְלַ֣חand it rushed
vatitzlachH6743 →65 times
רוּחַ֩a spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
אֱלֹהִ֨ים׀God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
רָעָ֤ה׀evil
raahH7451 →662 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וַיִּתְנַבֵּ֣אand he prophesied
vaiyitnabe'H5012 →115 times
בְתוֹךְ־in [the] midst of
vetokh-H8432 →418 times
הַבַּ֔יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
וְדָוִ֛דand David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
מְנַגֵּ֥ן[was] playing an instrument
menagenH5059 →15 times
בְּיָד֖וֹwith hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
כְּי֣וֹם׀as a day
keyomH3117 →2304 times
בְּי֑וֹםin a day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
וְהַחֲנִ֖יתand the spear
vehachanitH2595 →47 times
בְּיַד־[was] in [the] hand of
beyad-H3027 →1618 times
שָׁאֽוּל׃Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Thessalonians 2:11For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,
it leads to
- Romans 1:28
Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
- John 12:39–43
For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:
- 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
- Psalms 81:11–12
But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.
- Romans 1:28
Through
Acts 16:16One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:31
You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 18:9–11
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
- Isaiah 8:19
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Leviticus 19:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 77.49; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.