1 Samuel 16:10 (WEB)

Passage

Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.”

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”

1 Samuel 16:9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”

1 Samuel 16:10 Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.”

1 Samuel 16:11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” He said, “There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”

1 Samuel 16:12 He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "jesse", "seven", "sons", "pass", "before", "samuel", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "jesse" and "seven", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by..." into verse 11's "Samuel said to Jesse Are all your...", so "jesse" and "seven" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "jesse" and "seven" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.