1 Samuel 15:8

1 Samuel 15:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
• New International Version (NIV)He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

Context of 1 Samuel 15:8

6Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, leave, go down from the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they went up from Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, though he totally destroyed all [the rest of] the people with the sword. 9Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and everything that was good, and they were not willing to destroy them entirely; but everything that was undesirable or worthless they destroyed completely. 10Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,

1 Samuel 15:8 word by word

וַיִּתְפֹּ֛שׂ אֶת־אֲגַ֥ג מֶֽלֶךְ־עֲמָלֵ֖ק חָ֑י וְאֶת־כָּל־הָעָ֖ם הֶחֱרִ֥ים לְפִי־חָֽרֶב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he tookתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610
• Agagאֲגָג'ăgag · AgagH90
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of the Amalekitesעֲמָלֵק‛ămâlêq · AmalekH6002
• aliveחַיchay · aliveH2416
• and utterly destroyedחָרַםchâram · to devote/destroyH2763
• all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• with the edgeפֶּהpeh · lip: edgeH6310
• of the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 15:8

• 1 Samuel 15:3Now go and strike Amalek and completely destroy everything that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’ ”
• Numbers 24:7Water [that is, great blessings] will flow from his buckets, And his offspring will live by many waters, And his king will be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
• 1 Kings 20:30But the rest ran to the city of Aphek, and the [city] wall fell on 27,000 of the men who were left. Ben-hadad escaped and came into the city, going into an inner chamber [to hide].
• Esther 3:1After these things King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the officials who were with him.
• 1 Samuel 27:8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites [the enemies of Israel that Joshua had failed to annihilate]; for they had inhabited the land from ancient times, as one comes to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.
• 1 Samuel 30:1Now it happened when David and his men came [home] to Ziklag on the third day, [they found] that the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negev (the South country) and on Ziklag, and had overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire;
• Joshua 10:39He captured it with its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so Joshua did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.
• Joshua 11:12Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The saving Agag alive was in direct violation of the devotion to destruction.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Agag was likely a descendant of an earlier king with the same name (see Numbers 24:7; compare Esther 3:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-97-9. Saul smote the Amalekites--His own view of the proper and expedient course to follow was his rule, not the command of God.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 15:8

• Agag
• Agency
• Amalekites
• Covetousness
• Falsehood
• Gilgal
• Repentance
• Retaliation
• Rulers
• War

In the dictionaries

• Agag
• Amalekite
• Better
• Chief
• Pardon
• Reject
• Samuel
• Saul
• Skirt
• Amalek; Amalekite

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings