14.50 Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz, mentioned nowhere else. Abner remained Saul’s chief military officer throughout his reign and set Ishbaal on the throne after Saul’s death (2 Sam 2.8).
14.51 Abiel, Kish’s father (9.1). Cf. 1 Chr 8.33; 9.39.
1 SAMUEL 15
Saul Defeats the Amalekites but Spares Their King
1Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. 2Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt. 3Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
4So Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers, and ten thousand soldiers of Judah. 5Saul came to the city of the Amalekites and lay in wait in the valley. 6Saul said to the Kenites, “Go! Leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites, or I will destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from the Amalekites. 7Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.
Saul Rejected as King
10The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the LORD all night. 12Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, “Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal.” 13When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May you be blessed by the LORD; I have carried out the command of the LORD.” 14But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” 16Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night.” He replied, “Speak.”
17Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18And the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22And Samuel said,
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obedience to the voice of the LORD?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
23For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
24Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD.” 26Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recanta or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.” 30Then Saulb said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.” 31So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the LORD.
32Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” And Agag came to him haltingly.c Agag said, “Surely this is the bitterness of death.”d 33But Samuel said,
“As your sword has made women childless,
so your mother shall be childless among women.”
And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
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a Q Ms Gk: MT deceive
b Heb he
c Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
d Q Ms Gk: MT Surely the bitterness of death is past
15.1–9 Saul is called upon to avenge an ancient grievance against the Amalekites.
15.2 Amalekites, a nomadic tribe who lived in the desert south of Judah. Saul is told to avenge their attack on the Israelites at the oasis of Rephidim during the journey from Egypt to Canaan (Ex 17.8–13). At the time the Lord swore to blot out their memory completely and Moses vowed continual war with them (Ex 17.14–16).
15.3 The rules of Israel’s holy war required that everything captured in battle be consecrated to the Lord. This meant that the soldiers could not take spoils and that any person or animal captured alive had to be put to death (see Deut 20.10–18). Though this fate was normally reserved for enemies living within the promised land, the Amalekites are subject to a special directive (see Deut 25.17–19).
15.4 Telaim, probably another name for Telem, a town in the extreme southern portion of Judah (see Josh 15.24).
15.5 It is surprising that there should be a city of the Amalekites, who were camel-riding nomads.
15.6 Kenites, desert-dwelling, nomadic metalworkers or smiths who had settled among the Amalekites (see Judg 1.16).
15.7 From Havilah…Egypt, perhaps influenced by Gen 25.18. Havilah, which was somewhere on the western edge of the Arabian Peninsula, seems out of place. The wilderness of Shur lay northeast of Egypt.
15.9 Agag, known only from this episode, but Num 24.7 suggests that he was a famous enough king to be a standard of comparison.
15.10–34 By violating the ban on leaving any of the Amalekites alive (see note on 15.3), Saul incurs the anger of the Lord, who rejects him as king.
15.12 Carmel, about seven miles south of Hebron (Josh 15.55), is the village where David meets his wife Abigail (see 1 Sam 25.2–42).
15.15 Saul defends himself by claiming that the animals were spared so that they could be sacrificed to the Lord.
15.22–23 Samuel’s poetic censure of Saul is reminiscent of the oracles against empty religious practice that abound in the prophetic writings (see, e.g., Isa 66.2b–4; Hos 6.6; Am 5.21–24; Mic 6.6–8).
15.23 Divination, here foreign practices (Num 22.7) and false prophecy (Jer 14.14), not the permitted form utilizing the Urim and Thummim (see note on 14.41). Idolatry, Hebrew terapim (English teraphim in 19.13, 16, text notes b, d), here idol worship in general.
15.27 Grasping the hem of a robe is a traditional gesture of supplication widespread in the ancient Near East.
15.28 Samuel turns the accidental tear into a symbolic prophetic act. The prophet Ahijah denounces Jeroboam with a similar gesture in 1 Kings 11.29–32.
15.29 Cf. Num
23.19, but also cf. 1 Sam 15.35; Jon 3.9–10.
15.30–31 These verses seem to represent an alternative ending to the episode. Samuel is now willing to return with Saul without question or comment after angrily refusing to do so in vv. 24–29.
15.32 Haltingly, obscure, more likely “in chains” (see Job 38.31). Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD. The execution is a ritual dismemberment of the kind associated with covenant violations (see 11.7).
15.35–16.13 Samuel is sent to Bethlehem to anoint a new king.
1 SAMUEL 16
David Anointed as King
1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.”a 7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” 11Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
David Plays the Lyre for Saul
14Now the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.” 17So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the LORD is with him.” 19So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” 20Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
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a Heb him
16.1 Fill your horn with oil, in preparation for anointing a new king (v. 13); see 9.16; 10.1; for the horn, see 1 Kings 1.39. Jesse, a member of the tribe of Judah and the clan of Perez (Ruth 4.12, 17–22; 1 Chr 2.3–12), was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. As a Bethlehemite, he lived in Judah about six miles south of Jerusalem.
16.6 Samuel mistakenly assumes that Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn (1 Chr 2.13), is the LORD ’s anointed, i.e., the mashiach (Hebrew, “anointed one” or “messiah”) of the Lord.
16.8 Abinadab, Jesse’s second son (1 Chr 2.13).
16.9 Shammah (also 17.13), elsewhere called Shimeah (2 Sam 13.3, 32), Shimei (2 Sam 21.21), and Shimea (1 Chr 2.13; 20.7).
16.10 Jesse shows Samuel seven of his sons before mentioning David, and 17.12 indicates that he had eight sons. According to 1 Chr 2.13–15, however, David was the seventh of seven sons, and the motif of the seventh son who surpasses his brothers is widespread in world folklore.
16.11 Sit down, probably to eat the part of the sacrifice (v. 5; cf. 9.13) not reserved for the Lord (see Sir 32.1).
16.13 The spirit of the LORD possesses David as it did Saul (see 10.6; 11.6).
16.14–23 David is summoned to court as a musician.
16.14 The spirit of the LORD that empowered Saul to prophesy and rule (see 10.6; 11.6) is now replaced by an evil spirit from the LORD that will torment him.
16.15 Saul’s servants, the ranking members of his court.
16.16 The notion that music can tame or banish evil spirits is widespread in world folklore.
16.18 In the tradition underlying the old story of David’s rise to power (see Introduction), David was a warrior when he came to Saul’s court, not an inexperienced shepherd boy as in the later account that follows (see 17.33, 39). Whatever personal assets David has, however, none is as important as the fact that the LORD is with him, a theme echoed throughout the older narrative (see note on 18.14).
16.21–22 Though subsequent events will poison their relationship, David at first inspires affection and patronage in Saul.
1 SAMUEL 17
David and Goliath
1Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was sixa cubits and a span. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.b 13The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14David was the youngest; the three eldest followed Saul, 15but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
17Jesse said to his son David, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your br
others; 18also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them.”
19Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers. 23As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
24All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. 25The Israelites said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel.” 26David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27The people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. He said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle.” 29David said, “What have I done now? It was only a question.” 30He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.
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