1 Samuel 15:8 kjv
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Samuel 15:8 nkjv
He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Samuel 15:8 niv
He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.
1 Samuel 15:8 esv
And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Samuel 15:8 nlt
He captured Agag, the Amalekite king, but completely destroyed everyone else.
1 Samuel 15 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exo 17:14 | Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book...Amalek" | God's vow to utterly blot out Amalek. |
| Num 24:20 | And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his discourse and said, "Amalek was first among the nations, but its end will be utter destruction." | Prophecy of Amalek's ultimate ruin. |
| Deut 7:2 | "And when the Lord your God gives them over to you, you shall devote them to destruction." | Command for herem against idolatrous nations. |
| Deut 25:19 | "therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek." | Specific command to obliterate Amalek's memory. |
| 1 Sam 15:3 | "Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have; do not spare them..." | God's explicit command to Saul before battle. |
| 1 Sam 15:9 | "But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs..." | Saul's direct act of disobedience to God. |
| 1 Sam 15:19 | "Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil...?" | Samuel's rebuke of Saul's disobedience. |
| 1 Sam 15:22 | "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice..." | God values obedience above ritualistic acts. |
| 1 Sam 15:23 | "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption as iniquity and idolatry..." | Disobedience likened to grave spiritual offenses. |
| 1 Sam 15:28 | And Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you." | Consequence of Saul's disobedience. |
| 1 Sam 13:13-14 | And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly...Now your kingdom shall not continue..." | Earlier disobedience costing Saul his dynasty. |
| Josh 6:18 | "But by all means keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them to destruction you take some of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction..." | Warning against partial herem obedience. |
| Psa 50:8-9 | "I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices...For every beast of the forest is mine..." | God does not desire sacrifices for their own sake. |
| Prov 21:3 | To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. | Emphasis on obedience and justice over ritual. |
| Jer 7:23 | "But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God..." | Call for wholehearted obedience. |
| Hos 6:6 | For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. | God desires relationship and true devotion. |
| Matt 7:21 | "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father..." | Doing God's will is essential for entry into His kingdom. |
| John 14:15 | "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." | Love for Christ expressed through obedience. |
| James 2:10 | For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. | Partial disobedience is treated as full disobedience. |
| 1 Sam 30 | Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid on the Negeb and on Ziklag. | Later conflict with the Amalekites by David. |
| Est 3:1 | After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite... | Haman, a potential descendant of Agag, threatens Jews. |
| 2 Cor 6:17 | "Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord..." | Call for separation from worldly influence (spiritual herem). |
1 Samuel 15 verses
1 Samuel 15 8 Meaning
This verse describes King Saul's initial actions in fulfilling God's command to utterly destroy the Amalekites. It states that Saul captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive. Simultaneously, it notes that the rest of the Amalekite people were completely annihilated "with the edge of the sword," signifying their comprehensive destruction in battle. However, the selective act of sparing Agag and implicitly other choice items, as revealed in subsequent verses, marks a significant departure from God's explicit instruction for total destruction, which ultimately leads to Saul's rejection as king.
1 Samuel 15 8 Context
First Samuel chapter 15 records a pivotal event in King Saul's reign, marking a turning point in his relationship with God. The narrative begins with Samuel explicitly conveying God's command to Saul: to utterly destroy the Amalekites due to their ancient enmity against Israel (Exo 17:8-16; Deut 25:17-19). This command included a comprehensive extermination of every person and all livestock, a policy known as herem or "devotion to destruction," an act of divine judgment executed through Israel. Verse 8 describes Saul's initial action: he captures Agag, the Amalekite king, alive, and carries out the destruction of the common people. This seemingly partial fulfillment immediately sets the stage for Samuel's severe rebuke of Saul in the following verses, revealing Saul's disobedience in sparing the best of the spoils and Agag himself (1 Sam 15:9), directly contradicting the divine order for complete and total destruction. This act of partial obedience, born of self-will or desire for glory, leads to God's definitive rejection of Saul as king.
1 Samuel 15 8 Word analysis
- He captured: The subject "He" refers to King Saul. The Hebrew term used here is wayyitpoś (וַיִּתְפֹּשׂ), meaning "he took hold of," "he seized," or "he captured." This highlights Saul's deliberate action of taking Agag alive, rather than killing him as commanded.
- Agag: This is the personal name of the king of the Amalekites. His capture alive is a specific, significant act of disobedience, as the command was to destroy all, including the king, indicating a personal defiance of God's direct instruction.
- king of the Amalekites: The Amalekites (Amaleq) were a historically bitter and treacherous enemy of Israel, descendants of Esau. Their unprovoked attack on the weakest Israelites during the Exodus (Exo 17:8-16) provoked a divine curse and a command for their eventual eradication (Deut 25:17-19). God's judgment against them was specific, long-standing, and without exception.
- alive: The Hebrew word ḥay (חַי) explicitly emphasizes Agag's living state. This single word encapsulates Saul's critical act of partial obedience and rebellion. God's herem command specified no survivors, not even the king. Sparing Agag reflected Saul's desire for triumph, humanistic sentiment, or perhaps intent to bring Agag as a captive trophy.
- and utterly destroyed: This phrase comes from the Hebrew wayyaḥarem (וַיַּחֲרֵם), rooted in ḥāram, meaning to "devote to destruction," "put under the ban," or "utterly destroy." This is the theological concept of herem (or cherem). It's not mere warfare but an execution of divine judgment, where everything belonging to the enemy is consecrated to God by being destroyed. This includes all living things and valuable possessions. Saul correctly applied this to the general populace but failed to do so comprehensively for Agag and the best of the livestock (v. 9).
- all the people: The Hebrew kol-hāʿām (כָּל־הָעָם) signifies the entire populace of the Amalekites. This part of the command Saul ostensibly carried out, demonstrating a degree of obedience. However, it implicitly excludes Agag who was also "of the people." This highlights the importance of precise, unqualified obedience.
- with the edge of the sword: The Hebrew phrase lᵉp̄î-ḥereḇ (לְפִי־חֶרֶב) literally means "to the mouth of the sword" or "by the edge/blade of the sword." It describes the method of complete extermination, emphasizing a swift, violent, and decisive action of destruction in warfare, leaving no survivors.
- He captured Agag king of the Amalekites alive: This specific action directly defies God's command to utterly destroy all, including the king. It reveals Saul's self-will and the beginnings of his spiritual downfall, valuing a personal trophy or perhaps perceived strategic advantage over absolute obedience to the divine word.
- and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword: While this appears to be a fulfillment of the herem, the immediate qualification regarding Agag's life and the later mention of sparing livestock (v. 9) expose this "destruction" as incomplete. God's standard of herem demanded a total, uncompromising annihilation. This partial compliance demonstrates that, in God's eyes, partial obedience is in fact disobedience.
1 Samuel 15 8 Bonus section
- The Nature of Herem: The concept of herem in the Old Testament, though jarring to modern sensibilities, was unique. It was not mere human aggression or "genocide" but a specific divine judgment on cultures whose sin had reached its absolute fullness (cf. Gen 15:16). It also served to protect Israel from the spiritual pollution and idolatry of these nations. It symbolized God's holy intolerance for sin and radical purity.
- The Subtle Lure of Partial Obedience: Saul's error was not outright defiance but a seemingly minor deviation – "most" of the Amalekites were destroyed, but not all. This highlights how easily human reasoning, personal gain, or social pressure can dilute divine commands, turning seeming acts of faith into acts of rebellion in God's sight. The story emphasizes that true obedience is not about completing a checklist, but about the posture of a surrendered heart.
- Persistent Consequences of Unaddressed Sin: Saul’s incomplete destruction of Amalek is later echoed in the book of Esther, where Haman, identified as an "Agagite," a possible descendant of Agag, nearly succeeds in annihilating the Jewish people. This underscores the theological principle that incomplete obedience can have long-lasting, grave consequences, suggesting that persistent evils may resurface if not definitively dealt with according to God’s explicit commands.
1 Samuel 15 8 Commentary
First Samuel 15:8 stands as a stark testament to the critical importance of wholehearted obedience in the eyes of God. Saul’s selective execution of the herem command – destroying "all the people" yet sparing King Agag alive and also the choice livestock (as subsequent verses clarify) – transformed a divinely ordered act of justice into an act of partial compliance. God’s command for herem against Amalek was an absolute decree, a final judgment on a nation steeped in pervasive evil and foundational opposition to His people. Saul’s failure to fully carry out the destruction revealed a heart swayed by personal glory, the desires of the people, or a flawed human logic that sought to "improve" upon God's explicit instruction. This was not a minor misstep, but a direct rebellion, as severe as divination and idolatry in God's judgment, ultimately costing Saul his kingdom. The verse therefore encapsulates the tragic consequence of presuming to know better than God or choosing partial obedience over complete submission to His word.