1 Samuel 16:13–14

Context

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul disobeys God's command in the war against the Amalekites and is rejected as king (1 Samuel 15:23). The LORD then sends Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, where Samuel anoints David, the youngest son, who had been tending the sheep. Verse 13 records that from that day forward "the Spirit of the LORD came upon David." Verse 14 records that the same Spirit "departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." Set side by side, the two verses depict the transfer of kingship from Saul to David. In the section that follows, a search for someone who can play the harp to relieve the troubled Saul leads to David's entry into the royal court.

Interpretation

• Empowerment for office: Many commentators understand the coming of the Spirit in this passage as an empowerment enabling David to carry out the duties of kingship. The same expression is used of the judge Samson (Judges 14:6) and of Saul around the time he became king (1 Samuel 10:10; 11:6). Anointing was a sign of appointment to office, and the term "Messiah" (anointed one) derives from this practice.
• Soteriological readings: In keeping with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (the teaching that true believers will never ultimately fall away from salvation), the Reformed tradition tends to explain the departure of the Spirit from Saul not as a personal loss of salvation but as the withdrawal of the gifts given to him as king. Within the Wesleyan tradition, some preachers read the scene as a warning, in connection with the teaching that believers can fall from grace.
• Readings of the evil spirit: From the perspective of providence, which holds that God keeps even evil under His sovereignty, many interpreters regard the evil spirit as a malevolent spiritual being permitted or sent as judgment for Saul's disobedience. Some commentators, noting that the Hebrew expression can also be rendered "harmful spirit" or "tormenting spirit," take it to refer to the mental anguish Saul suffered.

Controversies and Issues

• The statement that the LORD sent the evil spirit raises the question of whether God is the source of evil. Most traditions explain the expression as meaning not that God does evil but that He permits judgment and uses it.
• Interpreters differ on whether the Old Testament pattern in which the Spirit "comes upon" and "departs from" particular individuals is the same as the New Testament indwelling of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit dwelling within the believer).
• Where the Korean Revised Version reads yeohowa-ui sin ("the Spirit of Jehovah") and aksin ("evil spirit"), the Revised New Korean Version revised these to yeohowa-ui yeong ("the Spirit of the LORD") and angnyeong ("evil spirit").
• Citing "anointing" more broadly as grounds for supporting the authority of particular leaders has been criticized as departing from the context of the text.

In the Korean Church

The scene of David's anointing is frequently preached together with a verse from the same chapter: "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Saul's case is also cited in sermons on repentance, linked with Psalm 51, in which David prays, "take not thy holy spirit from me." In charismatic gatherings, the term "anointing" is commonly used to express a desire for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Related Passages

• 1 Samuel 16:23
• Psalm 51:11–12
• Acts 13:22
• Judges 9:23
• 1 Kings 22:22