1 Samuel 16:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 16:12
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
to send away · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
in
וַיְבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙vay.vi.'E.hu
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
ruddy
אַדְמוֹנִ֔י'ad.mo.Ni
H132
reddish (of the hair or the complexion) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
withal
עִם'im-
H5973
adverb or preposition · preposition
beautiful
יְפֵ֥הye.Peh
H3303
beautiful (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine singular construct
countenance
עֵינַ֖יִם'ei.Na.yim
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual absolute
goodly
וְט֣וֹבve.Tov
H2896
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular construct
to
רֹ֑אִיRo.'i
H7210
sight · noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָ֛הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
said
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרvai.Yo.mer
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Arise
ק֥וּםkum
H6965
to rise (in various applications · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
anoint
מְשָׁחֵ֖הוּme.sha.Che.hu
H4886
to rub with oil · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Song of Solomon 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Lamentations 4:7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:
1 Samuel 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
1 Samuel 9:17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
Psalms 89:19-20 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the peop…
Genesis 39:6 And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person,…
Psalms 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Acts 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of I…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 16:6-13
If the sons of Jesse were told that God would provide himself a king among them (as he had said, Sa1 16:1), we may well suppose they all made the best appearance they could, and each hoped he should be the man; but here we are told,
I. How all the elder sons, who stood fairest for the preferment, were passed by.
1. Eliab, the eldest, was privately presented first to Samuel, probably none being present but Jesse only, and Samuel thought he must needs be the man: Surely this is the Lord's anointed, Sa1 16:6. The prophets themselves, when they spoke from under the divine direction, were as liable to mistake as other men; as Nathan, Sa2 7:3. But God rectified the prophet's mistake by a secret wh…
he was ruddy, &c.--JOSEPHUS says that David was ten, while most modern commentators are of the opinion that he must have been fifteen years of age.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 16:12
He was ruddy - I believe the word here means red-haired, he had golden locks. Hair of this kind is ever associated with a delicate skin and florid complexion.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 16:12
And he sent and brought him in,.... Sent messengers into the field and to the flock for him, and being come home Jesse introduced him into the room where Samuel was:
now he was ruddy; which some understand not of the ruddiness of his complexion, or of his cheeks, but of the redness of his hair; the former seems best:
and withal of a beautiful countenance; of comely features: or "beautiful eyes" (e); bright, clear, and sparkling; eyes that are black or blue are reckoned beautiful:
and goodly to look to; of a pleasant countenance, delightful to behold; he carried sweetness as well as majesty in his face; in this he was a type of Christ, Sol 5:10. A beautiful aspect, as well as shape and hei…
Esau was "ruddy, hairy as a hide," having the deadness that comes from sin and thirsting for murder against Jacob. But David was ruddy together with beauty of eyes, so as to indicate David's power of discernment.
29. Of whose description it is also said: "He was ruddy, and beautiful in appearance, and fair of face." Ruddy indeed, because he was wounded by the lance; ruddy, because he was reddened by his Passion. Whence also it is said to him through the prophet: "Why is your garment red?" (Isa. 63:2). He was indeed ruddy, who colored the brightness of such great innocence with the redness of his precious blood. He was also beautiful in appearance, because by rising again he put on the beauty of immortality, and looked upon us mortals with great love. For as if promising the beauty of his appearance to his disciples, he says: "I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice" (John 16:22). Hence also promising, he says: "I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come, and will take you to myself, that where I am, you also may be." What is the beauty of the face, but the glory of his majesty? For his face is perfect knowledge. Paul also, recalling this, says: "We see now through a mirror in an enigma, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know, just as I also have been known" (1 Cor. 13:12). What then is the beauty of the face, but the splendor of eternal divinity? This beauty is now believed, not seen; then it will not be believed, but seen, because the apostle says: "When he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Whence also to Moses, seeking that same beauty of the face, he replied: "You shall see my back" (Exod. 33:23). Whatever we can now contemplate of his divinity is not the beauty itself, but a veil over the beauty. We behold the back, so that we may follow; but when by following we arrive at him, we behold the front, that is, the beauty of his face. He was therefore ruddy in this world, beautiful in paradise, and eternally fair of face in heaven. And this threefold beauty can also be recognized in his manner of life in this present world. He was indeed ruddy, because he ardently loved those for whom he laid down his life. He was beautiful in appearance, because he knew all things. Fair of face, because he did all things well. But what is that beauty of appearance? "No one knows the Father except the Son" (Matt. 11:27). Peter also, marveling at this, says: "Now we know that you know all things, and it is not necessary for anyone to question you" (John 16:30). The crowds who beheld him bear…
Dictionary and topics
Bethlehem — House of bread. (1.) A city in the “hill country” of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Anointing · .David — .David
Beauty · .David — .David
Christ, The King · Typified: David — Typified: David
Church And State · .Withdraws support and anoints a succes — .Withdraws support and anoints a succes
Eye, The · Frequently fair — Frequently fair
First Born, The · Instances of superseded: David’s brothers — Instances of superseded: David’s brothers
Jesse · Samuel visits, un — Samuel visits, un
King · Divinely authorized — Divinely authorized
Kings · God reserved to himself the choice of — God reserved to himself the choice of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Anointing of David. - Sa1 16:1. The words in which God summoned Samuel to proceed to the anointing of another king, "How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, whom I have rejected, that he may not be king over Israel?" show that the prophet had not yet been able to reconcile himself to the hidden ways of the Lord; that he was still afraid that the people and kingdom of God would suffer from the rejection of Saul; and that he continued to mourn for Saul, not merely from his own personal attachment to the fallen king, but also, or perhaps still more, from anxiety for the welfare of Israel. He was now to put an end to this mourning, and to fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for t…
his appearance or height: Like Saul, Eliab, Jesse’s oldest son, had an impressive outward appearance (cp. 9:2). Also like Saul, he was rejected (cp. 15:23). God had another man in mind to anoint as king. • the Lord looks at the heart: God can give a new heart (10:9), touch hearts (10:26), and peer into the deep motivations of the heart (Ps 139:1). God sees what people cannot see—a person’s true character. Eliab’s character comes out in 1 Sam 17:28.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 16:11
The youngest one is still left. The youngest one is left.
We will not sit. We will not sit to eat; every instance of sitting for a meal is called הֲסִבׇּה [leaning].
There follows: (Verse 12.) "So he sent and brought him in." The future king is brought in when the humble are brought forth from the hiding places of their concealment. They are hidden indeed, but in pastures; because, even if they conceal themselves among the lowly and weak things of the flesh before men, great is the breadth of heavenly contemplation in which they dwell. But let us see what kind of man the one now set over others appears to be. For it follows and says: (Verse 12.) "Now he was ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look upon." 17. What does it mean that such great beauty of the king is affirmed, except that the person of the teacher must be adorned with great splendors of virtues? For of the Redeemer it was said: "His Spirit adorned the heavens" (Job 26:13). For the heavens are the sublime preachers. These heavens indeed were adorned by the Spirit, because they receive from the Holy Spirit the virtues by which they shine. What then does it mean that he is said to be ruddy, except that in red matter the fervor of charity is often signified? Hence also in the vestment of the high priest, scarlet twice-dyed is placed, so that he may be clothed with a twofold charity. He is therefore called ruddy through the ardor of charity, because while he displays the burning precepts of charity, he glows red, as it were, through the heat. What likewise does "handsome in appearance" mean, except conspicuous in inner contemplation? For he has, as it were, a handsome appearance, who shines with the beauty of vision in inner contemplation. What then does the face signify, except the outward glory of uprightness? For since everyone is recognized by the face, the beauty of the face is the illustrious uprightness of one's manner of life. For he is perceived, as it were, through the beauty of his face, who is found to be splendid in every gesture of his body. He is therefore ruddy with love, handsome in appearance on account of knowledge, fair of face, splendid in uprightness. But since the fervor of charity is demonstrated through holy works, the labor of work itself can be signified by the redness. For he who labors greatly displays a redness of face, because while he grows hot within, he draws redness outwardly upon his countenance. For so it is with all spiritual labor. For the more each person strives to labor for eternal life, the more…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
