1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As the sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel H8050 also said H559 unto Saul, H7586 The LORD H3068 sent H7971 me to anoint H4886 thee to be king H4428 over his people, H5971 over Israel: H3478 now therefore hearken H8085 thou unto the voice H6963 of the words H1697 of the LORD. H3068
2 Thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 I remember H6485 that which Amalek H6002 did H6213 to Israel, H3478 how he laid H7760 wait for him in the way, H1870 when he came up H5927 from Egypt. H4714
3 Now go H3212 and smite H5221 Amalek, H6002 and utterly destroy H2763 all that they have, and spare H2550 them not; but slay H4191 both man H376 and woman, H802 infant H5768 and suckling, H3243 ox H7794 and sheep, H7716 camel H1581 and ass. H2543
4 And Saul H7586 gathered H8085 the people H5971 together, H8085 and numbered H6485 them in Telaim, H2923 two hundred H3967 thousand H505 footmen, H7273 and ten H6235 thousand H505 men H376 of Judah. H3063
5 And Saul H7586 came H935 to a city H5892 of Amalek, H6002 and laid wait H7378 H693 in the valley. H5158
6 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto the Kenites, H7017 Go, H3212 depart, H5493 get you down H3381 from among H8432 the Amalekites, H6002 lest I destroy H622 you with them: for ye shewed H6213 kindness H2617 to all the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 when they came up H5927 out of Egypt. H4714 So the Kenites H7017 departed H5493 from among H8432 the Amalekites. H6003
7 And Saul H7586 smote H5221 the Amalekites H6002 from Havilah H2341 until thou comest H935 to Shur, H7793 that is over against H6440 Egypt. H4714
8 And he took H8610 Agag H90 the king H4428 of the Amalekites H6002 alive, H2416 and utterly destroyed H2763 all the people H5971 with the edge H6310 of the sword. H2719
9 But Saul H7586 and the people H5971 spared H2550 Agag, H90 and the best H4315 of the sheep, H6629 and of the oxen, H1241 and of the fatlings, H4932 and the lambs, H3733 and all that was good, H2896 and would H14 not utterly destroy H2763 them: but every thing H4399 that was vile H5240 and refuse, H4549 that they destroyed utterly. H2763
10 Then came the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 unto Samuel, H8050 saying, H559
11 It repenteth H5162 me that I have set up H4427 Saul H7586 to be king: H4428 for he is turned back H7725 from following H310 me, and hath not performed H6965 my commandments. H1697 And it grieved H2734 Samuel; H8050 and he cried H2199 unto the LORD H3068 all night. H3915
12 And when Samuel H8050 rose early H7925 to meet H7125 Saul H7586 in the morning, H1242 it was told H5046 Samuel, H8050 saying, H559 Saul H7586 came H935 to Carmel, H3760 and, behold, he set him up H5324 a place, H3027 and is gone about, H5437 and passed on, H5674 and gone down H3381 to Gilgal. H1537
13 And Samuel H8050 came H935 to Saul: H7586 and Saul H7586 said H559 unto him, Blessed H1288 be thou of the LORD: H3068 I have performed H6965 the commandment H1697 of the LORD. H3068
14 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 What meaneth then this bleating H6963 of the sheep H6629 in mine ears, H241 and the lowing H6963 of the oxen H1241 which I hear? H8085
15 And Saul H7586 said, H559 They have brought H935 them from the Amalekites: H6003 for the people H5971 spared H2550 the best H4315 of the sheep H6629 and of the oxen, H1241 to sacrifice H2076 unto the LORD H3068 thy God; H430 and the rest H3498 we have utterly destroyed. H2763
16 Then Samuel H8050 said H559 unto Saul, H7586 Stay, H7503 and I will tell H5046 thee what the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 to me this night. H3915 And he said H559 unto him, Say on. H1696
17 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 When thou wast little H6996 in thine own sight, H5869 wast thou not made the head H7218 of the tribes H7626 of Israel, H3478 and the LORD H3068 anointed H4886 thee king H4428 over Israel? H3478
18 And the LORD H3068 sent H7971 thee on a journey, H1870 and said, H559 Go H3212 and utterly destroy H2763 the sinners H2400 the Amalekites, H6002 and fight H3898 against them until they be consumed. H3615
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 but didst fly H5860 upon the spoil, H7998 and didst H6213 evil H7451 in the sight H5869 of the LORD? H3068
20 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto Samuel, H8050 Yea, I have obeyed H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD, H3068 and have gone H3212 the way H1870 which the LORD H3068 sent H7971 me, and have brought H935 Agag H90 the king H4428 of Amalek, H6002 and have utterly destroyed H2763 the Amalekites. H6002
21 But the people H5971 took H3947 of the spoil, H7998 sheep H6629 and oxen, H1241 the chief H7225 of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, H2764 to sacrifice H2076 unto the LORD H3068 thy God H430 in Gilgal. H1537
22 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 Hath the LORD H3068 as great delight H2656 in burnt offerings H5930 and sacrifices, H2077 as in obeying H8085 the voice H6963 of the LORD? H3068 Behold, to obey H8085 is better H2896 than sacrifice, H2077 and to hearken H7181 than the fat H2459 of rams. H352
23 For rebellion H4805 is as the sin H2403 of witchcraft, H7081 and stubbornness H6484 is as iniquity H205 and idolatry. H8655 Because thou hast rejected H3988 the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 he hath also rejected H3988 thee from being king. H4428
24 And Saul H7586 said H559 unto Samuel, H8050 I have sinned: H2398 for I have transgressed H5674 the commandment H6310 of the LORD, H3068 and thy words: H1697 because I feared H3372 the people, H5971 and obeyed H8085 their voice. H6963
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon H5375 my sin, H2403 and turn again H7725 with me, that I may worship H7812 the LORD. H3068
26 And Samuel H8050 said H559 unto Saul, H7586 I will not return H7725 with thee: for thou hast rejected H3988 the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and the LORD H3068 hath rejected H3988 thee from being king H4428 over Israel. H3478
27 And as Samuel H8050 turned about H5437 to go away, H3212 he laid hold H2388 upon the skirt H3671 of his mantle, H4598 and it rent. H7167
28 And Samuel H8050 said H559 unto him, The LORD H3068 hath rent H7167 the kingdom H4468 of Israel H3478 from thee this day, H3117 and hath given H5414 it to a neighbour H7453 of thine, that is better H2896 than thou.
29 And also the Strength H5331 of Israel H3478 will not lie H8266 nor repent: H5162 for he is not a man, H120 that he should repent. H5162
30 Then he said, H559 I have sinned: H2398 yet honour H3513 me now, I pray thee, before the elders H2205 of my people, H5971 and before Israel, H3478 and turn again H7725 with me, that I may worship H7812 the LORD H3068 thy God. H430
31 So Samuel H8050 turned again H7725 after H310 Saul; H7586 and Saul H7586 worshipped H7812 the LORD. H3068
32 Then said H559 Samuel, H8050 Bring ye hither H5066 to me Agag H90 the king H4428 of the Amalekites. H6002 And Agag H90 came H3212 unto him delicately. H4574 And Agag H90 said, H559 Surely H403 the bitterness H4751 of death H4194 is past. H5493
33 And Samuel H8050 said, H559 As thy sword H2719 hath made women H802 childless, H7921 so shall thy mother H517 be childless H7921 among women. H802 And Samuel H8050 hewed H8158 Agag H90 in pieces H8158 before H6440 the LORD H3068 in Gilgal. H1537
34 Then Samuel H8050 went H3212 to Ramah; H7414 and Saul H7586 went up H5927 to his house H1004 to Gibeah H1390 of Saul. H7586
35 And Samuel H8050 came no more H3254 to see H7200 Saul H7586 until the day H3117 of his death: H4194 nevertheless H3588 Samuel H8050 mourned H56 for Saul: H7586 and the LORD H3068 repented H5162 that he had made Saul H7586 king H4427 over Israel. H3478
1 And Samuel said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah.
2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night.
12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of Jehovah: I have performed the commandment of Jehovah.
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, Though thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel;
18 and Jehovah sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, `Saul' laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Me did Jehovah send to anoint thee for king over His people, over Israel; and now, hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah:
2 `Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have looked after that which Amalek did to Israel, that which he laid for him in the way in his going up out of Egypt.
3 Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'
4 And Saul summoneth the people, and inspecteth them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand `are' men of Judah.
5 And Saul cometh in unto a city of Amalek, and layeth wait in a valley;
6 and Saul saith unto the Kenite, `Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;' and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.
7 And Saul smiteth Amalek from Havilah -- thy going in to Shur, which `is' on the front of Egypt,
8 and he catcheth Agag king of Amalek alive, and all the people he hath devoted by the mouth of the sword;
9 and Saul hath pity -- also the people -- on Agag, and on the best of the flock, and of the herd, and of the seconds, and on the lambs, and on all that `is' good, and have not been willing to devote them; and all the work, despised and wasted -- it they devoted.
10 And the word of Jehovah is unto Samuel, saying,
11 `I have repented that I caused Saul to reign for king, for he hath turned back from after Me, and My words he hath not performed;' and it is displeasing to Samuel, and he crieth unto Jehovah all the night.
12 And Samuel riseth early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, `Saul hath come in to Carmel, and lo, he is setting up to himself a monument, and goeth round, and passeth over, and goeth down to Gilgal.'
13 And Samuel cometh in unto Saul, and Saul saith to him, `Blessed `art' thou of Jehovah; I have performed the word of Jehovah.'
14 And Samuel saith, `And what `is' the noise of this flock in mine ears -- and the noise of the herd which I am hearing?'
15 And Saul saith, `From Amalek they have brought them, because the people had pity on the best of the flock, and of the herd, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God, and the remnant we have devoted.'
16 And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Desist, and I declare to thee that which Jehovah hath spoken unto me to-night;' and he saith to him, `Speak.'
17 And Samuel saith, `Art not thou, if thou `art' little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,
18 and Jehovah sendeth thee in the way, and saith, Go, and thou hast devoted the sinners, the Amalekite, and fought against them till they are consumed;
19 and why hast thou not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah -- and dost fly unto the spoil, and dost do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah?'
20 And Saul saith unto Samuel, `Because -- I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and I go in the way which Jehovah hath sent me, and bring in Agag king of Amalek, and Amalek I have devoted;
21 and the people taketh of the spoil of the flock and herd, the first part of the devoted thing, for sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.'
22 And Samuel saith, `Hath Jehovah had delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as `in' hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? lo, hearkening than sacrifice is better; to give attention than fat of rams;
23 for a sin of divination `is' rebellion, and iniquity and teraphim `is' stubbornness; because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He also doth reject thee from `being' king.'
24 And Saul saith unto Samuel, `I have sinned, for I passed over the command of Jehovah, and thy words; because I have feared the people, I also hearken to their voice;
25 and now, bear, I pray thee, with my sin, and turn back with me, and I bow myself to Jehovah.'
26 And Samuel saith unto Saul, `I do not turn back with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth reject thee from being king over Israel.'
27 And Samuel turneth round to go, and he layeth hold on the skirt of his upper robe -- and it is rent!
28 And Samuel saith unto him, `Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and given it to thy neighbour who is better than thou;
29 and also, the Pre-eminence of Israel doth not lie nor repent, for He `is' not a man to be penitent.'
30 And he saith, `I have sinned; now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn back with me; and I have bowed myself to Jehovah thy God.'
31 And Samuel turneth back after Saul, and Saul boweth himself to Jehovah;
32 and Samuel saith, `Bring ye nigh unto me Agag king of Amalek,' and Agag cometh unto him daintily, and Agag saith, `Surely the bitterness of death hath turned aside.'
33 And Samuel saith, `As thy sword bereaved women -- so is thy mother bereaved above women;' and Samuel heweth Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
34 And Samuel goeth to Ramath, and Saul hath gone unto his house -- to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel hath not added to see Saul till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned for Saul, and Jehovah repented that He had caused Saul to reign over Israel.
1 And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent *me* to anoint thee king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah.
2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I have considered what Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and destroy utterly all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to the city of the Amalekites, and set an ambush in the valley.
6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul smote Amalek from Havilah as thou comest to Shur, which is opposite to Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of Amalek alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 And Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen, and beasts of the second bearing, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not devote them to destruction; but everything that was mean and weak, that they destroyed utterly.
10 And the word of Jehovah came to Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned away from following me, and hath not fulfilled my words. And Samuel was much grieved; and he cried to Jehovah all night.
12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed art thou of Jehovah: I have fulfilled the word of Jehovah.
14 And Samuel said, What [means] then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, that I may tell thee what Jehovah has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou [becamest] the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel?
18 And Jehovah sent thee on a way and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Why then didst thou not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, but didst fall upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of Jehovah?
20 And Saul said to Samuel, I have indeed hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Has Jehovah delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, As in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, Attention than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is [as] the sin of divination, And selfwill is [as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king.
24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words; for I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice.
25 And now, I pray thee, forgive my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn again with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah has rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned to go away, [Saul] laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.
28 Then Samuel said to him, Jehovah has rent the kingdom of Israel from thee to-day, and has given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou.
29 And also the Hope of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
30 And he said, I have sinned; honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.
32 And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless above women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
34 And Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel saw Saul no more until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned over Saul; and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel said to Saul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh.
2 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
3 Now go and strike Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and don't spare them; but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
4 Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you shown kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
7 Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt.
8 He took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and wouldn't utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
10 Then came the word of Yahweh to Samuel, saying,
11 It repents me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.
12 Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
13 Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, Blessed are you by Yahweh: I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.
14 Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what Yahweh has said to me this night. He said to him, Say on.
17 Samuel said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
18 and Yahweh sent you on a journey, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'
19 Why then didn't you obey the voice of Yahweh, but flew on the spoil, and did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh?"
20 Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and have gone the way which Yahweh sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God in Gilgal.
22 Samuel said, Has Yahweh as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.
24 Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Yahweh, and your words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh.
26 Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.
27 As Samuel turned about to go away, [Saul] laid hold on the skirt of his robe, and it tore.
28 Samuel said to him, Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
29 Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, Please, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Yahweh your God.
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshiped Yahweh.
32 Then said Samuel, Bring you here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 Samuel said, As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Yahweh in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Yahweh repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to put the holy oil on you and to make you king over his people, over Israel: so give ear now to the words of the Lord.
2 The Lord of armies says, I will give punishment to Amalek for what he did to Israel, fighting against him on the way when Israel came out of Egypt.
3 Go now and put Amalek to the sword, putting to the curse all they have, without mercy: put to death every man and woman, every child and baby at the breast, every ox and sheep, camel and ass.
4 And Saul sent for the people and had them numbered in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to the town of Amalek, and took up his position in the valley secretly.
6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go away, take yourselves out from among the Amalekites, or destruction will overtake you with them: for you were kind to the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. So the Kenites went away from among the Amalekites.
7 And Saul made an attack on the Amalekites from Havilah on the road to Shur, which is before Egypt.
8 He took Agag, king of the Amalekites, prisoner, and put all the people to the sword without mercy.
9 But Saul and the people did not put Agag to death, and they kept the best of the sheep and the oxen and the fat beasts and the lambs, and whatever was good, not desiring to put them to the curse: but everything which was bad and of no use they put to the curse.
10 Then the Lord said to Samuel,
11 It is no longer my pleasure for Saul to be king; for he is turned back from going in my ways, and has not done my orders. And Samuel was very sad, crying to the Lord in prayer all night.
12 And early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, May the blessing of the Lord be with you: I have done what was ordered by the Lord.
14 And Samuel said, What then is this sound of the crying of sheep and the noise of oxen which comes to my ears?
15 And Saul said, They have taken them from the Amalekites: for the people have kept the best of the sheep and of the oxen as an offering to the Lord your God; all the rest we have given up to destruction.
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Say no more! Let me give you word of what the Lord has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel,
18 And the Lord sent you on a journey and said, Go and put to the curse those sinners, the Amalekites, fighting against them till every one is dead.
19 Why then did you not do the orders of the Lord, but by violently taking their goods did evil in the eyes of the Lord?
20 And Saul said, Truly, I have done the orders of the Lord and have gone the way the Lord sent me; I have taken Agag, the king of Amalek, and have given the Amalekites up to destruction.
21 But the people took some of their goods, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which were put to the curse, to make an offering of them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.
22 And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in offerings and burned offerings as in the doing of his orders? Truly, to do his pleasure is better than to make offerings, and to give ear to him than the fat of sheep.
23 For to go against his orders is like the sin of those who make use of secret arts, and pride is like giving worship to images. Because you have put away from you the word of the Lord, he has put you from your place as king.
24 And Saul said to Samuel, Great is my sin: for I have gone against the orders of the Lord and against your words: because, fearing the people, I did what they said.
25 So now, let my sin have forgiveness, and go back with me to give worship to the Lord.
26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not go back with you: for you have put away from you the word of the Lord, and the Lord has put you from your place as king over Israel.
27 And when Samuel was turning round to go away, Saul took the skirt of his robe in his hand, and the cloth came away.
28 And Samuel said to him, The Lord has taken away the kingdom of Israel from you this day by force, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you.
29 And further, the Glory of Israel will not say what is false, and his purpose may not be changed: for he is not a man, whose purpose may be changed.
30 Then he said, Great is my sin: but still, give me honour now before the heads of my people and before Israel, and come back with me so that I may give worship to the Lord your God.
31 So Samuel went back after Saul, and Saul gave worship to the Lord.
32 Then Samuel said, Make Agag, the king of the Amalekites, come here to me. And Agag came to him shaking with fear. And Agag said, Truly the pain of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As your sword has made women without children, so now your mother will be without children among women. And Agag was cut up by Samuel, bone from bone, before the Lord in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah, in the land of Saul.
35 And Samuel never saw Saul again till the day of his death; but Samuel was sorrowing for Saul: and it was no longer the Lord's pleasure for Saul to be king over Israel.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 15
Commentary on 1 Samuel 15 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
War with Amalek. Saul's Disobedience and Rejection - 1 Samuel 15
As Saul had transgressed the commandment of God which was given to him through Samuel, by the sacrifice which he offered at Gilgal in the war with the Philistines at the very commencement of his reign, and had thereby drawn upon himself the threat that his monarchy should not be continued in perpetuity (1 Samuel 13:13-14); so his disobedience in the war against the Amalekites was followed by his rejection on the part of God. The Amalekites were the first heathen nation to attack the Israelites after their deliverance out of Egypt, which they did in the most treacherous manner on their journey from Egypt to Sinai; and they had been threatened by God with extermination in consequence. This Moses enjoined upon Joshua, and also committed to writing, for the Israelites to observe in all future generations (Exodus 17:8-16). As the Amalekites afterwards manifested the same hostility to the people of God which they had displayed in this first attack, on every occasion which appeared favourable to their ravages, the Lord instructed Samuel to issue the command to Saul, to wage war against Amalek, and to smite man and beast with the ban, i.e., to put all to death (1 Samuel 15:1-3). But when Saul had smitten them, he not only left Agag the king alive, but spared the best of the cattle that he had taken as booty, and merely executed the ban upon such animals as were worthless (1 Samuel 15:4-9). He was rejected by the Lord for this disobedience, so that he was to be no longer king over Israel. His rejection was announced to him by Samuel (1 Samuel 15:10-23), and was not retracted in spite of his prayer for the forgiveness of his sin (1 Samuel 15:24-35). In fact, Saul had no excuse for this breach of the divine command; it was nothing but open rebellion against the sovereignty of God in Israel; and if Jehovah would continue King of Israel, He must punish it by the rejection of the rebel. For Saul no longer desired to be the medium of the sovereignty of Jehovah, or the executor of the commands of the God-king, but simply wanted to reign according to his own arbitrary will. Nevertheless this rejection was not followed by his outward deposition. The Lord merely took away His Spirit, had David anointed king by Samuel, and thenceforward so directed the steps of Saul and David, that as time advanced the hearts of the people were turned away more and more from Saul to David; and on the death of Saul, the attempt of the ambitious Abner to raise his son Ishbosheth to the throne could not possibly have any lasting success.
The account of the war against the Amalekites is a very condensed one, and is restricted to a description of the conduct of Saul on that occasion. Without mentioning either the time or the immediate occasion of the war, the narrative commences with the command of God which Samuel solemnly communicated to Saul, to go and exterminate that people. Samuel commenced with the words, “ Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel ,” in order to show to Saul the obligation which rested upon him to receive his commission as coming from God, and to proceed at once to fulfil it. The allusion to the anointing points back not to 1 Samuel 11:15, but to 1 Samuel 10:1.
1 Samuel 15:2
“ Thus saith the Lord of Zebaoth, I have looked upon what Amalek did to Israel, that it placed itself in his way when he came up out of Egypt ” (Exodus 17:8). Samuel merely mentions this first outbreak of hostility on the part of Amalek towards the people of Israel, because in this the same disposition was already manifested which now made the people ripe for the judgment of extermination (vid., Exodus 17:14). The hostility which they had now displayed, according to 1 Samuel 15:33, there was no necessity for the prophet to mention particularly, since it was well known to Saul and all Israel. When God looks upon a sin, directs His glance towards it, He must punish it according to His own holiness. This פּקדתּי points at the very outset to the punishment about to be proclaimed.
1 Samuel 15:3
Saul is to smite and ban everything belonging to it without reserve, i.e., to put to death both man and beast. The last clause וגו is only an explanation and exemplification of וגו והחרמתּם . “ From man to woman ,” etc., i.e., men and women, children and sucklings, etc.
Saul summoned the people to war, and mustered them (those who were summoned) at Telaim (this was probably the same place as the Telem mentioned in Joshua 15:24, and is to be looked for in the eastern portion of the Negeb). “ Two hundred thousand foot, and ten thousand of the men of Judah :” this implies that the two hundred thousand were from the other tribes. These numbers are not too large; for a powerful Bedouin nation, such as the Amalekites were, could not possibly be successfully attacked with a small army, but only by raising the whole of the military force of Israel.
1 Samuel 15:5
He then advanced as far as the city of the Amalekites, the situation of which is altogether unknown, and placed an ambush in the valley. ויּרב does not come from ריב , to fight, i.e., to quarrel, not to give battle, but was understood even by the early translators as a contracted form of ויּארב , the Hiphil of ארב . And modern commentators have generally understood it in the same way; but Olshausen ( Hebr. Gramm . p. 572) questions the correctness of the reading, and Thenius proposes to alter בּנּחל ויּרב into מלחמה ויּערך . נחל refers to a valley in the neighbourhood of the city of the Amalekites.
1 Samuel 15:6-7
Saul directed the Kenites to come out from among the Amalekites, that they might not perish with them ( אספך , imp. Kal of אסף ), as they had shown affection to the Israelites on their journey out of Egypt (compare Numbers 10:29 with Judges 1:16). He then smote the Amalekites from Havilah in the direction towards Shur, which lay before (to the east of) Egypt (cf. Genesis 25:18). Shur is the desert of Jifar, i.e., that portion of the desert of Arabia which borders upon Egypt (see at Genesis 16:7). Havilah , the country of the Chaulotaeans , on the border of Arabia Petraea towards Yemen (see at Genesis 10:29).
1 Samuel 15:8-9
Their king, Agag , he took alive (on the name, see at Numbers 24:7), but all the people he banned with the edge of the sword, i.e., he had them put to death without quarter. “ All ,” i.e., all that fell into the hands of the Israelites. For it follows from the very nature of the case that many escaped, and consequently there is nothing striking in the fact that Amalekites are mentioned again at a later period (1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 30:1; 2 Samuel 8:12). The last remnant was destroyed by the Simeonites upon the mountains of Seir in the reign of Hezekiah (1 Chronicles 4:43). Only, king Agag did Saul and the people (of Israel) spare, also “ the best of the sheep and oxen, and the animals of the second birth, and the lambs and everything good; these they would not ban .” משׁנים , according to D. Kimchi and R. Tanch. , are לבטן שׁניים , i.e., animalia secundo partu edita , which were considered superior to the others (vid., Roediger in Ges. Thes . p. 1451); and כּרים , pasture lambs, i.e., fat lambs. There is no necessity, therefore, for the conjecture of Ewald and Thenius, משׁמנּים , fattened, and כּרמים , vineyards; nor for the far-fetched explanation given by Bochart, viz., camels with two humps and camel-saddles, to say nothing of the fact that camel-saddles and vineyards are altogether out of place here. In “ all that was good ” the things already mentioned singly are all included. המּלאכה , the property; here it is applied to cattle, as in Genesis 33:14. נמבזה = נבזה , despised, undervalued. The form of the word is not contracted from a noun מבזה and the participle נבזה ( Ges. Lehrgeb . p. 463), but seems to be a participle Niph . formed from a noun מבזה . But as such a form is contrary to all analogy, Ewald and Olshausen regard the reading as corrupt. נמס (from מסס ): flowing away; used with reference to diseased cattle, or such as have perished. The reason for sparing the best cattle is very apparent, namely selfishness. But it is not so easy to determine why Agag should have been spared by Saul. It is by no means probable that he wished thereby to do honour to the royal dignity. O. v. Gerlach 's supposition, that vanity or the desire to make a display with a royal slave was the actual reason, is a much more probable one.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “ It repenteth me that I have made Saul king, for he hath turned away from me, and not set up (carried out) my word .” (On the repentance of God, see the remarks on Genesis 6:6.) That this does not express any changeableness in the divine nature, but simply the sorrow of the divine love at the rebellion of sinners, is evident enough from 1 Samuel 15:29. יי מאחרי שׁוּב , to turn round from following God, in order to go his own ways. This was Saul's real sin. He would no longer be the follower and servant of the Lord, but would be absolute ruler in Israel. Pride arising from the consciousness of his own strength, led him astray to break the command of God. What more God said to Samuel is not communicated here, because it could easily be gathered and supplied from what Samuel himself proceeded to do (see more particularly 1 Samuel 15:16.). In order to avoid repetitions, only the principal feature in the divine revelation is mentioned here, and the details are given fully afterwards in the account of the fulfilment of the instructions. Samuel was deeply agitated by this word of the Lord. “ It burned (in) him ,” sc., wrath ( אף , compare Genesis 31:36 with Genesis 30:2), not on account of the repentance to which God had given utterance at having raised up Saul as king, nor merely at Saul's disobedience, but at the frustration of the purpose of God in calling him to be king in consequence of his disobedience, from which he might justly dread the worst results in relation to the glory of Jehovah and his own prophetic labours.
(Note: “Many grave thoughts seem to have presented themselves at once to Samuel and disturbed his mind, when he reflected upon the dishonour which might be heaped upon the name of God, and the occasion which the rejection and deposition of Saul would furnish to wicked men for blaspheming God. For Saul had been anointed by the ministry of Samuel, and he had been chosen by God himself from all the people, and called by Him to the throne. If, therefore, he was nevertheless deposed, it seemed likely that so much would be detracted from the authority of Samuel and the confidence of the people in his teaching, and, moreover, that the worship of God would be overturned, and the greatest disturbance ensue; in fact, that universal confusion would burst upon the nation. These were probably the grounds upon which Samuel's great indignation rested.” - Calvin .)
The opinion that ל יחר is also used to signify deep distress cannot be established from 2 Samuel 4:8. “ And he cried to Jehovah the whole night ,” sc., praying for Saul to be forgiven. But it was in vain. This is evident from what follows, where Samuel maintains the cause of his God with strength and decision, after having wrestled with God in prayer.
The next morning, after receiving the revelation from God (1 Samuel 15:11), Samuel rose up early, to go and meet Saul as he was returning from the war. On the way it was told him, “ Saul has come to Carmel ” - i.e., Kurmul , upon the mountains of Judah to the south-east of Hebron (see at Joshua 15:55) - “ setting himself a memorial ” ( יד , a hand, then a memorial or monument, inasmuch as the hand calls attention to anything: see 2 Samuel 18:18), “ and has turned and proceeded farther, and gone down to Gilgal ” (in the valley of the Jordan, as in 1 Samuel 13:4).
When Samuel met him there, Saul attempted to hide his consciousness of guilt by a feigned friendly welcome. “ Blessed be thou of the Lord ” (vid., Ruth 2:20; Genesis 14:19, etc.) was his greeting to the prophet; “ I have set up the word of Jehovah .”
But the prophet stripped his hypocrisy at once with the question, “ What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and a lowing of oxen that I hear? ” Saul replied (1 Samuel 15:15), “ They have brought them from the Amalekites, because the people spared the best sheep and oxen, to sacrifice them to the Lord thy God; and the rest we have banned .” So that it was not Saul, but the people, who had transgressed the command of the Lord, and that with the most laudable intention, viz., to offer the best of the cattle that had been taken, as a thank-offering to the Lord. The falsehood and hypocrisy of these words lay upon the very surface; for even if the cattle spared were really intended as sacrifices to the Lord, not only the people, but Saul also, would have had their own interests in view (vid., 1 Samuel 15:9), since the flesh of thank-offerings was appropriated to sacrificial meals.
Samuel therefore bade him be silent. הרף , “ leave off ,” excusing thyself any further. “ I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night .” (The Chethibh ויּאמרוּ is evidently a copyist's error for ויּאמר .) “ Is it not true, when thou wast little in thine eyes (a reference to Saul's own words, 1 Samuel 9:21), thou didst become head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel, and Jehovah sent thee on the way, and said, Go and ban the sinners, the Amalekites, and make war against them, until thou exterminatest them. And wherefore hast thou nor hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, and hast fallen upon the booty ,” etc.? ( תּעט , see at 1 Samuel 14:32.)
Even after this Saul wanted to justify himself, and to throw the blame of sparing the cattle upon the people.
“ Yea, I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah ( אשׁר serving, like כּי ekil , to introduce the reply: here it is used in the sense of asseveration, utique , yea), and have brought Agag the king of the Amalekites, and banned Amalek .” Bringing Agag he mentioned probably as a practical proof that he had carried out the war of extermination against the Amalekites.
Even the sparing of the cattle he endeavoured to defend as the fulfilment of a religious duty. The people had taken sheep and oxen from the booty, “ as firstlings of the ban ,” to sacrifice to Jehovah. Sacrificing the best of the booty taken in war as an offering of first-fruits to the Lord, was not indeed prescribed in the law, but was a praiseworthy sign of piety, by which all honour was rendered to the Lord as the giver of the victory (see Numbers 31:48.). This, Saul meant to say, was what the people had done on the present occasion; only he overlooked the fact, that what was banned to the Lord could not be offered to Him as a burnt-offering, because, being most holy, it belonged to Him already (Leviticus 27:29), and according to Deuteronomy 13:16, was to be put to death, as Samuel had expressly said to Saul (1 Samuel 15:3).
Without entering, therefore, into any discussion of the meaning of the ban, as Saul only wanted to cover over his own wrong-doings by giving this turn to the affair, Samuel put a stop to any further excuses, by saying, “ Hath Jehovah delight in burnt-offerings and slain-offerings as in hearkening to the voice of Jehovah? (i.e., in obedience to His word.) Behold, hearing (obeying) is better than slain-offerings, attending better than fat of rams .” By saying this, Samuel did not reject sacrifices as worthless; he did not say that God took no pleasure in burnt-offerings and slain-offerings, but simply compared sacrifice with obedience to the command of God, and pronounced the latter of greater worth than the former. “It was as much as to say that the sum and substance of divine worship consisted in obedience, with which it should always begin, and that sacrifices were, so to speak, simple appendices, the force and worth of which were not so great as of obedience to the precepts of God” (Calvin). But it necessarily follows that sacrifices without obedience to the commandments of God are utterly worthless; in fact, are displeasing to God, as Psalms 50:8., Isaiah 1:11., Isaiah 66:3, Jeremiah 6:20, and all the prophets, distinctly affirm. There was no necessity, however, to carry out this truth any further. To tear off the cloak of hypocrisy, with which Saul hoped to cover his disobedience, it was quite enough to affirm that God's first demand was obedience, and that observing His word was better than sacrifice; because, as the Berleb. Bible puts it, “in sacrifices a man offers only the strange flesh of irrational animals, whereas in obedience he offers his own will, which is rational or spiritual worship” (Romans 12:8). This spiritual worship was shadowed forth in the sacrificial worship of the Old Testament. In the sacrificial animal the Israelite was to give up and sanctify his own person and life to the Lord. (For an examination of the meaning of the different sacrifices, see Pent . pp. 505ff., and Keil's Bibl Archäol . §41ff.) But if this were the design of the sacrifices, it was clear enough that God did not desire the animal sacrifice in itself, but first and chiefly obedience to His own word. In 1 Samuel 15:22, טּוב is not to be connected as an adjective with זבח , “more than good sacrifice,” as the Sept. and Thenius render it; it is rather to be taken as a predicate, “ better than slain-offerings ,” and מזּבח is placed first simply for the sake of emphasis. Any contrast between good and bad sacrifices, such as the former construction would introduce into the words, is not only foreign to the context, but also opposed to the parallelism. For אילים חלב does not mean fat rams, but the fat of rams; the fat portions taken from the ram, which were placed upon the altar in the case of the slain-offerings, and for which חלב is the technical expression (compare Leviticus 3:9, Leviticus 3:16, with Leviticus 3:4, Leviticus 3:11, etc.). “ For ,” continued Samuel (1 Samuel 15:23), “ rebellion is the sin of soothsaying, and opposition is heathenism and idolatry .” מרי and הפצר are the subjects, and synonymous in their meaning. קסם חטּאת , the sin of soothsaying, i.e., of divination in connection with the worship of idolatrous and demoniacal powers. In the second clause idols are mentioned instead of idolatry, and compared to resistance, but without any particle of comparison. Opposition is keeping idols and teraphim, i.e., it is like worshipping idols and teraphim. און , nothingness, then an idol or image (vid., Isaiah 66:3; Hosea 4:15; Hosea 10:5, Hosea 10:8). On the teraphim as domestic and oracular deities, see at Genesis 31:19. Opposition to God is compared by Samuel to soothsaying and oracles, because idolatry was manifested in both of them. All conscious disobedience is actually idolatry, because it makes self-will, the human I, into a god. So that all manifest opposition to the word and commandment of God is, like idolatry, a rejection of the true God. “ Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath rejected thee, that thou mayst be no longer king .” ממּלך = מלך מהיוה (1 Samuel 15:26), away from being king.
This sentence made so powerful an impression upon Saul, that he confessed, “ I have sinned: for I have transgressed the command of the Lord and thy words, because I feared the people, and hearkened to their voice .” But these last words, with which he endeavoured to make his sin appear as small as possible, show that the consciousness of his guilt did not go very deep. Even if the people had really desired that the best of the cattle should be spared, he ought not as king to have given his consent to their wish, since God had commanded that they should all be banned (i.e., destroyed); and even though he has yielded from weakness, this weakness could not lessen his guilt before God. This repentance, therefore, was rather the effect of alarm at the rejection which had been announced to him, than the fruit of any genuine consciousness of sin. “It was not true and serious repentance, or the result of genuine sorrow of heart because he had offended God, but was merely repentance of the lips arising from fear of losing the kingdom, and of incurring public disgrace” (C. v. Lapide). This is apparent even from 1 Samuel 15:25, but still more from 1 Samuel 15:30. In 1 Samuel 15:25 he not only entreats Samuel for the forgiveness of his sin, but says, “ Return with me, that I may pray to the Lord .” The שׁוּב presupposes that Samuel was about to go away after the executing his commission. Saul entreated him to remain that he might pray, i.e., not only in order to obtain for him the forgiveness of his sin through his intercession, but, according to 1 Samuel 15:30, to show him honour before the elders of the people and before Israel, that his rejection might not be known.
This request Samuel refused, repeating at the same time the sentence of rejection, and turned to depart. “ Then Saul laid hold of the lappet of his mantle (i.e., his upper garment), and it tore ” ( lit . was torn off). That the Niphal ויּקּרע is correct, and is not to be altered into אתהּ ויּקרע , “Saul tore off the lappet,” according to the rendering of the lxx, as Thenius supposes, is evident from the explanation which Samuel gave of the occurrence (1 Samuel 15:28): “ Jehovah hath torn the sovereignty of Israel from thee to-day, and given it to thy neighbour, who is better than thou .” As Saul was about to hold back the prophet by force, that he might obtain from him a revocation of the divine sentence, the tearing of the mantle, which took place accidentally, and evidently without any such intention on the part of Saul, was to serve as a sign of the rending away of the sovereignty from him. Samuel did not yet know to whom Jehovah would give it; he therefore used the expression לרעך , as רע is applied to any one with whom a person associates. To confirm his own words, he adds in 1 Samuel 15:29 : “ And also the Trust of Israel doth not lie and doth not repent, for He is not a man to repent .” נצח signifies constancy, endurance, then confidence, trust, because a man can trust in what is constant. This meaning is to be retained here, where the word is used as a name for God, and not the meaning gloria , which is taken in 1 Chronicles 29:11 from the Aramaean usage of speech, and would be altogether unsuitable here, where the context suggests the idea of unchangeableness. For a man's repentance or regret arises from his changeableness, from the fluctuations in his desires and actions. This is never the case with God; consequently He is ישׂראל נצח , the unchangeable One, in whom Israel can trust, since He does not lie or deceive, or repent of His purposes . These words are spoken θεοπρεπῶς (theomorphically), whereas in 1 Samuel 15:11 and other passages, which speak of God as repenting, the words are to be understood ἀνθρωποπαθῶς (anthropomorphically; cf. Numbers 23:19).
After this declaration as to the irrevocable character of the determination of God to reject Saul, Samuel yielded to the renewed entreaty of Saul, that he would honour him by his presence before the elders and the people, and remained whilst Saul worshipped, not merely “for the purpose of preserving the outward order until a new king should take his place” ( O. v. Gerlach ), but also to carry out the ban upon Agag, whom Saul had spared.
After Saul had prayed, Samuel directed him to bring Agag the king of the Amalekites. Agag came מעדנּת , i.e., in a contented and joyous state of mind, and said (in his heart), “ Surely the bitterness of death is vanished ,” not from any special pleasure at the thought of death, or from a heroic contempt of death, but because he thought that his life was to be granted him, as he had not been put to death at once, and was now about to be presented to the prophet (Clericus).
But Samuel pronounced the sentence of death upon him: “ As thy sword hath made women childless, so be thy mother childless before women! ” מנּשׁים is to be understood as a comparative: more childless than (other) women, i.e., the most childless of women, namely, because her son was the king. From these words of Samuel, it is very evident that Agag had carried on his wars with great cruelty, and had therefore forfeited his life according to the lex talionis . Samuel then hewed him in pieces “ before the Lord at Gilgal ,” i.e., before the altar of Jehovah there; for the slaying of Agag being the execution of the ban, was an act performed for the glory of God.
After the prophet had thus maintained the rights of Jehovah in the presence of Saul, and carried out the ban upon Agag, he returned to his own home at Ramah; and Saul went to his house at Gibeah. From that time forward Samuel broke off all intercourse with the king whom Jehovah had rejected. “ For Samuel was grieved for Saul, and it repented the Lord that he had made Saul king ,” i.e., because Samuel had loved Saul on account of his previous election; and yet, as Jehovah had rejected him unconditionally, he felt that he was precluded from doing anything to effect a change of heart in Saul, and his reinstatement as king.