It happened on the next day, that an evil spirit from God came mightily on Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;
Next, Saul sent David out from the palace, evidently so he would not be a constant aggravation to the king. Saul placed David, whom he had already appointed as his commander-in-chief (1 Samuel 18:5), over a large unit of soldiers in the field (1 Samuel 18:13). The Hebrew word eleph can mean either 1,000 or a military unit. However, Saul’s decision only gave David more exposure to the people and increased his popularity with them. When Saul observed what was happening, he dreaded David even more (1 Samuel 18:15), but the people of both Israel and Judah loved him even more (1 Samuel 18:16; cf. 1 Samuel 18:1; 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 18:20). The terms "Israel" and "Judah" reflect the division of the kingdom in later years and suggest that the writer wrote this account after that event. However, even during David’s reign these names appear to have been characterizing the northern and southern parts of Israel. [Note: See Zechariah Kallai, "Judah and Israel-A Study in Israelite Historiography," Israel Exploration Journal 28:4 (1978):251-61.] God was causing the wrath of Saul to praise Him, to contribute toward the fulfillment of His plans. 1 Samuel 18:13 through 16 set the growing approval of the people and the mounting disapproval of Saul in vivid contrast.