1. Samuel 18:18 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.

But it came to pass, at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David,.... Either when the giving of her to him was talked of, or when the time fixed for her marriage was come: that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite to wife: Saul either having in reality never designed she should be given to David, only proposed it to please the people, or to affront David, and expose him to shame and confusion by the step he meant to take, or however he soon changed his mind; though Abarbinel's notion is, that the young lady had disposed of herself to this person without her father's knowledge, which seems not likely; the person she was given to was the son of Barzillai the Meholathite, Sa2 21:8; and some have observed, as the curse of God on this match, that all her sons were delivered to the Gibeonites, and hanged up, as related in the same place; for though these sons are said to be brought up by Michal, they were bore by Merab to him.

David said to Saul: Who am I? etc. He does not confess himself unworthy to become the king's son-in-law, but he proposes to make it known and remembered by the same king, who he is, what his life is, what the lineage of his father is in Israel; and from this it is to be inferred whether he is worthy to receive the daughter. He himself is strong in hand, accomplished in act, and desirable in appearance: he feeds his father's sheep, and in caring for them, faces lions and bears to kill them, and also for the salvation of his people, goes out to give his life to danger against the giant armed with bronze and iron. The lineage of his father in Israel is that to which the same Israel blessed, saying among other things: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs (Gen. XLIX). This in the same order can be interpreted of the Lord, because he did not deny himself worthy, who would join to himself the people generated by the royal descent through the teaching of the law, in the bond of unanimous peace and charity, concerning whom his herald proclaimed: The one who has the bride is the bridegroom (John III). But also for those coming to his faith, it must be asked who he is, what his life is, what the lineage of his father is in Israel; and from this it is to be understood that he, indeed he alone, is worthy to unite the Church of the faithful to himself by the right of a bridegroom. He himself is the one about whom John writes: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John I), and others, up to what he says: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. His life is, of which he himself speaks: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself (John V). His life is such that the apostle Peter, urging his listeners to imitate it, says: He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, and others (I Pet. II). The lineage of his Father in Israel is that of which: The Lord swore to David a truth, and he will not turn from it: Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne (Psalm. CXXXI). The lineage of his Father, of which he himself testifies: For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother (Matt. VII). Therefore, the Lord did not refuse to be the bridegroom of the Church, that is, Christ; but it is to be sought and understood that he is. Finally, he teaches the Pharisees with the testimony of the proposed Psalm, how the Christ can be both the son and the lord of David, questioning, not denying that he is Christ, but rather arousing them to ask, seek, and knock for the recognition of the truth. And elsewhere he responds to the scribe who called him good teacher, and asked about doing good: Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone (Mark X); not meaning there that he is not good, but implying that he is to be believed as God.

As [David] looks on the greatness of God’s lovingkindness, he is struck with amazement. He considers himself with all his soul to be unworthy of the vision of such goodness and does not wish to look closely at them or fully understand them. He is constrained by trembling, fear and reverence to cry, “Who am I, Lord, and what is my father’s house, that you should reveal such mysteries to me, unworthy as I am, and have wondrously made me not only to have a vision of such good things, but even to participate and share in them!”

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.

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.