1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons."
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius · AD 325 The Jews had before been directed to compose a sacred oil, with which those who were called to the priesthood or to the kingdom might be anointed. And as now the robe of purple is a sign of the assumption of royal dignity among the Romans, so with them the anointing with the holy oil conferred the title and power of king.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 22. Now indeed, according to our plan, the book ought to be brought to a close at its end; but it returns to memory that we referred the beginnings of the volume to the conversation of the Redeemer. And since through John our same Redeemer is declared to be the beginning and the end, the book is most fittingly closed if it is completed in the narration of our Redeemer (Rev.
Bede · AD 735 Fill your horn with oil, and come, etc. Leaving behind, he says, the care of the carnal kingdom, embrace rather that dominion, which by the light of the Holy Spirit is ascertained to be most rich, to be hoped for and loved.
2 Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." The Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 5. What is shown by these words, except that the cunning and cruelty of tyrants must sometimes be eluded by pious deception?
Bede · AD 735 And Samuel said: How shall I go? etc. The prophets said to the Lord, and the apostles said: How can we preach the kingdom of the New Testament? For the zealous Jews of the law will hear and kill us. Which of the prophets did they not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of Christ.
3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 6. But now it is better handled if we consider what these things signify spiritually. What does it mean, then, that the prophet takes a calf in his hand, and so arrives to anoint the king? But what is the calf, if not the splendor of the image of the Redeemer?
4 Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 He is sent therefore to Bethlehem, because when Christ is sought according to the flesh, He is found born from the people of the Jews. He came also to Bethlehem, because the order of preachers strove first to convert Judea, and afterward preached the faith of the Redeemer to the Gentiles.
Bede · AD 735 And he came to Bethlehem, etc. When the prophecies about Christ arose in the world from the prophets, those who were more prudent, meeting the same prophets with a devout mind, already deemed their words worthy of a miracle, and with eager intention inquired whether these same oracles of the prophets signaled peace to come to the ages; or if they were going to impose an unbeara…
5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 10. Those who direct their intention toward heavenly things go with the doctors to offer sacrifice. And the prophet sacrifices before those who go, when the doctor binds in the hearts of those present through love what he proclaims by word.
Bede · AD 735 I have come to sacrifice to the Lord, etc. That is, I have come to teach and suffer for the Lord; be baptized and believe with me, so that we may live together in Christ.
6 It happened, when they had come, that he looked at Eliab, and said, "Surely the Lord 's anointed is before him."
Clement of Alexandria · AD 215 They have gone beyond the limits of impropriety. They have invented mirrors to reflect all this artificial beautification of theirs, as if it were nobility of character or self-improvement. They should, rather, conceal such deception with a veil. It did the handsome Narcissus no good to gaze on his own image, as the Greek myth tells us.
Jerome · AD 420 He goes to Bethlehem and considers every son of Jesse to be the very person that the Lord was looking for.… He makes the same mistake in each case, and he is reproved in each case, giving evidence of the weakness of the human mind.
Bede · AD 735 And when they had entered, he saw Eliab, etc. He introduces the sons of Jesse, the first, the second, and the third. Among them, none is found worthy to be anointed: because the Synagogue produced doctors of the law, prophets, and psalmists; but all these are participants, in none of them is the author of human salvation found.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for I see not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 12. Aminadab is interpreted as "urbane." Rightly therefore, by the Lord's deliberate counsel, he is rejected: because the holy church does not choose for the governance of souls one who is vigorous in secular affairs, but one who is distinguished in spiritual conduct.
9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 13. Sama is interpreted as "hearing." What then does Sama designate, except the obedient and simple? For to hear, for them, is to carry out by obeying those things which are commanded by their superiors.
10 Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 14. Because perfection is usually signified by the number seven, the prophet Isaiah testifies, who, declaring the gifts of the Holy Spirit abiding in our Redeemer, says: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him…
Bede · AD 735 Therefore Jesse brought seven of his sons before Samuel, etc. The number seven is fitting to the law because of the sabbath, just as the number eight is fitting to the Gospel because of the mystery of the resurrection.
11 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your children here?" He said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is keeping the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he comes here."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 15. What is the least, if not the rejected? I mean rejected by himself, not by God: because by God one is rejected through pride; but he is rejected by himself who is considered worthless and lowly. Or he is called the least who, in comparison with others, does not appear to be anything.
Bede · AD 735 And Samuel said to Jesse: Are all the children finished? etc. After the teachers of the law, the herald of prophecy, the sweetness of psalmody, and the long devotion of the people had been sent forth into the world, with the people instructed in divine services by the law of Moses, prophets, and psalmists, the incarnation of Christ was still to come in the fullness of time.
12 He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful face, and goodly to look on. The Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 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.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
Cassiodorus · AD 585 So clearly holy David was filled with heavenly inspiration, and not through human actions, the birth of twins, angels, visions, a dream, a cloud and a voice from heaven, or any other way of that kind.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 19. The horn of oil is lifted up, so that the entire life of the pontiff may be shown to be spiritual. The horn of oil is lifted up, so that in that excellent liquid the master of the Church may strive to be a man of great mercy. The head of the king is anointed with oil, because he ought to shine upon the lampstand through the flame of the word.
Bede · AD 735 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, etc. The prophet received the task of proclaiming the glory of the true king, and said: "You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God has anointed you" (Psalm 44). He who was conceived of the Holy Spirit never ceased to have the fullness of that same Spirit from the hour of his conception.
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
Tertullian · AD 220 The devil has power that might be called his own, only over such as no longer belong to God, the heathen whom he considers once for all as a drop in a bucket, as dust on the threshing floor, as spittle in the mouth—and, as such, totally handed over to the devil as a quite useless possession.Otherwise, he may do nothing by his own right, against those who dwell in the house of G…
Athanasius of Alexandria · AD 373 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…
Bede · AD 735 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…
15 Saul's servants said to him, "See now, an evil spirit from God troubles you.
16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. It shall happen, when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play with his hand, and you shall be well."
17 Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me."
Bede · AD 735 Provide for me someone who sings well, etc., Indeed, he said, I know many who are skilled in singing, but provide and bring to me someone who sings well; which is like the Jews agreeing with the words of the apostles, saying, indeed we know many who have been crucified for their sins, but we have recognized that they are of no benefit to themselves or to us.
18 Then one of the young men answered, and said, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a comely person; and the Lord is with him."
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 It is fitting to raise the eyes of faith to the power of this craftsman, and to consider here and there the Fathers of the new and old testament. Behold, with these same eyes of faith opened, I gaze upon David, Amos, Daniel, Peter, Paul, Matthew, and I wish to consider what kind of craftsman this Holy Spirit is, but in my very consideration I fall short.
Bede · AD 735 Behold, I have seen the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, skilled in playing, etc. One of the youths is the unity of the humble of Christ, with one and the same heart and soul agreed.
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep."
Bede · AD 735 Saul therefore sent to Jesse, saying: Send David to me, etc. Newly catechized Jews sent words of their intention as signs to those who had gone before in Christ, saying: Believe in our fellowship of salvation through baptism in Christ, whom we have always learned in our hearts by faith, hope, and charity, to be born, ministering the pastures of eternal life to all the blessed,…
20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.
21 David came to Saul, and stood before him. He loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer.
Bede · AD 735 And David came to Saul, etc. The Lord came to the hearts of the believing Jews through faith and stood before them with the indefatigable desire of that acknowledged and coveted sweetness.
22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me; for he has found favor in my sight."
23 It happened, when the spirit from God was on Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Gregory of Nyssa · AD 395 Once when he came to Saul, who was frenzied and out of his right mind, he healed him by soothing his passions with song, so that Saul's understanding returned to him again in accordance with nature. The goal, then, of the symbolism of the singing is clear from these words.
Cassiodorus · AD 585 The discipline of music incorporates great power and knowledge which brings delight; teachers of secular literature, through the generosity of God who grants all that is useful, have made it possible through theoretical texts to ascertain what was earlier regarded as hidden from view in the nature of the world.
Bede · AD 735 Therefore whenever the evil spirit of God seized Saul, etc. The sense is clear from the preceding, and it is suitable not only to the faithful Jews but also to us.