(More Bible Studies Available @ www.marktabata.com)
It is written:
1 Samuel 16:12-So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
While studying this passage some years ago, I was intrigued to see how it was translated in another version of the Bible:
1 Samuel 16:12 (BBE)-So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he.
Here, the word “ruddy” is translated as “red hair.”
The phrase here translated actually often meant someone who had red hair! The famous Bible commentators, Keil and Delitzsch, have pointed out:
“When David arrived,-and he was ruddy , also of beautiful eyes and good looks ( אדמוני , used to denote the reddish colour of the hair, which was regarded as a mark of beauty in southern lands, where the hair is generally black. עם is an adverb here = therewith), and therefore, so far as his looks and figure were concerned, well fitted, notwithstanding his youth, for the office to which the Lord had chosen him, since corporeal beauty was one of the outward distinctions of a king,-the Lord pointed him out to the prophet as the chosen one; whereupon he anointed him in the midst of his brethren.” (Karl Fredreich Keil, Franz Delitzsch, Keil & Delitzsch’s Commentary on the Old Testament, 3062-3063 (Kindle Edition): Omaha, NE: Patristic Publishing)
Albert Clarke similarly comments:
“I believe the word here means red-haired, he had golden locks. Hair of this kind is ever associated with a delicate skin and florid complexion.” (Adam Clarke, Clarke On The Whole Bible: Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary, 2145 (Kindle Edition)
Others believe that this passage is telling us that David blushed often. Regardless, it is an interesting piece of knowledge, and a reminder that God does not judge a person based on their outward appearance but by the content of their heart and actions.
1 Samuel 16:7-But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.