1 Samuel 15

First Book of Samuel chapter 1 Samuel 15 1 Samuel 14 chapter 14 1 Samuel 16 chapter 16 First book of Samuel Old Testament 9 Nevi'im 3 Former Prophets Morte Agag (89398513).jpg 250px "The Death of Agag", illustration by Gustave Doré. 1 Samuel 15 is the fifteenth 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.Halley 1965 181 According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan,Hirsch Emil G. SAMUEL, BOOKS OF http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13080-samuel-books-of www.jewishencyclopedia.com but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE.Knight 1995 62Jones 2007 197 This chapter contains Saul's disobedience in dealing with the Amalekites.Coogan 2007 422 Hebrew Bible This is within a section comprising 1 Samuel 7–15 which records the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the account of the first years of King Saul.Jones 2007 203 Text This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 35 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).Würthwein 1995 35-37 Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q51 (4QSama; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 20–21, 24–32Ulrich 2010 275–276Dead sea scrolls – 1 SamuelFitzmyer 2008 354Q51 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library and 4Q52 (4QSamb; 250 BCE) with extant verses 16–18.Ulrich 2010 275–276Fitzmyer 2008 354Q52 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint (originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).Würthwein 1995 73-74The whole book of 1 Samuel is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.Codex Sinaiticus Places Israel 240 right Ancient Israel Places mentioned in this chapter Israel 31.823333 35.231111 Blue pog.svg 6 Gibeah 100 right Israel 31.85 35.23167 Red pog.svg 6 Ramah 100 top Israel 31.5 35.3 Blue pog.svg 1 Dead Sea 100 right Israel 33 34 Red pog.svg 1 Mediterranean Sea 100 right Gibeah Ramah Analysis God through Samuel commanded Saul to lead genocidal war against the Amalekites, as punishment for their attacks on the Israelites on their way from Egypt (verses 1–3, cf. Exodus 17:8–16; Deuteronomy 25:17–19).Coogan 2007 422 Hebrew BibleJones 2007 207 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).Jones 2007 207 The rejection is spoken in rhythmic form in verses 21–23, contrasting Saul's sacrifice and obedience (cf. Isaiah 1:11–15; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21–24; 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).Jones 2007 207 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).Jones 2007 207 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.Jones 2007 207 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), and to assure no misunderstanding in the execution.Evans 2018 164 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.Evans 2018 162 This is as divine punishment from God as a vengeance of the attacks by the Amalekites, a descendant of Esau, 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).Evans 2018 162 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).Evans 2018 163 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).Evans 2018 164 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.1 Samuel 15:6 ESV ESV The "Kenites" were 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. 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). On "1 Samuel 15". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 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, Jael, 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 he אֹסִפְךָ, (he 'osifeka, "I am gathering you", from the root he אָסַף, [he 'asaf]) or Syriac Peshitta and Latin Vulgate which assume a reading he אֶסְפָךְ, (he 'esfak, “I sweep you away,” from the root he סָפָה, [safah]).Note on 1 Samuel 15:6 in NET Bible 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").Evans 2018 165 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 who also wished that God would not change His mind on Nineveh: 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.Evans 2018 165 Samuel confronted Saul who had gone to Carmel to 'set up a monument in his own honor' (verse 12), not a humble king anymore.Evans 2018 165 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.Evans 2018 165 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).Evans 2018 166 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.Evans 2018 166 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).Evans 2018 167–168 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 Samuel righted Saul's wrongdoing by publicly killing Agag (verses 32–35).Evans 2018 168–169 Following this public show, Samuel and Saul parted ways, never to meet again, although Samuel continued to mourn for Saul (verse 35).Evans 2018 169 At the end, God did give mercy to Saul by not immediately removing him as king.Evans 2018 167 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 in 2009.http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-mountain-goats-the-life-of-the-world-to-come/1863 The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come | Music Review Slant Magazine 2009-10-05 2012-03-15 See also 22em Agag Amalekites Carmel Cherem Children of Israel Gibeah Gilgal Havilah Idolatry Israelites Kenites Ramah Tribe of Judah Witchcraft Bible Related Bible parts: Exodus 17, Numbers 14, Deuteronomy 25, Judges 3, Judges 6, Judges 7, 1 Samuel 10, 1 Samuel 11, 1 Samuel 12, 1 Samuel 13 Notes References Sources Commentaries on Samuel Auld Graeme 1 & 2 Samuel https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA213 James D. G. Dunn and John William Rogerson Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible Eerdmans 2003 978-0-8028-3711-0 Bergen David T. 1, 2 Samuel https://books.google.com/books?id=eGT6fWsajqcC B&H Publishing Group 1996 978-0-8054-0107-3 Chapman Stephen B. 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture: A Theological Commentary Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2016 978-1-4674-4516-0 https://books.google.com/books?id=kS4XDAAAQBAJ Evans Paul 1-2 Samuel The Story of God Bible Commentary Tremper Longman Zondervan Academic 2018 978-0-310-49094-4 https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy8-DwAAQBAJ Gordon Robert I & II Samuel, A Commentary https://books.google.com/books?id=JMJ1ZAnswuUC&dq=I+%26+II+Samuel:+a+commentary+Gordon&pg=PA338 Paternoster Press 1986 978-0-310-23022-9 Hertzberg Hans Wilhelm I & II Samuel, A Commentary https://books.google.com/books?id=friNN7IdjOIC&q=Saul+appointed+anointed+instituted&pg=PA19 Westminster John Knox Press 1964 trans. from German 2nd edition 1960 978-0-664-22318-2 19 Tsumura David Toshio The First Book of Samuel https://books.google.com/books?id=iLKAlhLDkMwC Eerdmans 2007 978-0-8028-2359-5 General Breytenbach Andries Past, Present, Future: the Deuteronomistic History and the Prophets Brill 2000 Who Is Behind The Samuel Narrative? https://books.google.com/books?id=uP22QHpnKq8C&dq=Breytenbach+Who+is+behind+the+Samuel+narrative&pg=PA50 Johannes Cornelis de Moor and H.F. Van Rooy 9789004118713 Coogan Michael David Michael D. Coogan The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 Coogan Michael David Marc Zvi Brettler Carol Ann Newsom Pheme Perkins Augmented 3rd Oxford University Press 2007 978-0-19-528881-0 https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ Fitzmyer Joseph A. Joseph Fitzmyer A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC 2008 978-0-8028-6241-9 Grand Rapids, MI Halley Henry H. Henry Hampton Halley Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary 24th (revised) Zondervan Publishing House 1965 https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr registration 0-310-25720-4 Hayes Christine Introduction to the Bible Yale University Press 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC 978-0-300-18827-1 Jones Gwilym H. 12. 1 and 2 Samuel The Oxford Bible Commentary John Barton John Barton (theologian) John Muddiman John Muddiman Oxford University Press first (paperback) 2007 196–232 978-0-19-927718-6 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ February 6, 2019 Klein R.W. Samuel, books of https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C Bromiley, Geoffrey W The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Eerdmans 2003 978-0-8028-3784-4 Knight Douglas A https://books.google.com/books?id=SNLN1nEEys0C&q=630+BCE&pg=PA62 James Luther Mays, David L. Petersen and Kent Harold Richards Chapter 4 Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomists Old Testament Interpretation T&T Clark 1995 978-0-567-29289-6 Ulrich Eugene The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants 2010 Brill https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls Würthwein Ernst Ernst Würthwein The Text of the Old Testament Wm. B. Eerdmans Grand Rapids, MI 1995 Erroll F. Rhodes 0-8028-0788-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC January 26, 2019 External links Jewish translations: Shmuel I – I Samuel – Chapter 15 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org Christian translations: Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) 1 Samuel chapter 15. Bible Gateway 15 Category:Amalek Category:Saul