1 Samuel 18:5

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
David	דָוִ֜ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
out	וַיֵּצֵ֨א vai.ye.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul	שָׁאוּל֙ sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
sent	יִשְׁלָחֶ֤נּוּ yish.la.Che.nu	H7971	to send away · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wisely	יַשְׂכִּ֔יל yas.Kil	H7919	to be (causatively · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul	שָׁא֔וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
set	וַיְשִׂמֵ֣הוּ vay.si.Me.hu	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
men	אַנְשֵׁ֣י 'an.Shei	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural construct
war	הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה ha.mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
accepted	וַיִּיטַב֙ vai.yi.Tav	H3190	to be (causative) make well · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sight	בְּעֵינֵ֣י be.'ei.Nei	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
people	הָעָ֔ם ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sight	בְּעֵינֵ֖י be.'ei.Nei	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
Saul’s	שָׁאֽוּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
servants	עַבְדֵ֥י 'av.Dei	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine plural construct

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

1 Samuel 18:30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all…
1 Samuel 18:14-15 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Acts 7:10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor…
Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
1 Samuel 13:2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with…
Psalms 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and…
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 18:1-5

David was anointed to the crown to take it out of Saul's hand, and over Jonathan's head, and yet here we find, I. That Saul, who was now in possession of the crown, reposed a confidence in him, God so ordering it, that he might by his preferment at court be prepared for future service. Saul now took David home with him, and would not suffer him to return again to his retirement, Sa1 18:2. And David having signalized himself above the men of war, in taking up the challenge which they declined, Saul set him over the men of war (Sa1 18:5), not that he made him general (Abner was in that post), but perhaps captain of the life-guard; or, though he was youngest, he ordered him to have the preceden…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 18:4

Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David--To receive any part of the dress which had been worn by a sovereign, or his eldest son and heir, is deemed, in the East, the highest honor which can be conferred on a subject (see on Est 6:8). The girdle, being connected with the sword and the bow, may be considered as being part of the military dress, and great value is attached to it in the East.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 18:5

Set him over the men of war - Made him generalissimo; or what we would call field marshal.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 18:5

And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him,.... About any business whatsoever, especially about martial affairs, for which he was abundantly qualified: and behaved himself wisely; in the management of them, using great prudence and discretion, and so failed not of success, and of recommending himself; the Targum renders it "prospering"; he was prosperous and successful in whatsoever he engaged, for the Lord was with him, and blessed him: and Saul set him over the men of war; that is, of some of them, gave him the command of a troop; for Abner was captain or general of the army, and continued so: and he was accepted in the sight of all the people; of all the people in the land in gener…

The Church Fathers

And he was accepted in the eyes of all the people, etc. The Lord was accepted by all who had those eyes, of which He Himself speaks: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see (Matthew XIII). Especially in the pure heart of the apostles, who by a special providence were commanded to serve by preaching the salvation of the Jews. For whomever the Lord was not accepted by, such are not to be considered as having open eyes; but to be of those of whom it is said: Leave them alone, they are blind guides of the blind (Matthew XV).
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

And David went out to all, etc. Whether the people of the Jews wished to believe in Christ or to oppose Him, whether to make Him king or to crucify Him, He, coeternal with the Father's wisdom, always acted prudently, both by greatly rewarding the pious and by patiently enduring the impious. And the same people placed Him over the men of spiritual war, in some namely by believing and confessing that He alone helps those fighting for the salvation of souls to be able to conquer. In others, however, by exclaiming that He was guilty of death, by which death, finally accepted according to the will of the impious, having overcome the author of death, He grants us too the example of waging war and triumphing together with Him.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

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.…
Prudence · .David, in his conduct toward Saul — .David, in his conduct toward Saul

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).

1 Samuel 18:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 18:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 18:4

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 18:5

John Gill on 1 Samuel 18:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 18:5

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 18:1-5

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 18:4

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 18:5

John Gill on 1 Samuel 18:5

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 18:5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 18:3-4