Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
Parallel Translations
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Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”
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Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
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Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said: 'Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep.'
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 16:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 16:11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” He said, “There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
- 1 Samuel 17:15 Now David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
- Psalms 78:70-72 He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
- Exodus 3:1-10 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb. Yahweh’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Moses said, “I will go now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When Yahweh saw that he came over to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Here I am.” He said, “Don’t come close. Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.” Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
- 1 Samuel 17:33-34 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock,
- 1 Kings 19:19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. Elijah went over to him, and put his mantle on him.
- Psalms 113:8 that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.
- Amos 1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
- Amos 7:14-15 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman, and a farmer of sycamore figs; and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
- Matthew 4:18-22 Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men.” They immediately left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and…
1Sa 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which [is] with the sheep.
Ver. 19. Which is with the sheep.] Saul might easily remember that himself was once of a like employment, and not now so contemptuously speak of it, as if David should therefore be sent him, because he could better prefer him. Shepherdy is ancient and honourable:
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“ Pascebatque suas ipse Senator oves. ” - Ovid.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse,.... For David; not…
Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse,.... For David; not choosing to take him without his leave, though Samuel suggests that kings would do so, Sa1 8:11.
and said, send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep; he had learnt his name, and what was his employment; and which last he mentions not by way of contempt, it not being reckoned mean and despicable even in the sons of great personages, in those times and countries, to attend flocks and herds: so with the Arabs, as Philo (n) testifies, young men and maids of the most illustrious families fed cattle; and with the ancient Romans, the senator (o) fed his own sheep. Paris, son of Priamus, king of Troy, is said (p) to feed his father's oxen and sheep; and Saul himself had done the same; but to describe him particularly.
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(n) De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 610. (o) "Pascebatque suas", &c. Ovid. Fast. l. 1. (p) Coluthi Raptus Helenae, v. 71, 101.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me…
Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David--In the East the command of a king is imperative; and Jesse, however reluctant and alarmed, had no alternative but to comply.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. Thy son, which is with the sheep —…
19. Thy son, which is with the sheep — Saul’s servant, who informed him of David, seems to have known this son of Jesse only as the remarkable shepherd boy.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 19, 20. Saul sent messengers to fetch David,…
Vers. 19, 20. Saul sent messengers to fetch David, the description of him as a brave soldier being even more to the king"s liking (see 1Sa_14:52) than his skill in music. As a great man might not be approached without a present, (1Sa_9:7 1Sa_10:4) Jesse sends one consisting of produce from his farm. It consisted of an ass of bread a strange expression; but there is little doubt that a word has been omitted, and that we should read, with the Syriac, "And Jesse took an ass, and laded it with bread, and a skin of wine, and a kid." It was not an ass laden with bread, as in the A.V, but all three things were placed upon the animal.
Vers. 19, 20. (BETHLEHEM.)
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Setting out in life.
David, setting out from his father"s house at Bethlehem to go to the court of Saul at Gibeah (a distance of about ten miles), presents a picture of many a youth leaving home for more public life to enter a profession, learn a business, or occupy a responsible position. Notice
I THE PECULIAR CHARACTER of the step.
1. Some such step is necessary. A young man cannot always continue under the paternal roof. He must go forth into the world, be thrown on his own resources, and make his own way.
2. Its nature and direction are commonly determined by his ability andtastes, and the use he makes of early advantages (ver. 18).
3. It is also greatly influenced by the wishes of others. David was sent forby Saul, and sent to him by his father.
4. It is ordered by Divine providence. This was plainly the case with David.And we are as truly the children of providence as he was. God has a purpose concerning each of us.
There"s a Divinity that shapes our ends, Rough hew them as we will.
1. It opens a wider field for the exercise of natural or acquired abilities, and the attainment of desired objects.
2. It determines in most instances, the subsequent course of life. It is likethe commencement of a river; or like the rolling of a stone down the mountain side, the course of which is determined by the direction and impulse which it first receives.
II THE PROPER SPIRIT in which it should be taken.
1. Due consideration; not thoughtlessly or rashly.
2. Lowly and loyal obedience to rightful claims.
3. Cheerful anticipation of new scenes, duties, and enjoyments.
4. Not unmingled with misgiving and self-distrust at the prospect of new difficulties and trials, and watchfulness against new and strong temptations.
5. Simple trust in God and fervent prayer for his guidance.
6. Firm determination to be true to oneself faithful to God, and useful tomen.
Now needs thy best of man; For not on downy plumes, nor under shade Of canopy reposing, fame is won; Without which whosoe"er consumes his days Leaveth such vestige of himself on earth As smoke in air, or foam upon the wave (Dante, "Inferno," 24. ).
Consider
1. That life itself is a setting out in a course which will never terminate.
2. That the manner in which this step is taken will decide your futuredestiny. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Send me David thy son, which is with the…
1Sa_16:19
Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
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Life of David
The formal induction of David into the office for which he was selected, was not devoid of its appointed influence. The ceremony was a sacred one, by special direction of God, performed by a sacred band in the days of miraculous agency, days long since passed away. Consequently a marked alteration occurred in the whole character of this lowly shepherd boy. It was not conversion, for David, you remember, before this ceremony, was conversant with godliness, and replete with spiritual and legitimate piety. We may call this alteration or improvement, devotedness; he was warned of the purposes of Providence concerning his future life, and hence became, by a noble ambition, as well as by supernatural gifts, devoted to the destiny, the high appointment to which he was ordained. After the interview with Samuel, David resumed his former position and avocation, but with new thoughts, new hopes, and new practices. His life was still a private one, but the virtues of an exalted mind, and of increased piety, displayed themselves with such fulness that the respect of all men was tendered to him in tributary homage.
1. Here is a volume of wisdom opened to us. We have a double calling--one to future dignity in Gods set time, another to present duty in our earthly state. Our wisdom, then, our duty, our religion, is to realise, by sober contemplation, the heaven that awaits us. We have not here to follow the guidance of mere fancy; we have not here the deceitful rule of passion, to observe which will paint a paradise, according to each mans peculiar lust. We have the solemn and copious narrative of revelation; the history of successive periods yet to come; of gradation above gradation in eternal glory for the saints; of resurrection joy, millennial glory with Christ, abiding favour with the Father; of physical happiness, as well as filial consolations; of a promised land, a better country, a heavenly city, of many mansions. Our other calling is to glorify God in that station where His Providence has placed us. The description of David, while be remained a commoner, signifies that he had given himself, with every diligence as a man in ordinary life, to discharge his office, to the very best of his ability, religiously. The devices of the enemy are innumerable, to prevent our success in piety, our utility to man, and our honourableness to God. We must understand thoroughly that in spite of all contrary exhibitions and persuasions, suggested by our infirmities, that the post we occupy is exactly that in which we are placed, stand fast and quit ourselves like men. That our ages, callings, situations, fortunes, are just the very ordinances of Jehovah, and that in these things, and no others, we are required to show forth His glory, and magnify His name. Thus did David.
2. We must thus conclude our considerations about his private life, and follow him out upon the great stage of the world. But ere we view him on that stage we must observe that his exaltation occurred in exact accordance with his private virtues. These spread abroad his fame, sent it to the kings palace, and led him from obscurity. Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men. Godliness hath the promise of this life, as well as of that which is to come. The command for Davids separation from the humble lot in which he had enjoyed so much of a happy converse with heaven, has arrived--Send me David thy son, who is with the sheep. Thus were the unsolicited promises of Samuel hastening to fulfilment. David had not sought greatness, and we may conclude that this call to another mode of life, so dissimilar to all his early habits, was obeyed, not with the alacrity of ambition, but the integrity of religion. He obeyed, because he felt it to be his duty. He must henceforth find his interviews with God diminished, and his intimacy with an evil world a source of continual danger, and cause of continual self-restraint and watchfulness. In the life of the believer, all things have their appointed use, according to the words--All things work together for good, to them who love God. Solitude, or retirement rather, had witnessed the first dawn of piety in this servant of God, and confirmed it in every principle, up to the full blaze of faith, and courage, and devotedness. Now society, and society in the most dangerous form, in the very circle of the court, must train the future monarch for his onerous responsibilities.
(1) It was a more difficult task by far to combat the influence of flattery, now heaped on David. He was an accomplished youth, of goodly appearance, graced, too, with all the freshness of innocence and piety, and the prime favourite of the king; it is said here, he loved him greatly. These things were so many attractions to flattery, so many inlets to the poison of pride, which kills the soul of the unconverted, and which, when it gains admission to the hearts of the children of God, requires for them a discipline of misery, to expel the moral pestilence.
(2) Another risk must now be encountered, the power of prevailing levity. Man in solitude is serious, in society is often a mocker. Whether it be the courage Which springs from fellowship, or the poor ambition of obtaining notoriety amongst his fellows, that stirs a man to levity; it is always true that the society of ordinary men is ruled by levity--a reckless disregard for things Divine, or a wild and boisterous exuberance of mirth, where piety dare not appear. Courts are composed of men, not always of the best men, and so he, whose infancy and early youth had been imbued with the deepest reverence for the mysteries and truth of revelation, had now to brook the wild scorn of the infidel, or the injurious babble and enervating levity of the gay and thoughtless sycophants of greatness. We must watch here, against the influence of the worlds irreligion upon ourselves, it is our hour of temptation.
(3) Lastly, David had to encounter worldliness--that is, the predominant vice in the vicinity of kings. A spiritual man may loathe all this; but repetition blunts his first feelings of abhorrence. Far from the precincts of the court we may pass the residue of our earthly period, but there are agencies abroad to raise within us the love of this evil world, and increase it, too, as that world is fading from our grasp. (C. M. Fleury, A. M.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 1Sa_16:20. “An Ass,” etc. The Hebrew is an ass…
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES—
1Sa_16:20. “An Ass,” etc. The Hebrew is an ass of bread. Reland adduces a great number of quotations from Greek writers, showing that the ancients used a bottle with two long handles, which, from their resemblance to asses’ ears, were called (όνοι) asses; and the Greek poet Sosibus says of one of his heroes, “He ate three times in the space of a single day three great asses of bread, which Casaubon understood to signify the lading of three asses, whereas the true meaning is the contents of three vases or jars called asses.” (Jamieson.) “These presents show how simple were the customs of Israel, and in the court of Saul at that time.” (Keil.)
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1Sa_16:21. “His Armour-bearer.” “This choice, being an expression of the king’s partiality shows how honourable the office was held to be.” (Jamieson.)
1Sa_16:23. “Harp.” “The kuinor, not the large heavy instrument denoted by the word harp amongst us, but the lyre, a light, portable instrument resembling a bow in shape” (Jamieson). “Saul was refreshed,” etc. “Bochard has collected many passages from profane writers, which speak of the medicinal effects of music on the mind and body, especially as appeasing anger, and soothing and pacifying a troubled spirit,” (Biblical Dictionary.) “Did the music banish the demon! Not so, but the higher frame of mind into which the king was brought by it sufficed to limit at least the sphere of the operation of the evil spirit within him … Besides, the silent intercessions which David sent up to heaven on the wings of the music of his harp must have contributed not a little to the results with which his melodies were crowned” (Krummacher).
MAIN HOMILET1CS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Sa_16:19-23
DAVID AT COURT
We here have—
I. Saul an instrument of good to David. David was one day to sit upon the throne of Israel, and although he already possessed many qualities of mind and heart which fitted him for such a position, the transition from the home at Bethlehem to the palace was a very great one, and the man who was to experience it needed some intervening training. It was expedient that he should have some experience of the life of the court before he became its head, and, in the providence of God, the man whom he was to succeed was the instrument by whom he gained that experience.
II. David a means of blessing to Saul. Saul, miserable and God-forsaken though he was, was not yet beyond the soothing power of sacred music, and it was ordained by God that David’s skill and piety should administer this passing comfort to his spirit. Music seems to have been left to us by God to remind us—
1. Of the moral harmony of the heavenly world. All the inhabitants of the city of God live in a state of concord as perfect and as morally beautiful as the most exquisite music. There creatures of various gifts and diverse dispositions so perfectly agree with each other that no note of discord is ever heard, and the diversity of each only heightens the harmony of the whole.
2. Of the harmony that once ruled in the human soul. The soul of man has not always been torn asunder by conflicting passions, or by the promptings of good on the one side and of evil on the other. Conscience did not always assume the position of a sentinel and stand with drawn sword to avenge the first transgression of the law written upon the human heart. There was a time when conscience had only one work to do—to approve of human deeds and so add to human happiness instead of being also compelled by human sinfulness to take the attitude of a reprover and a judge, and so increase the discord within the human soul. Music reminds us of what man’s inner life was when God first created him morally in His own image—when every faculty and feeling and desire was in perfect harmony with each other, and with all that is beautiful and good.
3. Of the harmony of the Divine nature. In proportion as the Christian’s heart and life approaches perfect conformity to the will of God, he finds a music within the soul which passeth all understanding. If he could look back upon all his past life and feel conscious that he had never wronged either himself, or his neighbour, or his God, and if he could feel confident that his whole future would be as perfect as his past, how blessed would be the harmony within! This is the experience of God—this makes Him ever and perfectly blessed—this makes His whole being perfectly free from any shadow of discord, and constitutes music a type of the harmonious blending of all the glorious attributes of His character.
III. Music, by shadowing forth these moral truths, is intended to comfort and to elevate mankind. If, when the soul is cast down by sorrow or degraded by sin, it will yield itself to the influence of this gift of God, rays of light will penetrate the darkness, and a dew of hope will fall upon the scorched soul. If even Saul became for a season delivered from the bondage of evil, when he listened to the sweet sounds of David’s harp, music must be one agency to lift the soul of man into communion with the unseen world and the unseen God, and so to do something towards restoring it to its original harmony. That it has such a tendency we have abundant evidence from the testimony of experience. “Music,” says Luther, “is one of the fairest and most glorious gifts of God, to which Satan is a bitter enemy, for it removes from the heart the weight of sorrow and the fascinations of evil thought. Music is a kind and gentle sort of discipline, it refines the passion and improves the understanding.” And in most of the revivals of spiritual life in the Church of God, music has been one of the agencies employed. It follows therefore that redeemed men ought to cultivate a knowledge of music, and render thanks unto God for having left us this reminder of heaven and of Himself.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF 1Sa_16:23
This remarkable instance of the power of music over the mind is in conformity with the experiments of physicians, and with various intimations which may be found in ancient authors … In the Mèmoires of the French Academy of Sciences for 1707, are recorded many accounts of diseases which, having obstinately resisted the remedies prescribed by the most able of the faculty, at length yielded to the powerful impressions of harmony. One of these is the case of a person who was seized with fever, which soon threw him into a very violent delirium, almost without any interval, accompanied by bitter cries, by tears, by terrors, and by an almost constant wakefulness. On the third day, a hint that fell from himself suggested the idea of trying the effect of music. Gradually, as the strain proceeded, his troubled visage relaxed into a most serene expression, his restless eyes became tranquil, his convulsions ceased, and the fever absolutely left him. It is true that when the music was discontinued his symptoms returned; but by frequent repetitions of the experiment, during which the delirium always ceased, the power of the disease was broken, and the habits of a sound mind re-established. Six days sufficed to accomplish a cure … More remarkable, as well as more truly parallel, is the case of Philip the Fifth of Spain and the musician Farinelli, in the last century. The king was seized with a total dejection of spirits, which made him refuse to be shaved, and incapable of appearing in council or of attending to any affairs. The queen, after all other methods had been essayed, thought of trying what might be effected by the influence of music, to which the king was known to be highly susceptible. We have no doubt that this experiment was suggested to her by this case of Saul and David. The celebrated musician Farinelli was invited to Spain, and it was contrived that there should be a concert in a room adjoining the king’s apartment, in which the artist should perform one of his captivating songs. The king appeared surprised at first, then greatly moved, and at the end of the second air he summoned the musician to his apartment and, loading him with compliments, asked him how he could reward such talents. Farinelli, previously tutored, answered that he desired nothing but that his majesty would permit his attendant to shave and dress him, and that he would endeavour to make his appearance in the council as usual. The king yielded, and from this time his disease gave way, and Farinelli had the honour of the cure. Kitto.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1Sa_16:19. While David followed the sheep he had ample time at his disposal, but instead of letting it go by in idleness, or frittering it away in spasmodic study, now of this thing now of that, he specially concentrated his attention on the art of music, until he acquired rare skill and excellence in playing upon the harp, and it was through this self-taught attainment that he was first called forth into public life. It is of immense consequence that the young people of these days should see the necessity of acting in a similar manner.… It is a preparation for future eminence. It is interesting to observe how many have passed through this very gate to usefulness and honour.—Dr. W. M. Taylor.
1Sa_16:23. There is a mystery and a meaning in music we can never either expound or explore; and it is felt that those natures which are the greatest burden and mystery to themselves find most the solace of song in the combinations of all sweet sounds; we have known this, it is not always that in joyfulness of heart we sing.… I have known a woman, disappointed and forsaken, flying to her piano; her fingers rushing over the keys have given liberation to her spirit, and the chords opened the sealed well of tears, and the rains descended and the floods came. And something like this is a very general experience. Hence we have poetry for all cultured people and hymns for holy people; and do we not know what it is to become happy while we sing?—Hood.
It was a song without words whose soothing melody fell upon the ear of the king. Words corresponding to the music would have produced the contrary result to that which was aimed at, and might even have increased the ill temper of the king. There are even yet men enough of this sort—persons without faith, yea, at variance both with God and the world—whom solemn music is able most powerfully to delight, and in whom it awakens, at least for the time, dispositions which border on devotion and piety, while yet the words which correspond to the sacred melody would produce in them the very opposite effect. What is manifest from this, but that in the soul of such persons the last point at which they may be touched by that which is sacred has not yet wholly decayed away?—Krummacher.
It was a mere foreshadow, on a comparatively low and earthly ground, of the wondrous way in which David, as the Psalmist, was afterwards to provide the true “oil of joy for the mourner,” and to become a guide to the downcast soul “from the horrible pit,” up to the third heaven of joy and peace.—Blaikie.
The music was more than a mere palliative. It brought back for a time the sense of a true order, a secret, inward harmony, an assurance that it is near to every man, and that he may enter into it. A wonderful message, no doubt, to a king or a common man, better than a great multitude of words, a continual prophecy that there is a deliverer who can take the vulture from the heart, and unbind the sufferer from the rock; but not (as many, I suppose, must bitterly know) the deliverer itself.—Maurice.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.