Proclaimer Blog
Saul’s evil spirit
Much ink is spilt over the evil spirit from the Lord that comes on Saul in 1 Sam 16.14. I came across this little paragraph in David Firth's excellent Apollos commentary and thought it worth repeating:
It should be borne in mind that the OT is seldom concerned with secondary causation, and since Yahweh is Lord of all, the spirit is seen as coming from him. But the narrative still holds Saul responsible for his actions while afflicted (18.10-11, 19.10), so although this statement is absolute, the wider narrative indicates that a more nuanced understanding is necessary. A specific psychological assessment of Saul is not really possible, and this first mention being expressed in terms of its absolute cause discourages the attempt. But we should note that the word usually translated 'evil' or 'grievous' in the OT does not necessarily have a moral force (see Amos 3.6) and this is almost certainly the case here.
Helpful!