Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The people acclaim David for slaying Goliath: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Wherefore Saul, envying him and grieving that David is preferred over himself, plans to kill him. First, by hurling a spear at him, v. 11; second, through the Philistines in the war over which he placed David in command, v. 17; third, at v. 25, through his daughter whom he betrothed to David, demanding from him one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, hoping that he would eventually be killed by them.
Vulgate Text: 1 Kings 18:1-30
1. And it came to pass, when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2. And Saul took him that day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. 3. And David and Jonathan made a covenant; for he loved him as his own soul. 4. For Jonathan stripped himself of the tunic he was wearing and gave it to David, and his other garments, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 5. And David went out wherever Saul sent him, and conducted himself wisely; and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the eyes of all the people, and especially in the sight of Saul's servants. 6. And when David was returning from the slaying of the Philistine, women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines of joy and with cymbals. 7. And the women sang as they played, saying: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8. And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him, and he said: They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom? 9. And Saul did not look at David with a favorable eye from that day onward. 10. And the next day, an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of his house; and David was playing with his hand, as on other days; and Saul held a spear, 11. and hurled it, thinking he could pin David to the wall; but David evaded him twice. 12. And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him and had departed from himself. 13. Saul therefore removed David from his presence and made him a commander over a thousand men; and he went out and came in before the people. 14. And in all his ways David acted wisely, and the Lord was with him. 15. When Saul saw that he was very wise, he began to be wary of him. 16. But all Israel and Judah loved David.
17. And Saul said to David: Behold my elder daughter Merab; I will give her to you as wife. Only be a valiant man, and fight the battles of the Lord. But Saul calculated, saying: Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18. And David said to Saul: Who am I, or what is my life, or the kindred of my father in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king? 19. And it came to pass at the time when Merab, the daughter of Saul, should have been given to David, she was given to Hadriel the Molathite as wife. 20. But Michal, the other daughter of Saul, loved David. And it was told Saul, and it pleased him. 21. And Saul said: I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be upon him. And Saul said to David: In two things you shall be my son-in-law today. 22. And Saul commanded his servants: Speak to David privately, saying: Behold, you please the king, and all his servants love you. Now therefore be the king's son-in-law. 23. And Saul's servants spoke all these words in the ears of David. And David said: Does it seem to you a small thing to be the king's son-in-law? For I am a poor man, and of small account. 24. And the servants of Saul reported, saying: David spoke words of this sort. 25. And Saul said: Thus shall you speak to David: The king has no need of a bride-price, but only a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that vengeance may be taken on the enemies of the king. Now Saul thought to deliver David into the hands of the Philistines. 26. And when his servants reported to David the words that Saul had spoken, the matter pleased David, that he might become the king's son-in-law. 27. And after a few days David arose and went with the men who were under him. And he struck two hundred men of the Philistines, and brought their foreskins and counted them out to the king, that he might be his son-in-law. And so Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife. 28. And Saul saw and understood that the Lord was with David; and Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. 29. And Saul began to fear David even more; and Saul became David's enemy for all time. 30. And the princes of the Philistines went out; and from the beginning of their going out, David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, and his name became exceedingly celebrated.
Verse 1: The Soul of Jonathan Knit to David
THE SOUL OF JONATHAN WAS KNIT WITH THE SOUL OF DAVID -- that is, Jonathan loved David intimately and tenderly, so that his soul seemed fastened by glue and, as it were, compacted into one with the soul of David. For the soul of one who loves is more in the beloved than in the lover, and thus lovers seem to have one and the same soul, mind, and will.
Such were St. Augustine and that friend of his whom he does not name, but describes in Book IV of the Confessions, ch. 6: "For I marveled that other mortals lived, because he whom I had loved as though he would never die was dead; and I marveled even more that I, who was his other self, could live when he was dead. Well did someone say of his friend, 'half of my soul.' For I felt that my soul and his soul were one soul in two bodies."
Such also were St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen. Hear Nazianzen, Oration 20: "One soul seemed to be in both, carrying two bodies."
The cause of their love was the similarity of their characters and affections. Jonathan, just like David, was upright, honest, warlike, and triumphant over the Philistines. Jonathan therefore was very unlike his father Saul; for David's virtue and victory stirred in Saul envy and deadly hatred, but in Jonathan it stirred the greatest love.
Verse 7: Saul Has Slain His Thousands
SAUL HAS STRUCK HIS THOUSANDS, AND DAVID HIS TEN THOUSANDS -- because when David slew Goliath, the entire camp of the Philistines fell. For seeing that Goliath, in whom they had placed all their strength, was slain, they immediately fled, and in fleeing were cut down by the Hebrews pursuing them. This song became a proverb, which we use when we praise two men for distinguished virtue, but prefer one to the other.
Verse 8: Saul's Anger and Envy
AND SAUL WAS EXCEEDINGLY ANGRY -- both at the people for acclaiming thus, and at David for being acclaimed, and he conceived envy and deadly hatred against him. He conjectured that the kingdom must be transferred to David, which Samuel had taken from himself. Therefore, to secure the kingdom for himself and his posterity, he resolved absolutely to kill David as a rival for his kingdom. But the desire for kingship in kings is most ardent; for the kingdom is all their dignity, glory, wealth, and happiness. This was the cause of Saul's monstrous and perpetual hatred of David; and therefore the punishment, companion of guilt, soon followed him. For again the evil spirit invaded him, from which David had freed him through his harp.
But Saul should have been drawn back from this hatred, says St. Chrysostom, in his homily On David and Saul: First, because the people spoke the truth. Second, because they gave Saul a share of the victory. Third, because David was innocent of this outcry. Fourth, there was David's modesty, by which he always showed himself obedient, submissive, and faithful to Saul.
Verse 9: Saul's Envious Eye
SAUL DID NOT LOOK UPON DAVID WITH RIGHT EYES (but with sidelong, bitter, fierce, envious ones) FROM THAT DAY AND THENCEFORTH.
Verse 10: Saul Prophesies Under the Evil Spirit
AND THE NEXT DAY AN EVIL SPIRIT FROM GOD RUSHED UPON SAUL, AND HE PROPHESIED -- in the manner in which demoniacs, epileptics, and madmen are said to prophesy and divine; because they do not speak from themselves, but rather the devil speaks through them. Saul therefore "prophesied," that is, he raged, reveled, did and said insane things.
Morally, learn here that envy is a diabolical crime, and that the envious are possessed and tormented by the devil. For envy belongs properly to the devil; hence "by the envy of the devil, death entered the world" (Wisdom 2).
Verse 11: Saul Hurls His Spear
AND HE CAST IT, THINKING THAT HE COULD PIN DAVID TO THE WALL. See here how envy made Saul ungrateful, fierce, and barbarous toward David, to whom he owed his life and kingdom for slaying Goliath. Hear St. Chrysostom: "Through him the king conquered and obtained sovereignty, and what thanks he repaid! For if anyone considers the greatness of the noble deeds performed, even if the king had taken the crown from his own head and placed it on David's, he would never have repaid an equal favor."
Allegorically, just as David was targeted by Saul's spear, so Christ on the cross was targeted by the soldier's lance; but David fled unharmed, while Christ, pierced through, proceeded to His kingdom.
This is the first persecution of Saul against David. Rupert enumerates seven persecutions in all, and shows that God turned each persecution to David's good. He further shows that these seven persecutions of David represented the seven persecutions that the Devil raised against Christ.
See here the malice and cunning of Saul's envy, which always slides into worse things; for through disobedience he fell into sadness, through sadness into envy, through envy into implacable hatred of David, through hatred into abandonment by God and despair, thence into sorcery, consulting the devil through the witch of Endor; thence into self-destruction.
Verse 13: David Made Commander
AND HE MADE HIM A COMMANDER OVER A THOUSAND MEN -- he made him a chiliarch. Saul did this both to shift the burden of war onto David, and to expose him to the enemy to be killed, as is clear from verse 17.
AND HE WENT OUT AND CAME IN BEFORE THE PEOPLE -- that is, David was everywhere present to the people, as a leader preceding them into battle and leading them home victorious.
Verse 14: David's Prudence and God's Favor
AND IN ALL HIS WAYS DAVID BEHAVED PRUDENTLY -- taking care not to offend Saul, and at the same time not to fall into the hands of enemies, but to win victory over them.
AND THE LORD WAS WITH HIM -- directing all his actions and endeavors, making them prosper, and bringing them to a happy outcome.
Verse 17: The Promise of Merab
BEHOLD MY ELDER DAUGHTER MERAB -- I WILL GIVE HER TO YOU AS WIFE. Saul promised her to David, but did not fulfill the promise, either because he promised deceitfully, or because he regretted it; for he feared that through a royal daughter, David might advance to the kingdom.
BUT SAUL CALCULATED, SAYING: LET NOT MY HAND BE UPON HIM, BUT LET THE HAND OF THE PHILISTINES BE UPON HIM -- so that by continually fighting against them he might eventually be killed, just as the best generals perish fighting in war.
Verse 18: David's Humility Before the King
AND DAVID SAID: WHO AM I, OR WHAT IS MY LIFE, etc., THAT I SHOULD BECOME THE SON-IN-LAW OF THE KING? -- David's wonderful humility shines forth here: for though he had already been anointed king after Saul's rejection, had struck down Goliath, was a commander in battle, and was continually triumphing over the Philistines, he nevertheless considers himself unworthy of marriage to Saul's daughter, to become his son-in-law. Indeed, he contends with his own humility against the pride and envy of Saul, to break and overcome it, and especially to extract from him that sting of the people's acclamation: "Saul has struck his thousands, and David his ten thousands" -- as if saying to Saul: My lord the king, there is no reason for this cry of the imprudent crowd to move you; for it so little moves or exalts me that I consider myself the least of your servants, and unworthy to become your son-in-law.
Hear St. Chrysostom, in his homily on these words of David: Who am I? "Who am I, my lord, that I should have found such grace before your face? For I was the least in my tribe, and you chose me from the sheep and took me up. See how he joined innocence to humility, so that though he was a man, he said: you chose me from the sheep. He showed that this kind of livestock is innocent; for he signified that good shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep; that Lamb of God who was to come to take away the sin of the world. Chosen therefore from the sheep to show the shepherd and not deny innocence, he says: For I was the least in my tribe. How sweet, how pleasant to hear this true confession, that he said he was the least in his tribe; he did not blush at what he was, so that he might become what he was not. His confession brought him not sin, but glory and mercy."
He then adds that David here bore the type of Christ: "What he said -- I was the least in my tribe -- signified the perfect humility of the Lord coming into the world, who wished to assume the form not of a free man, but of a servant. What is humbler than a servant? Yet the Lord deigned to be this, so that from servants He might make free men, so that His servitude might bestow on us freedom. This is what was signified by: I was the least in my tribe. Come now, raise your minds, O chosen race, and do not be lazy or proud."
Verse 21: In Two Things You Shall Be My Son-in-Law
AND SAUL SAID TO DAVID: IN TWO THINGS YOU SHALL BE MY SON-IN-LAW TODAY. These two things are: the first, the slaying of Goliath; the second, a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. So Angelomus, Sanchez, and others.
Verse 25: A Hundred Foreskins
THE KING HAS NO NEED OF A BRIDE-PRICE, BUT ONLY A HUNDRED FORESKINS OF THE PHILISTINES. Why did Saul demand foreskins rather than heads? Lest David bring the heads of Hebrews, pretending they were Philistines. For the Hebrews had had their foreskins removed in circumcision; therefore foreskins could only come from uncircumcised Philistines. So Theodoret and Procopius.
Moreover, these nuptials and this condition were treacherous. For Saul demanded these hundred foreskins so that David, fighting against a hundred Philistines, might be killed by one of them. But God, favoring David, thwarted both plans: David killed two hundred Philistines with great fortitude and glory, and Michal loved David more than Saul, and snatched him from Saul's hands, as we shall hear in the next chapter.
Verse 27: David Slays Two Hundred Philistines
AND HE STRUCK (killed) TWO HUNDRED MEN OF THE PHILISTINES -- so that he might offer their two hundred foreskins to Saul. Saul had asked for only a hundred; but David offered two hundred, to show Saul his liberality and generosity.
Verse 30: The Princes of the Philistines
AND THE PRINCES OF THE PHILISTINES WENT OUT -- to fight against the Hebrews, from their ancient and innate hostility, and also because they wished to wipe out the disgrace of Goliath's death. A more recent cause was that David had killed two hundred of them and offered their foreskins to Saul -- which they considered a great shame. David as a generous chiliarch went out to meet them, and in all his ways conducted himself wisely, so that his name became very precious, and all Israel and Judah loved him.