1 Samuel 18

ARC · Chapter 18/31

1E succedeu que, acabando elle de fallar com Saul, a alma de Jonathan se ligou com a alma de David: e Jonathan o amou, como á sua propria alma.

2E Saul n'aquelle dia o tomou, e não lhe permittiu que tornasse para casa de seu pae.

3E Jonathan e David fizeram alliança: porque Jonathan o amava como á sua propria alma.

4E Jonathan se despojou da capa que trazia sobre si, e a deu a David, como tambem os seus vestidos, até a sua espada, e o seu arco, e o seu cinto.

5E sahia David aonde quer que Saul o enviava, e conduzia-se com prudencia, e Saul o poz sobre a gente de guerra: e era acceito aos olhos de todo o povo, e até aos olhos dos servos de Saul.

6Succedeu porém que, vindo elles, quando David voltava de ferir os philisteos, as mulheres de todas as cidades de Israel sairam ao encontro do rei Saul, cantando, e em danças, com adufes, com alegria, e com instrumentos de musica.

7E as mulheres tangendo, se respondiam umas ás outras, e diziam: Saul feriu os seus milhares, porém David os seus dez milhares.

8Então Saul se indignou muito, e aquella palavra pareceu mal aos seus olhos, e disse: Dez milhares deram a David, e a mim sómente milhares; na verdade, que lhe falta, senão só o reino?

9E, desde aquelle dia em diante, Saul tinha David em suspeita.

10E aconteceu ao outro dia, que o mau espirito da parte de Deus se apoderou de Saul, e prophetizava no meio da casa: e David tangia com a sua mão, como de dia em dia: Saul porém tinha na mão uma lança.

11E Saul atirou com a lança, dizendo: Encravarei a David na parede. Porém David se desviou d'elle por duas vezes.

12E temia Saul a David, porque o Senhor era com elle e se tinha retirado de Saul.

13Pelo que Saul o desviou de si, e o poz por chefe de mil: e sahia e entrava diante do povo.

14E David se conduzia com prudencia em todos os seus caminhos, e o Senhor era com elle.

15Vendo então Saul que tão prudentemente se conduzia, tinha receio d'elle.

16Porém todo o Israel e Judah amava a David, porquanto sahia e entrava diante d'elles.

17Pelo que Saul disse a David: Eis que Merab, minha filha mais velha, te darei por mulher; sê-me somente filho valoroso, e guerreia as guerras do Senhor (porque Saul dizia comsigo: Não seja contra elle a minha mão, mas sim a dos philisteos).

18Mas David disse a Saul: Quem sou eu, e qual é a minha vida e a familia de meu pae em Israel, para vir a ser genro do rei?

19Succedeu, porém, que ao tempo que Merab, filha de Saul, devia ser dada a David, ella foi dada por mulher a Adriel, meholathita.

20Mas Michal, a outra filha de Saul amava a David: o que, sendo annunciado a Saul, pareceu isto bom aos seus olhos.

21E Saul disse: Eu lh'a darei, para que lhe sirva de laço, e para que a mão dos philisteos venha a ser contra elle. Pelo que Saul disse a David: Com a outra serás hoje meu genro.

22E Saul deu ordem aos seus servos: Fallae em segredo a David, dizendo: Eis que o rei te está mui affeiçoado, e todos os seus servos te amam; agora, pois, consente em ser genro do rei.

23E os servos de Saul fallaram todas estas palavras aos ouvidos de David. Então disse David: Parece-vos pouco aos vossos olhos ser genro do rei, sendo eu homem pobre e desprezivel?

24E os servos de Saul lhe annunciaram isto, dizendo: Foram taes as palavras que fallou David.

25Então disse Saul: Assim direis a David: O rei não tem necessidade de dote, senão de cem prepucios de philisteos, para se tomar vingança dos inimigos do rei. Porquanto Saul tentava fazer cair a David pela mão dos philisteos.

26E annunciaram os seus servos estas palavras a David, e este negocio pareceu bem aos olhos de David, de que fosse genro do rei: porém ainda os dias se não haviam cumprido.

27Então David se levantou, e partiu elle com os seus homens, e feriram d'entre os philisteos duzentos homens, e David trouxe os seus prepucios, e os entregaram todos ao rei, para que fosse genro do rei: então Saul lhe deu por mulher a sua filha.

28E viu Saul, e notou que o Senhor era com David: e Michal, filha de Saul, o amava.

29Então Saul temeu muito mais a David: e Saul foi todos os seus dias inimigo de David.

30E, saindo os principes dos philisteos, succedeu que, saindo elles, David se conduziu mais prudentemente do que todos os servos de Saul: portanto o seu nome era mui estimado.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jonathan and David form a deep bond of friendship. David's success in battle stirs growing jealousy and hatred in Saul, who tries to kill him directly and then plots his death through marriage to his daughter Michal.

Explanation

The friendship between Jonathan and David, described with the intensity of 'the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David,' is remarkable because Jonathan, the natural heir to the throne, chooses to support the man God would choose in his place, showing a rare example of loyalty free of dynastic jealousy. The women's song — 'Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands' — ignites Saul's destructive jealousy, and from that moment on he sees David not as a valuable ally but as an existential threat to his own reign and legacy. Saul's plan to use marriage to his daughter Michal as a strategy to expose David to greater danger at the hands of the Philistines reveals how jealousy can corrupt even family relationships, turning a marital alliance into a calculated political weapon.

Fun facts

  • The demand for a hundred Philistine foreskins as a 'dowry' to marry Michal (v.25) was a gruesome but historically plausible proof of war, used to confirm the deaths of uncircumcised enemies in battle.
  • Saul's jealousy, expressed in the words 'what can he have more but the kingdom?' (v.8), shows that he already instinctively recognized, even before any concrete threat from David, that he had lost God's favor to another.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 18:1The friendship between Jonathan and David is born the very instant David finishes speaking with Saul — an instant, intense bond that becomes one of the most striking relationships in the whole Bible.
  2. 1 Samuel 18:2Saul brings David permanently into the court from this moment on — what had been occasional service as armor-bearer in chapter 16 now becomes permanent.
  3. 1 Samuel 18:3Making a formal “covenant” between the two, not just an informal friendship, was a solemn commitment with lasting implications — this covenant will be recalled and renewed more than once in the chapters ahead.
  4. 1 Samuel 18:4Handing over his own robe, weapon, and belt, symbols of his position as crown prince, is a gesture loaded with meaning: Jonathan is, in effect, transferring to David the very insignia that marked the heir to the throne.
  5. 1 Samuel 18:5David’s rapid rise, from personal armor-bearer to military commander, shows both his competence and the initial trust Saul still placed in him before the jealousy began.
  6. 1 Samuel 18:6Popular celebration, with spontaneous music and dancing, was the traditional way of marking military victories in Israel — but the disproportionate enthusiasm for David will cause the problem in the next verse.
  7. 1 Samuel 18:7The song directly compares the two men, and the simple math — ten times more for David — is exactly the kind of public comparison no insecure king would want to hear about a subordinate.
  8. 1 Samuel 18:8Saul’s reaction reveals the real fear behind the jealousy: he already sees David as a potential political rival, not just a popular military hero.
  9. 1 Samuel 18:9This is the explicit turning point in the relationship: from here on, everything David does will be seen by Saul through the lens of suspicion.
  10. 1 Samuel 18:10The scene repeats the pattern from chapter 16, music calming the evil spirit, but now with a weapon in Saul’s hand — the same remedy that once brought relief now becomes the setting for danger.
  11. 1 Samuel 18:11This is the first direct attempt on David’s life — and the fact it happens twice suggests it was not an isolated burst of anger, but a pattern that would repeat.
  12. 1 Samuel 18:12Saul’s fear is not only of losing popularity, but of recognizing, even without openly admitting it, that God’s presence had shifted from one man to the other.
  13. 1 Samuel 18:13Removing David from personal closeness, while giving him a military command, was Saul’s way of trying to get rid of the direct threat without losing David’s military value to the kingdom.
  14. 1 Samuel 18:14The phrase “the Lord was with him,” used again here after verse 12, keeps reinforcing the constant contrast between David’s success and Saul’s spiritual decline.
  15. 1 Samuel 18:15Paradoxically, the better David did at everything, the more afraid Saul became — someone else’s success, instead of reassuring him, only fed the king’s paranoia further.
  16. 1 Samuel 18:16David’s popularity among the common people contrasts more and more with the growing rejection he faces inside the palace itself.
  17. 1 Samuel 18:17Saul uses marriage as a trap disguised as an honor: by sending David into more wars, he secretly hoped the Philistines themselves would do the dirty work of eliminating him.
  18. 1 Samuel 18:18David’s humble response about his modest origins echoes Saul’s own reaction to being chosen king back in chapter 9 — an initial humility that marks both men before power changes each of them in different ways.
  19. 1 Samuel 18:19Saul breaks his own promise, giving Merab to another man — one more maneuver that leaves David without the promised reward, despite having done his part in the wars.
  20. 1 Samuel 18:20Unlike with Merab, it is now Michal’s own feelings for David that open a new opportunity — and Saul, always calculating, already sees how to turn the situation to his advantage.
  21. 1 Samuel 18:21“That she may be a snare to him” openly reveals Saul’s intention: to use Michal’s very marriage as bait to expose David to more military danger, a trap disguised as generosity.
  22. 1 Samuel 18:22Using go-betweens to quietly pressure David, instead of speaking directly, shows Saul’s careful manipulation as he tries to look kind while setting another trap.
  23. 1 Samuel 18:23David’s response shows genuine hesitation, not strategy: he lacks the financial means to pay the dowry expected of a royal son-in-law, a practical detail that opens the door to Saul’s next demand.
  24. 1 Samuel 18:24Reporting David’s answer back gives Saul exactly the information he needed to formulate the cruel demand of the next verse.
  25. 1 Samuel 18:25Asking for a hundred Philistine foreskins as the bride price was at once a dowry (the suitor paid something to the bride’s father) and a proof of war: Saul wanted a number that could only be gotten by killing enemies in hand-to-hand combat, hoping David would die trying.
  26. 1 Samuel 18:26David accepts the offer despite the obvious risk of the mission Saul demanded — the note that “the days were not expired” suggests a set deadline for completing the task.
  27. 1 Samuel 18:27David delivers two hundred foreskins, double what was asked — exceeding the agreed price was a way of making clear he had not just survived the trap but had beaten it with room to spare.
  28. 1 Samuel 18:28Despite every attempt to eliminate him, Saul keeps witnessing firsthand the two things that troubled him most: God’s favor on David and his own family’s growing affection for him.
  29. 1 Samuel 18:29This verse marks the definitive turning point: from here on, Saul’s hostility stops being a passing episode and becomes a permanent condition for the rest of his reign.
  30. 1 Samuel 18:30Even surrounded by danger inside the palace itself, David keeps standing out in every new military campaign — his public success grows in step with Saul’s private hostility.

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