1 Samuel 15 is the fifteenth
chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
of the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
or the first part of the
Books of Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...
in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet
Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
, with additions by the prophets
Gad and
Nathan
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
*Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
* Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...
,
but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. This chapter contains
Saul
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
disobedience in dealing with the
Amalekites
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...
. This is within a section comprising
1 Samuel 7
1 Samuel 7 is the seventh chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, ...
–15 which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the account of the first years of King Saul.
Text
This chapter was originally written in the
Hebrew language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
It is divided into 35 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
are of the
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
tradition, which includes the
Codex Cairensis
The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...
(895),
Aleppo Codex
The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...
(10th century), and
Codex Leningradensis
The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...
(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...
including 4Q51 (4QSam; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 20–21, 24–32
[Dead sea scrolls – 1 Samuel]
/ref> and 4Q52 (4QSam; 250 BCE) with extant verses 16–18.
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
known as the Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
(originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...
(B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...
(A; A; 5th century).
Places
*Gibeah
Gibeah (; he, גִּבְעָה ''Gīḇəʿā''; he, גִּבְעַת, link=no ''Gīḇəʿaṯ'') is the name of three places mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the tribes of Benjamin, Judah, and Ephraim respectively.
Gibeah of Benjamin is th ...
*Ramah Ramah may refer to:
In ancient Israel
* Ramathaim-Zophim, the birthplace of Samuel
* Ramoth-Gilead, a Levite city of refuge
* Ramah in Benjamin, mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah and also in the Gospel of Matthew
* Baalath-Beer, also known as Ramot ...
Analysis
God through Samuel commanded Saul to lead to war against
the Amalekites, as punishment for their attacks on the Israelites on their way from Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
(verses 1–3, cf. Exodus 17:8–16; Deuteronomy 25:17–19). When Saul did not completely fulfill the order, Samuel spoke an oracle of judgement to Saul (verses 17–31), a similar prophetic attitude as in 8:1–22 and 13:8–15, but here the rejection of Saul is final and absolute (verses 28–29) and 'parabolically confirmed by the accidental tearing of Samuel's robe when Saul made his last desperate supplication' (verse 27). The rejection is spoken in rhythmic form in verses 21–23, contrasting Saul's sacrifice and obedience (cf. Isaiah 1
Isaiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, one of the Book of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, which is the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.J. D. Davis. 1960. ''A Dictionary of the Bible''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book Hou ...
:11–15; Hosea 6
Hosea 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an abbreviated Bible commentary. 24th edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1965. p. 355 ...
:6; Amos 5
Amos 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Amos in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Amos, including a lamentation for Israel, Amos 5:1–3; an exhortation to ...
:21–24; Micah 6:6–8) and declaring that he who rejected God's word has been rejected, following a preliminary warning in 13:13 (cf.
12:14). Saul's guilt was described in the selection of words for his action: disobedience (verse 19), doing evil (verse 19), rebellion (verse 23), stubbornness (verse 23), rejection of God's word (verse 23), as Saul admitted himself that what he did was a sin and transgression (verse 24). Relations between Samuel and Saul were then broken off (verses 34–35), as the cycle of Samuel-Saul narratives is completed; the next section consists of a Saul–David cycle.
Saul's partial obedience in the mission against the Amalekites (15:1–9)
Saul as God's anointed has been given a clear mission from God, that Samuel spoke in detail, perhaps to avoid 'miscommunications' in previous commandments (cf. 1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Samuel 13
1 Samuel 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Sa ...
), and to assure no misunderstanding in the execution. The mission is to "totally destroy" the Amalekites, a practice called ''herem'' in Hebrew or "the ban" in English, where no prisoner should be taken and all spoil should be destroyed. This is as divine punishment from God as a vengeance of the attacks by the Amalekites, a descendant of Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
, to the Israelites during wilderness wandering out of Egypt (Exodus 17:8–13) and after the Israelites were in Canaan (Numbers 14:43, 45; Judges 3:13; 6:3–5, 33; 7:10, 12), so that YHWH would "completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven" (Exodus 17:14; cf. Deuteronomy 25:17–19). As the things 'devoted to destruction' exclusively belong to YHWH, so the violation of the ban was handled seriously: those who kept something 'under the ban' would themselves put 'under the ban' or to be destroyed (cf. Joshua 7:1, 2:24–26). Against this clear order of YHWH, Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalek and the best of the animals (verse 9), partially as a 'trophy of war' fitting to his plan for a 'monument in his own honor' in Carmel (verse 12).
Verse 6
:''Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.''
*"Kenites"" a tribe related to Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, the priest of Midian (Exodus 3:1; Judges 1:16), an offshoot from the Midianites. Jethro and his son Hobab (Exodus 18; Numbers 10:29-32) accompanied the Israelites on their march as far as Jericho (Judges 1:16).,Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in parts by Cambridge University Press from 1882 onwards. Anglican bishop John Perowne was the general editor. The first section published was written by theologian ...
1 Samuel 15
Accessed 28 April 2019. but seemingly ever wandering about without a settled home.[Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)]
In: ''The Pulpit Commentary
The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible created during the nineteenth century under the direction of Rev. Joseph S. Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. It consists of 23 volumes with 22,000 pages and 95,000 entrie ...
''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. For some reasons, they broke up into small tribes, some living in the wilderness of Judah (Judges 1:16), others settling far to the north in territory of Naphtali (Judges 4:11, 17), others among the rocks of Arabia Petraea, and here some dwelt among the Amalekites in the desert to the south of Judah. They are mentioned again in 1 Samuel 27:10 and 1 Samuel 30:29, as the friends of Israel. Some famous persons among the Kenites was the killer of Sisera
Sisera ( he, סִיסְרָא ''Sîsərā'') was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor, who is mentioned in of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by the forces of the Israelite tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali under the comm ...
, Jael
Jael or Yael ( he, יָעֵל ''Yāʿēl'') is the name of the heroine who delivered Israel from the army of King Jabin of Canaan in the Book of Judges of the Hebrew Bible. After Barak demurred at the behest of the prophetess Deborah, God turned ...
, whose husband Heber had migrated into northern Palestine (Judges 4:11); and the Rechabites (1 Chronicles 2:55), who long preserved the nomad habits of their ancestors (Jeremiah 35:7-10).
*"I destroy you": could be translated from Masoretic Text , (''ʾosifeka'', "I am gathering you", from the root , 'ʾasaf'' or Syriac Peshitta and Latin Vulgate which assume a reading , (''ʾesfak'', “I sweep you away,” from the root , 'safah''.
God rejects Saul as king of Israel (15:10–35)
After Saul disobeyed God's command, God told Samuel of His regret making Saul a king. The Hebrew root word ''nhm'' for "regret" was used 4 times in this chapter (among English Bible translations, ESV consistently renders it as "regret" whereas others use "change of mind" or "repent"). Samuel reacted with 'anger' to God for changing His mind about Saul and 'cries' out all night long. This has a parallel in the account of Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
who also wished that God would not change His mind on Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
: after Jonah 'preach against' Nineveh (Jonah 1:2), prophesying its destruction due to its wickedness, the people of the city repented, so God 'changed His mind' (Hebrew: ''nhm'') and did not bring the destruction He had threatened (Jonah 3:10). This made Jonah 'angry' to God for changing His mind (Jonah 4:2) about Nineveh.
Samuel confronted Saul who had gone to Carmel to 'set up a monument in his own honor' (verse 12), not a humble king anymore. Saul preemptively said that he had obeyed God's order before being asked (verse 13), but Samuel was already told by God about the truth and could hear the sound of cattle which were spared from destruction. Saul tried to deflect the blame by first directing it subtly to his soldiers ('the soldiers brought them') and by saying that they would be slaughtered in a sacrifice for YHWH (verse 15). Samuel confronted all excuses by pointing out that 'to obey is better than sacrifice' and disobedience 'is like the sin of divination' and arrogance like 'the evil of idolatry' (verses 22–23), so since Saul rejected the word of God, God now rejected him as king (verse 23), not just that his future dynasty was canceled as previously stated. Saul desperately begged Samuel to 'repent' (Hebrew: ''shub''; "come back"/"turning away", could be from God as in Joshua 23:12, Judges 2:17; 8:33, or from sin as in 1 Kings 8:48) with him (verse 25). First, Samuel rejected (verse 26), but when Saul asked again to honor him 'before the elders of his people and before Israel' (verse 30), Samuel decided to 'repent' with Saul, so Saul worshipped the Lord before the people (verse 31), and righted Saul's wrongdoing by publicly killing Agag (verses 32–35). Following this public show, Samuel and Saul parted ways, never to meet again, although Samuel continued to mourn for Saul (verse 35). At the end, God did give mercy to Saul by not immediately removing him as king.
Uses
Music
"1 Samuel 15:23" is a song title in the album " ''The Life of the World to Come''" inspired by this verse that was released by the American band The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...
in 2009.
See also
*Related Bible parts: Exodus 17, Numbers 14, Deuteronomy 25, Judges 3, Judges 6, Judges 7, 1 Samuel 10, 1 Samuel 11
1 Samuel 11 is the eleventh chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel ...
, 1 Samuel 12
1 Samuel 12 is the twelfth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, ...
, 1 Samuel 13
1 Samuel 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Sa ...
Notes
References
Sources
Commentaries on Samuel
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General
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External links
* Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
translations:
*
Shmuel I – I Samuel – Chapter 15 (Judaica Press)
Hebrew text and English translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org
* Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
translations:
*
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
*
1 Samuel chapter 15. Bible Gateway
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