Saul’s First Plot Against David
1 Samuel 18:10–16
Paul J. Bucknell
Saul’s jealousy did not remain an inward emotion. It became premeditated deception, attempted murder, fear, and paranoia.
Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul’s hand. And Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from his presence twice (1 Samuel 18:10-11).
This is the first of many plots to kill David. We should connect verses 18:8-9 with 10. “On the next day” shows that Saul’s conclusions were driven by jealousy and intense hatred. Something important happened that day when he became very angry over the kind words the people had for David. Bitterness and anger made the evil spirit more influential, leading to evil thoughts and actions.
There are different interpretations of what actually happened in 18:10-11. Some translations, like the NASB, use ‘rave’ instead of ‘prophesy’ because it’s not entirely clear what occurred. The evil spirit apparently entered at some point and was linked to Saul’s plotting (similar to Judas Iscariot) and the throwing of the spear. However, David soothed Saul ‘as usual’ by playing his musical instrument (see 1 Samuel 16:23).
Saul allowed himself to be more influenced by the evil spirit, and it only led to more delusion and scheming.
Interpretations of 1 Samuel 18:10 and Saul’s Prophecy
So what happened at 18:10? There are several difficult issues when interpreting this passage. Some try to resolve the inconsistency by using the word ‘rave' instead of ‘prophesy.' ‘Prophesy' often indicates that it is the Holy Spirit speaking, especially when David was playing the calming lyre. However, what Saul did was undoubtedly not from the Holy Spirit.
Some translate prophecy as a rave. The word ‘to prophesy’ is based on speaking or telling. We do not deny that a prophet might sometimes rave, meaning ‘to speak very angrily or madly,’ but this is not the main issue. Prophets can speak this way, but using it this way strips the word of its divine, revelatory meaning. Why not just translate it as prophecy? There are no extra words showing anger next to the word prophecy. The verb to prophesy is sometimes used by false prophets. When translated simply as ‘rave,’ the sense of prophecy and the Spirit’s influence is lost.
The NASB version ‘raved’ is not accurate. The word means to prophesy (abn) as the KJV and NIV have. This Hebrew word for prophesy simply means to prophesy, rather than rave, which Keil-Delitzsch supports (p. 190). The NASB uses ‘raved’ because of the connection with the evil spirit that influenced King Saul and the attempted murder (allowing context to determine meaning). On the other hand, using ‘prophesy’ does not make sense because the Holy Spirit did not cause this attempted murder. Let us look at two possible scenarios.
- Saul was often affected by David’s playing, causing the Spirit of God to come upon him. Note the phrase ‘as usual.’ David was not surprised when Saul prophesied as a result of his music. Saul was a prophet and had prophesied before, so we can assume this was a regular occurrence. However, this time was different. It’s possible that the Holy Spirit began to speak through Saul as it did at other times (19:23-24), but then, during a break, the evil spirit entered with its insidious suggestions.
- Another suggestion is that the word prophesy means that the evil spirit helped Saul stage this scene. Sometimes, the word to prophesy does suggest false prophecy, apparently through an evil spirit. In this interpretation, the evil spirit sponsored the entire evil plot rather than just coming in at some point. This would make the end result more consistent. However, the phrase ‘as usual’ seems to prevent us from accepting this conclusion. David certainly did not regularly play while the evil spirit filled Saul. It was the other way around!
In prophetic times, the prophet was often told to pick up an object, such as a spear, and pretend to throw it at his enemies. This act was a symbol of God’s plan to defeat Israel’s foes. In one instance, Saul noticed he had a spear in his hand. He could feign prophesying and then 'accidentally’ throw the javelin (a wood spear with a metal tip) at David. He could then blame the prophetic event, of which he had little control, claiming, "And ‘Whoops, the spear fell out of my hand!” In reality, the evil spirit was the one truly controlling him. The text clearly states that the influence of the evil spirit was upon him. Meanwhile, the Lord protected David.
Saul actually thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” This was premeditated. Saul went from jealousy and anger to attempted murder. It would have been murder if God had not watched over David. This happened twice. From this, we can conclude that Saul deceived David enough for him to see it as an accident. Keil-Delitzsch suggests that Saul may have swung his javelin two times around at that one point. It seems that two events took place here rather than just one, though maybe within 1-3 days.
Saul’s Fear and jealousy increased (18:12-16)
Now Saul was afraid of David, for the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David was prospering in all his ways for the LORD was with him. When Saul saw that he was prospering greatly, he dreaded him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, and he went out and came in before them (1 Samuel 18:12-16).
One might think that David would fear Saul, but it was Saul who was afraid of David.
The reason given for Saul’s fear is that the Lord was with David but no longer with Saul. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what was happening. Saul probably felt similar to a backsliding believer—no longer sensing God’s presence. Everything he did was overshadowed by fears, jealousies, and anxieties. Today, we might call this paranoia. Paranoia is a constant fear that others are plotting against you. Meanwhile, David had everything working in his favor. He was at peace enough to believe that Saul’s first ‘spear throwing’ was just an accident.
Saul realized this plan would no longer work and simply tried to calm his mind by removing David from his presence (18:13). He might have also used this opportunity to cover up his twice mistake. At the same time, he probably thought that by making David a commander of a thousand men, he might be killed in battle. Saul no longer wanted David to serve as his lyre player and armor bearer (1 Samuel 16:23).
Earlier, David would have appeared before the people because he was associated with Saul, but now David was on his own. The people, however, really liked him. They rallied for him when he went out to battle and were glad to hear of his victorious reports. David acted wisely and was blessed by the Lord.
Both 18:13 and 16 describe how David went back and forth in battle before the people. This would be the main event of each major battle. Clearly, news of his victories even spread to Israel in the north, as the people there also started to love David.