I Samuel 16:23
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
This verse came up the other day, and after checking various translations, and my own assumptions, I'm kinda left with the thought that I really can't definitely say what this means. I can "assume" that God permitted an evil spirit to come upon Saul as punishment, or I can assume that it was only evil from Saul's perspective because it tormented him. But, most proper translations don't really bend on this at all. They are all pretty clearly stating "evil Spirit from the LORD" in one way or another.
Any one have any real insight? I mean, beyond the same assumptions I've already made?
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
This verse came up the other day, and after checking various translations, and my own assumptions, I'm kinda left with the thought that I really can't definitely say what this means. I can "assume" that God permitted an evil spirit to come upon Saul as punishment, or I can assume that it was only evil from Saul's perspective because it tormented him. But, most proper translations don't really bend on this at all. They are all pretty clearly stating "evil Spirit from the LORD" in one way or another.
Any one have any real insight? I mean, beyond the same assumptions I've already made?