The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – David

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Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.  1 Samuel 16:13 (KJV, bold added)

The word here for “came upon” is tsȃlach.  It seems that the Holy Spirit stayed with him and did not depart.  If we substitute the main uses of the word of tsȃlach; God prospered David all of his life, and it is not a problem to see that blessing throughout his life.

At first, it bothered me that the Holy Spirit is mentioned just six times in connection with David, but He is mentioned less with Moses!  Then I realized that it is in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit.  His primary purpose is to bring attention to Jesus, not Himself.  So even though David, the writer, was led by the Spirit; the Spirit had him write about Jesus in the Psalms.

Below are the six verses that directly connect David and the Spirit.  I put them into a timeline in David’s life, even though the middle four do not have a defined time stamp in reference to the others.  Read the whole reference so that the verses are in context, I think they will show growth in knowing and understanding the importance of the Spirit in David’s walk with God.

  • 1 Samuel 16: 13 (the coming upon)
  • Psalm 139: 7 (a song of praise and thanks) To put this into after he acted crazy to escape the Philistines when he was hiding from Saul.
  • Psalm 51: 11 (Bathsheba and his cries for the Spirit to not leave him like He did Saul)
  • Psalm 143: 10 (a cry for mercy) If I would guess where/when this was written; I would put this during the time when David was running from Absalom after he crossed the Jordan near Lo Debar.
  • 1 Chronicles 28: 12 (plans for the Temple)
  • 2 Samuel 23: 2 (last words)

When you read about David’s life; we tend to think he was anointed by Samuel and then went to work for Saul right away.  If there was a gap then his ability to kill the lion and the bear compares very well to that of Samson, when the Spirit came upon him.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Tsȃlach

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Salah or tsȃlach; Strong’s #6743

Judges 14: 6 (NIV) The Spirt of the Lord came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands.   Tsȃlach means to succeed or prosper – come mightily upon.  In the sixty-five times, it is used in the Bible forty-nine of them are translated “prosper.” The first time it is used is in Genesis 24:21, this is Abraham’s servant wondering about his trip to find a wife for Isaac.  So, I think it is fair to view these three times of the Holy Spirit coming upon these men with the idea of “prosper.”  Two of them did, one of them had the Spirit withdraw Himself and his final days were not pretty (Saul).

This type of anointing came on just three men: Samson, King Saul, and King David.

  • Samson had this anointing three times. Each one was for a physical act of strength. Judges 14: 6, 19 and 15: 14
  • King Saul experienced this twice before the Spirit left him completely – Samuel 10: 10, 11: 6. The first time he prophesied and the second time was for him to lead the people against Nahash the Ammonite.
  • King David experienced it only once in 1 Samuel 16:13, but it remained on him his whole life. (read the KJV) David is covered below in a separate section.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Mālē

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Mālē; Strong’s #4390  Mālē means to be full.

Exodus 31: 3 and 35:31 tell the story of Bezalel (1 Chronicles 2:20) of the tribe of Judah and Oholiab. Bezalel was filled with the knowledge, skill, and ability to do and teach others what needed to be done to make the Ark and Tabernacle.

Like all four of the words that are used to signify the Spirit coming on people, Mālē has other meanings/used in different applications.  The construction of the Ark and Tabernacle took a year, but you have the sense that these men were filled up and it lasted a lifetime.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Lȃbash

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Labas or lȃbash; Strong’s #3847 He put on righteousness as his breastplate. ….. he put on garments of vengeance.  Isaiah 59: 17 (NIV)  The meaning of lȃbash is to put on garments or wrap up in something.  This verse, to me, is one of the “building stones” for the armor of the Spirit that is found in Ephesians 6.

Gideon – Judges 6:34

Amasai – 1 Chronicles 12: 18  He pledged his support to David in the form of a word of encouragement.  In this verse, Amasi is listed as the leader of the Thirty, but that name is not in the list of David’s Thirty.  It could be he had another name, or was in charge of David’s Thirty before or after the list in 2 Samuel 23: 24 was made.

Vine, in his dictionary, puts this “come upon” more along the line of being filled (as in living inside) with the Spirit, and thus helped the men (Gideon) from the inside out.  The way the Hebrew makes it sound is that the Spirit put Gideon on.  This thought may mess with your theology, but this is another level of relationship with the Spirit in the Old Testament.  Given what Gideon did and the amount of story that was written about him it must have been an impressive experience.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Hȃyȃ

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There are four words (hȃyȃ, lȃbash, mālē, tsȃlach) we will look at that are used in the Old Testament to convey that the Spirit “came upon” man.  The use of these different words seems to indicate different intensities of “anointing.”  Just to be clear, any anointing of the Holy Spirit is a big deal!

Hȃyȃ; Strong’s #1961 – Nehemiah 9:30 You were patient with them. By your Spirit, you admonished them through your prophets (NIV).

Balaam – Numbers 24:2

Othniel – Judges 3:10

Jephthah – Judges 11:29

King Saul’s men – 1 Samuel 19: 20

Azariah son of Oded for King Asa – 2 Chronicles 15:1

Jahaziel descendent of Asaph for King Jehoshaphat – 2 Chronicles 20:14, 20

According to Strong’s/Vines Concordance when used as a verb it emphasizes that a person is present.  This is also the word when God told Moses, “I am (hȃyȃ) that I am (hȃyȃ).  Most people will recognize Balaam, the deceiver, and Jephthah, a man of faith (Hebrews 11: 32), but the rest of these men are mentioned once and no more.  It would seem that this is the “lightest” connection with the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament; the reason I say this is because of duration, not intensity.  The word Hȃyȃ is a very interesting word that is used in many contexts (future study).

There are many men and women who were prophets in the Old Testament and most of them have no record as to when or how the Spirit moved on them to prophecy (or see visions/dreams).  Othniel and Jephthah were judges and their touch by the Spirit is in connection with them doing that task.  The last three on the list prophesied, once, and we never see them again.  Balaam’s (See The Lord Your/My God) words to Balak (Numbers 23, 24) are “good” words but his life and actions are wrong; still, he was used by the Spirit.