And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.

1 SAMUEL 16:2KJV
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1 Samuel 16:2 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 16:2 mean?

1 Samuel 16:2 shows Samuel’s fear that carrying out the LORD’s instructions could cost him his life. The LORD tells Samuel to take a young cow and announce that he has come to offer a sacrifice.

Samuel’s question follows the LORD’s instruction to go to Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king in verse 1. To “anoint” someone meant to pour oil on that person as a sign of being chosen for a role. The sacrifice gives Samuel a stated reason for his visit.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 16:2

  • “hear” — שָׁמַע (shamaʿ): This word can mean to hear or to learn of something. Samuel fears that news of his journey and its purpose will reach Saul.
  • “sacrifice” — זָבַח (zavach): This word means to slaughter an animal as an offering. The heifer is to be used in an act of worship to the LORD.

Why 1 Samuel 16:2 matters

  • Saul is still a threat as king, even though the LORD has rejected him as king in the preceding passage. Samuel’s words, “he will kill me,” show the danger Samuel sees in going.
  • The sacrifice is part of the visit, not merely something Samuel says. In verse 3, the LORD tells Samuel to invite Jesse to the sacrifice and promises to show Samuel what to do next.
  • Samuel does not yet know which son he is to anoint. The LORD’s instruction to invite Jesse prepares for that choice, which becomes clear later in the passage.

Where else these words appear

“heifer” Hebrew H5697 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 15:9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
  • Judges 14:18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.
  • Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate.

“Samuel” Hebrew H8050 · used in 120 verses

  • Numbers 34:20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
  • 1 Samuel 9:15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
  • 1 Samuel 15:20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

“sacrifice” Hebrew H2076 · used in 127 verses

  • Genesis 31:54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.
  • 1 Samuel 1:21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.
  • 2 Chronicles 15:11 And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.