House of David: Season 1, Episode 3 - The Anointing (2025)

The episode opens with Saul experiencing a disturbing nightmare. He sees a candle in his room dripping with blood while hearing Samuel's voice calling him to let go. The vision shifts to show a younger version of his wife, and then flashes to a battlefield engulfed in flames where Jonathan is struck by an arrow and killed. Within the nightmare, Saul's crown falls to the ground and when he reaches to pick it up, Samuel's staff prevents him from doing so. Saul, still half-lost in the dream state, throws a spear and kills a young servant in his household. The family fabricates a cover story to explain the servant's death to outsiders and prevent word of Saul's madness from spreading, though they recognize they are in serious trouble.

Saul's mental state continues to deteriorate as an evil spirit oppresses him, causing him to wrestle with guilt over Samuel's words and the knowledge that the prophet's curse holds power over him. Queen Ahinoam becomes deeply concerned about her husband's condition and insists that he seek help to undo Samuel's curse. Despite Saul's protests that he has turned his back on all prior associations with other forms of religion, he locates a medium in Endor who can assist them. Saul, Ahinoam, and Abner travel to Endor hooded and cloaked. The medium initially feigns ignorance and acts like a simple vendor, but when Ahinoam and Abner reveal their identities, she hesitates because Saul himself had outlawed spiritists and mediums earlier in his reign. Eventually the three of them engage in an occult ceremony together in an attempt to undo Samuel's curse on Saul.

Meanwhile, King Saul has ordered that Samuel be tracked. Abner finds Doeg, an eccentric Edomite who experiments with animals and possesses inside information about Saul's condition. Abner instructs Doeg to track Samuel and discover who he is meeting with, explicitly telling him not to kill anyone. However, Doeg points out that it would make more sense to persuade Samuel to lift the curse on Saul rather than simply track him, revealing his knowledge of the king's affliction.

Samuel, having heard from God, travels to Bethlehem to visit Jesse's children with his assistant Silas. As they travel, Silas asks Samuel who they are going to anoint, but Samuel does not yet know. When Samuel arrives in Bethlehem, he goes to the elders of Judah seeking Jesse, but learns that Jesse is not allowed to be with them because he has an illegitimate son. Samuel is viewed by the people with both respect and fear as he conducts his sacred mission.

Jesse presents his sons to Samuel one by one for examination. Samuel looks at each of Jesse's older sons, but none of them are chosen. When Samuel asks if there are any other sons, Jesse's family initially dismisses the youngest, noting that David is out in the field tending the sheep. David's own father writes him off, and his brothers dismiss him as well. Only David's little sister notices his absence and asks where he is. Samuel insists that someone fetch David, saying he will not proceed until the youngest son is brought before him.

David arrives from the field and is brought before Samuel. When David enters, Samuel receives him with honor. Samuel examines David's heart and is amazed by what he finds. Samuel explains to those present that the Lord looks at the heart, not at outer appearance. As David kneels before him, Samuel anoints David with oil. Samuel then delivers a shocking pronouncement to those gathered: the Lord has rejected the house of Saul and has claimed David as his royal son and the future King of Israel. Before leaving, Samuel blesses David, who receives the Lord God's Holy Spirit. Jesse and his other sons agree among themselves that no one can know of David's anointing, understanding the dangerous implications of this secret.

Following the anointing, Joab delivers an order to bring David to the palace. Additionally, after the Tribe of Dan's elder alleges that Prince Eshbaal has defiled his daughter, Queen Ahinoam banishes her son to the city of refuge of Endor, following the Law of Moses. Doeg, continuing his surveillance on Samuel's behalf, observes Samuel's activities and the people he meets with, though his mission to track the prophet differs from the biblical narrative where he would later spy on David.

In episode 3, Saul, in a disturbed state influenced by nightmares, accidentally impales his young servant Yoshia with a spear. This incident occurs after Saul dreams of Samuel and the fate of Jonathan, leading to a moment of violent confusion where Saul mistakes Yoshia for an assassin. Ahinoam then covers up Saul's involvement by telling Yoshia's mother that her son died protecting Saul from an assassin.

Saul's nightmares in episode 3 depict a candle dripping blood and the voice of Samuel calling him to let go. He sees a vision of his wife Ahinoam with baby Jonathan, who declares Jonathan will never be king. The dream shifts to a battlefield where Jonathan is fatally wounded. These nightmares foreshadow the tragic events to come, including Jonathan's death and Saul's loss of kingship, and they deeply unsettle Saul, influencing his actions in the episode.

Queen Ahinoam meets with Yoshia's mother and, to protect Saul's reputation, fabricates a story that Yoshia died heroically by diving in front of Saul to save him from an assassin. She also offers the grieving mother her personal bedside Scriptures to comfort her, showing Ahinoam's role in managing the fallout from the incident.

Samuel appears both in Saul's nightmares and in reality as he travels with his assistant Silas, uncertain about who to anoint next. In Saul's dream, Samuel takes the crown from Saul, symbolizing the loss of his kingship, and calls him to let go. Samuel's presence underscores the divine judgment on Saul and the impending rise of David.

While episode 3 focuses more on Saul's turmoil, the broader season context shows David being secretly anointed by Samuel and receiving the Holy Spirit. David is brought to the palace by Joab's order, plays the lyre to comfort Saul, and builds relationships with characters like Princess Michal, who teaches him to read and write. These developments set the stage for David's rise amid the political and spiritual struggles depicted in the series.