The Role Of Eliab In Anchor Bible

When Saul was rejected from being the King of Israel by God because of his disobedience, Samuel followed God’s command to anoint a new king for Israel from the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite. Samuel made the judgement of the future king based on his appearance and statue, and thought that Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse, would be the king. However, God told Samuel that God did not see as the man sees. Here comes the proverb from 1 Samuel 16:7 “man looks into the eyes, but LORD looks into the heart”. Hertzberg and Brueggemann agreed with God’s rejection of Eliab because God looks the “right heart” of a person instead of outside looking. Nevertheless, Miscall thought that this proverb might make sense theologically, but it was “feint of the text, an already withdrawn offer of reliable ad significant truth”. The main reason Miscall disagree with this proverb is because, in 1 Samuel 16, God does not explain the reason why Eliab is rejected. What David’s and Eliab’s hearts are like does not mention in this chapter as well. Though in Anchor Bible Commentary, it says that Eliab’s good looking and strong statues remind us, as well as Samuel, that “he is something of a …show more content…
Samuel made the judgment based on man’s seeing. He found the similar appearance between Saul and Eliab, and interpreted Eliab as the king. However, God’s seeing is not limited by the appearance or the present situation or a person’s social statues, God sees people by their inner beauty. Though Samuel is the prophet who speaks for God, he is still a man who has his weakness. Since God is the superior, there is no comparison between Samuel and the LORD on age, sex or social statues. The proverb in this interaction situation is not only an explanation from God for the rejection of Eliab, but also a command and a reminder to Samuel of God’s divine