1 Samuel Chapter 16    

“If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” This shows the depths of evil to which King Saul had fallen. He never overcame his character faults, and he had now come to the place he was evil and opposed God.

“make yourselves holy.” The people were to do what it took to make themselves holy in the sight of God (cp. Lev. 11:44).

[For more on “make yourselves holy,” see commentary on Joshua 3:5.]

“before him.” This is understood culturally as, “in His presence,” that is, in God’s presence. Samuel saw Eliab and thought that surely because of his kingly characteristics he must be God’s choice for the next king.

“flock.” Though this word is most often used of sheep, it can refer to a flock of sheep and goats.

“with beautiful eyes and of good appearance.” God had just said not to look on the outward appearance, but apparently it can be helpful to have a nice appearance.

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him.” The Bible does not say how old David was when Samuel anointed him, but he was likely in his early teens. He is still called a “youth” when he fought Goliath (1 Sam. 17:33). After Samuel anointed David, David went back to tending sheep, which was natural since he was a shepherd. Then he was called into the service of King Saul (1 Sam. 16:17-23). So David was likely in his mid to late teens when he fought Goliath. The fact that he was still not married supports that as well.

“terrorized​ him.” The Hebrew is baath (#01204 בָּעַת), and in this context, it means “to startle, to cause sudden terror.” It is not as if Saul was in constant terror, but the demon would come upon him and cause him sudden terror. This might be diagnosed as panic attacks today, and no doubt some panic attacks are caused by demons.

“skin-bottle.” A “bottle” or container made from animal skin.

[For more on skin-bottles, which were usually made from the skins of goats, see commentary on 1 Sam. 10:3.]

“and he became his armor-bearer.” It is possible that this is a summary statement that actually occurred later in David’s life. For one thing, the armor-bearer of the king needed to be an excellent fighter because he often carried a shield in front of the king, and also, when David fought Goliath, King Saul was not clear on who he was (1 Sam. 17:56), although it is possible that Saul had been so mentally exhausted from the stress of the war that he was just foggy-headed.

“Let David stand before me.” That is, let David stay and remain in my service.