1 Samuel 18:20 Kommentar

In the course of the foregoing chapter we left David in triumph; now in this chapter we have, I. The improvement of his triumphs; he soon became, 1. Saul's constant attendant (Sa1 18:2). 2. Jonathan's covenant friend (Sa1 18:1, Sa1 18:3, Sa1 18:4). 3. The darling of his country (Sa1 18:5, Sa1 18:7, Sa1 18:16). II. The allays of his triumphs. This is the vanity that accompanies even a right work, that "for it a man is envied," Ecc 4:4. So David was by Saul. 1. He hated him, and sought to kill him himself (Sa1 18:8-11). 2. He feared him, and contrived how he might have some mischief done him (Sa1 18:12-17). He proposed to marry his daughter to him; but, [1.] cheated him of the eldest to provoke him (Sa1 18:19), and, [2.] Gave him the younger, upon conditions which would endanger his life (Sa1 18:20-25). But David performed his conditions bravely (Sa1 18:26, Sa1 18:27), and grew to be more and more esteemed (Sa1 18:28-30). Still David is rising, but (as all that aim at the crown of life must expect) he had a great deal of difficulty and opposition to grapple with.

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 18 This chapter gives an account of the respect shown to David by Saul and Jonathan, by the servants of Saul, and all the people, and of what was said in his praise in the songs of the women, Sa1 18:1; which latter gave Saul a great offence, and upon which he envied him, and eyed him, and indeed sought his life, and removed him from him; and yet still he continued the darling of the people, behaving wisely among them, which greatly embarrassed Saul, that be knew not what to do, Sa1 18:8; he proposed his eldest daughter to him in marriage, which he had a claim to by killing the Philistine, and then he cheated him by giving her to another, Sa1 18:17; and then he offered his youngest daughter to him, on condition that he would bring him an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, execution of which he thought his life would be exposed to danger, which yet he performed, Sa1 18:20; and having the affection of his wife, and the good esteem of the servants of Saul, Saul was more afraid of him, and became his enemy, Sa1 18:28.

And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him,.... The cause and occasion of his fall and ruin, by means of what he should propose to him as the condition of marriage; but instead of proving a snare to him, as he hoped, she was the means of his deliverance, when Saul sent messengers to slay him, Sa1 19:11, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him; provoked by what he should put him upon doing to them. The scheme he had in his head after appears, and what he now said was not openly said before his servants and courtiers, whom he did not trust with his secrets, but this he said within himself, conceived and contrived it in his own mind: wherefore Saul said to David; who was as yet at court, or whom he sent for on this occasion: thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain; by marrying one of his two daughters; signifying, that he would not defer the marriage, or put it off to a longer time, as he had done before, but that he should be married immediately to one or other of his daughters; and seeing he could not have the eldest, she being disposed of, he should have the youngest, and so be equally his son-in-law. If we read the words without the supplement, "shalt be my son-in-law in the two", or in both, the sense is, that he should have them both; and so the Jews say (w), that he married them both, first Merab, and after her death Michal; or that he should be his son-in-law on two accounts, one by betrothing Merab, though he was not married to her, and the other by being married to Michal, so that he would be doubly his son in law; but the sense, according to the supplement, is best. (w) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 2.

And it was reported to Saul, and it pleased him, etc. The envious leaders of the Jews, recognizing that the crowd loved the Lord and flocked with diligent intention to hear Him, which they detested in other matters, began to be pleased in this one part, thinking that they could reprimand Him by frequently teaching in words and catching something from His mouth, so they might accuse Him and deliver Him to the nations to be killed; even thinking that God’s wisdom is subject to that sentence: In the multitude of words, you shall not escape sin (Prov. X). And they said: Let us permit Him to teach, that it may be a stumbling block to Him, and we be innocent of His blood: let the hand of the Romans be upon Him, as we accuse Him of undermining our nation, forbidding tributes to be given to Caesar, and declaring Himself to be Christ.

Why did Saul seek to apprehend and kill David whom he had formerly honored as himself and greatly loved as a benefactor? Was it by nature or out of an evil will? Obviously it was out of ill will. No one is born evil by nature, since God did not create evil works but things that were very good. Or, rather, he did so since he is good, and that not by disposition and choice but in nature and in truth.

Jonathan and David commence a lasting friendship; and David acts prudently with respect to Saul, Sa1 18:1-5. Saul becomes jealous of David, on account of the esteem in which he is held in Israel; and, in his fury endeavors to destroy him, Sa1 18:6-12. David is made captain over a thousand; and the people love and respect him, Sa1 18:13-16. Saul, in order to ensnare him, offers him his daughter in marriage, Sa1 18:17-24; and requires a hundred foreskins of the Philistines for dowry; hoping that, in endeavoring to procure them, David might fall by the hands of the Philistines, Sa1 18:25. David agrees to the conditions, fulfils them, and has Michal to wife, Sa1 18:26-30.

JONATHAN LOVES DAVID. (Sa1 18:1-4) the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David--They were nearly of an age. The prince had taken little interest in David as a minstrel; but his heroism and modest, manly bearing, his piety and high endowments, kindled the flame not of admiration only, but of affection, in the congenial mind of Jonathan.

Michal Saul's daughter loved David--This must have happened some time after. they told Saul, and the thing pleased him--Not from any favor to David, but he saw that it would be turned to the advancement of his malicious purposes, and the more so when, by the artful intrigues and flattery of his spies, the loyal sentiments of David were discovered.

The bond of friendship which Jonathan formed with David was so evidently the main point, that in Sa1 18:1 the writer commences with the love of Jonathan to David, and then after that proceeds in Sa1 18:2 to observe that Saul took David to himself from that day forward; whereas it is very evident that Saul told David, either at the time of his conversation with him or immediately afterwards, that he was henceforth to remain with him, i.e., in his service. "The soul of Jonathan bound itself (lit. chained itself; cf. Gen 44:30) to David's soul, and Jonathan loved him as his soul." The Chethibh ויּאהבו with the suffix ו attached to the imperfect is very rare, and hence the Keri ויּאהבהוּ (vid., Ewald, 249, b., and Olshausen, Gramm. p. 469). לשׁוּב, to return to his house, viz., to engage in his former occupation as shepherd.