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 sent this warning to the Kenites: “Move away from where the Amalekites live, or you will die with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites packed up and left. 7Then Saul slaughtered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else. 9Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality. 10Then the Lord said to Samuel,

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 completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
• Numbers 24:7Water will flow from their buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
• 1 Kings 20:30The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.
• Esther 3:1Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire.
• 1 Samuel 27:8David and his men spent their time raiding the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites—people who had lived near Shur, toward the land of Egypt, since ancient times.
• 1 Samuel 30:1Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.
• Joshua 10:39He captured the town, its king, and all of its surrounding villages. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He did to Debir and its king just what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
• Joshua 11:12Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely 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