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1 Samuel 16 · a question people ask

Did Samuel tell a lie in Bethlehem?

In the text

Samuel's fear is plain: "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me" (16:2). The LORD answers, "Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’" (16:2), and "Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do" (16:3). Samuel says the words the LORD gave him. When the elders ask, "Do you come peaceably?" (16:4), he answers, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD" (16:5), and "He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice" (16:5). The chapter doesn't say whether Samuel told the elders or Jesse the rest of why he had come, and it doesn't comment on it. It doesn't say whether Saul heard.

The verses

“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.’ 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.” 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?” 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.”
1 Samuel 16:2-5 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16: The LORD looks at the heart

"I have provided a king for myself" (16:1) is, in Hebrew, I have seen: the verb of "man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (16:7). And "the LORD’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward" (16:13) stands one verse from "Now the LORD’s Spirit departed from Saul" (16:14).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions