wind · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֛הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
departed
סָ֖רָהSa.rah
H5493
to turn off (literal or figurative) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Saul
שָׁא֑וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
evil
רָעָ֖הra.'Ah
H7451
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
spirit
רֽוּחַRu.ach-
H7307
wind · noun, common feminine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָֽהYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
troubled
וּבִֽעֲתַ֥תּוּu.vi.'a.Ta.tu
H1204
to fear · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine 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
Psalms 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
1 Samuel 18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Judges 9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and sha…
1 Samuel 18:10 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 play…
1 Samuel 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war…
Acts 19:15-16 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
1 Kings 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he s…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 16:14–end
We have here Saul falling and David rising.
I. Here is Saul made a terror to himself (Sa1 16:14): The Spirit of the Lord departed from him. He having forsaken God and his duty, God, in a way of righteous judgment, withdrew from him those assistances of the good Spirit with which he was directed, animated, and encouraged in his government and wars. He lost all his good qualities. This was the effect of his rejecting God, and an evidence of his being rejected by him. Now God took his mercy from Saul (as it is expressed, Sa2 7:15); for, when the Spirit of the Lord departs from us, all good goes. When men grieve and quench the Spirit, by wilful sin, he departs, and will not always strive. The co…
The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him--His own gloomy reflections, the consciousness that he had not acted up to the character of an Israelitish king, the loss of his throne, and the extinction of his royal house, made him jealous, irritable, vindictive, and subject to fits of morbid melancholy.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 16:14
The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul - He was thrown into such a state of mind by the judgments of God, as to be deprived of any regal qualities which he before possessed. God seems to have taken what gifts he had, and given them to David; and then the evil spirit came upon Saul; for what God fills not, the devil will.
An evil spirit from the Lord - The evil spirit was either immediately sent from the Lord, or permitted to come. Whether this was a diabolic possession, or a mere mental malady, the learned are not agreed; it seems to have partaken of both. That Saul had fallen into a deep melancholy, there is little doubt; that the devil might work more effectually on such a state of mind…
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul,.... As a spirit of prophecy as at first, as a spirit of wisdom and prudence in civil government, and as a spirit of fortitude and courage, as the Targum:
and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him; the reverse of the former, which by the permission of God, and as a punishment to him for his sins, came upon him; he seemed to be a demoniac, as Josephus represents (i) him, as if possessed with the devil; by whom he was almost suffocated and strangled, as well as was distracted in his counsels, and became weak and foolish; lost all courage and greatness of mind, was timorous and fearful, and alarmed by everything, and was full of envy, suspicion…
The Church Fathers
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, etc. As the proclamation of Christ increased, the grace of the Spirit soon deserted the hearts of the faithless Jews, and incited them with impious fury to persecute his name; and this the Lord permitted by just judgment, so that the tested ones might be made manifest in the Church, and the wicked, by their deserving merits, might be plunged further into the depths of their own malice.
Therefore, when a person falls from the Spirit for any wickedness, if he repents after his fall, the grace remains irrevocably to the one who is willing; otherwise he who has fallen is no longer in God (because that Holy Spirit and Paraclete which is in God has deserted him), but this sinner shall be in him to whom he has subjected himself, as took place in Saul's instance; for the Spirit of God departed from him and an evil spirit was afflicting him.
Again, that you may be sure that God curbs the spirit of pride, recall how the good spirit of God departed from Saul and an evil spirit troubled him. Holy Writ says, "And an evil spirit of God troubled him," a spirit from God. Does God, then, have an evil spirit? Not at all. God had withdrawn so that afterwards an evil spirit might trouble Saul. In that sense, the spirit of God is called evil. Finally, holy David, knowing that God could take away the spirit of princes, entreats him, "And do not take your holy spirit from me."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
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.…
Demons · .Saul — .Saul
Devil, The · The wicked: Troubled by — The wicked: Troubled by
Diseases · Often through Satan — Often through Satan
Insanity · .Saul — .Saul
Music · Considered efficacious in mental disorders — Considered efficacious in mental disorders
Reprobacy · .Saul — .Saul
Satan · Evil spirit — Evil spirit
Titles And Names Of The Devil · Evil spirit — Evil spirit
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).
David's Introduction to the Court of Saul. - Sa1 16:14. With the rejection of Saul on the part of God, the Spirit of Jehovah had departed from him, and an evil spirit from Jehovah had come upon him, who filled him with fear and anguish. The "evil spirit from Jehovah" which came into Saul in the place of the Spirit of Jehovah, was not merely an inward feeling of depression at the rejection announced to him, which grew into melancholy, and occasionally broke out in passing fits of insanity, but a higher evil power, which took possession of him, and not only deprived him of his peace of mind, but stirred up the feelings, ideas, imagination, and thoughts of his soul to such an extent that at tim…
Saul’s kingship continued its downward spiral after God’s Spirit departed from him. His reign ended in shame and defeat (ch 31).
16:14 Spirit . . . left Saul: In contrast with David’s receiving the Spirit (see “The Spirit’s Presence” Theme Note). • The Lord sent a tormenting spirit as a consequence of Saul’s disobedience (see also 18:10; 19:9; cp. Judg 9:23; Rom 1:28-29).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 16:13
And a spirit of Adonoy passed over. A spirit of strength.7Targum renders ‘a spirit of prophecy.’
