1 Samuel 15:2
in 1 Samuel 15This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they ambushed them on their way up from Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 15
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThus saith the Lord of hosts,.... Of the celestial host of angels, and of the army of Israel, yea, of all the armies of the earth: this is premised to engage the attention of Saul: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel; four hundred years ago: how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt; in the valley of Rephidim, just before they came to Mount Sinai, and fell upon the rear of them, and smote the feeble, and faint, and weary, see Exo 17:8.
This site's exposition
The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel
on 1 Samuel 15:1-3
Samuel reminds Saul that his crown came by anointing, so obedience is the condition of the office. The command reaches back to Exodus 17:14 to 16, where the LORD swore war with Amalek for the ambush on the way from Egypt, and to Deuteronomy 25:17 to 19. The words "devote to destruction" render the Hebrew herem, a ban that spares nothing, and set the standard for every later verse.
This site's exposition
I witnessed what the Amalekites did
John Gill dates the ambush four hundred years before this command. The LORD of Hosts had witnessed it and kept it in memory all that time. Adam Clarke places the Amalekites between Egypt and Canaan, and at Exodus 17:8 they struck the rear of the Israelites, where the faint and weary walked.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
These things saith the Lord of hosts: I have reckoned, etc. An appropriate preface urging spiritual warfare, so that He who would command to engage in this should be known as the Lord of hosts; that is, of the angelic armies, by whose help we …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
What is meant by the deeds of the Amalekites being recounted, except that the defilements of lust are greatly hateful to God? Whence the blessed apostle Paul says: 'Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body' (1 Cor. 6:18). Likewise he says: 'Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge' (Heb. 13:4). Hence also, rebuking more sharply and separating them from the kingdom of God, he says: 'Neither shall the unclean possess the kingdom of God' (Eph. 5:5).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
8 , &c., and the crime is aggravated, Deut. xxv. He basely smote the hindmost of them, and feared not God. God then swore that he would have war with Amalek from generation to generation, and that in process of time he would utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek; this is the work that Saul is now appointed to do (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I remember that which Amalek did - The Amalekites were a people of Arabia Petraea, who had occupied a tract of country on the frontiers of Egypt and Palestine. They had acted with great cruelty towards the Israelites on their coming out of Egypt. (See Exo 17:8 (note), and the notes there). They came upon them when they were faint and weary, and smote the hindermost of the people - those who were too weak to keep up with the rest. (See Deu 25:18).
SAUL had been commanded to utterly slay all the Amalekites and their cattle. Instead of doing so he preserved the king and suffered his people to take the best of the oxen and of the sheep. When called to account for this he declared that he did it with a view of offering sacrifice to God—but Samuel met him at once with the assurance that such sacrifices were no excuse for an act of direct rebellion.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
SAUL had been commanded to utterly slay all the Amalekites and their cattle. Instead of doing so he preserved the king and suffered his people to take the best of the oxen and of the sheep. When called to account for this he declared that he did it with a view of offering sacrifice to God—but Samuel met him at once with the assurance that such sacrifices were no excuse for an act of direct rebellion. In so doing he altered his sentence, which is worthy to be printed in letters of gold and to be hung up before the eyes of the present generation: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." I think that in this verse—and here I shall dwell mainly—there is, first, a voice to professing Christians, and then, secondly, to unconverted persons. I. First, I will speak to you, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, you who have made a PROFESSION of your faith in Him. Be it ever in your remembrance, that to obey, to keep strictly in the path of your Savior's command, is better than any outward form of religion. And to hearken to His precepts with an attentive ear is better than to bring the fat of rams or anything else which you may wish to lay upon His altar. Probably there are some of you here tonight who may be living in the neglect of some known duty. It is no new thing for Christians to know their duty—to have their conscience enlightened about it—and yet to neglect it. If you are failing to keep the least of one of Christ's commands to His disciples, I pray you, Brethren, be disobedient no longer. I know, for instance, that some of you can see it to be your duty, as Believers, to be baptized. If you did not think it to be your duty, I would not bring this text to bear upon you.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Compare the marginal references. It appears 1Sa 14:48 that this expedition against Amalek was not made without fresh provocation. Probably some incursion similar to that described in 1 Sam. 30 was made by them upon the south country at a time when they thought the Israelites were weakened by their contests with the Philistines.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Now obey Adonoy's words. Once you acted foolishly, 1 Shaul had acted improperly by not waiting for Shmuel [Above:8-14] as he had been instructed, therefore, Shmuel is warning him now to be careful. but now be careful [in your actions].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֙ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| פָּקַ֕דְתִּי | pakadti | I have paid attention to | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ה | ʾasah | it did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עֲמָלֵ֖ק | ʾamalek | Amalek | H6002 → | 39 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | leyisrael | to Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׂ֥ם | sam | it set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> it | ||
| בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְ | baderekh | on the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בַּעֲלֹת֖וֹ | baaloto | when came up it | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַר֙he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
פָּקַ֕דְתִּיI have paid attention to
pakadtiH6485 →303 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
עָשָׂ֥הit did
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
עֲמָלֵ֖קAmalek
ʾamalekH6002 →39 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לto Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׂ֥םit set
samH7760 →584 times
לוֹ֙to <the> it
lo
בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְon the way
baderekhH1870 →707 times
בַּעֲלֹת֖וֹwhen came up it
baalotoH5927 →890 times
מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃from Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 8:7The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds.
it leads to
- Amos 6:8
The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
- Hosea 9:9
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their guilt; He will punish their sins.
- Hosea 8:13
Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…
- Hosea 7:2
But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.
- Amos 6:8
Through
Hosea 7:2But they fail to consider in their hearts that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds are all around them; they are before My face.
it leads to
- Luke 12:2
There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.
- Jeremiah 2:19
Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear…
- Amos 8:7
The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds.
- Luke 12:2
Through
Numbers 24:20Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”
it leads to
- Exodus 17:14
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
- Exodus 17:14
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 686: “Obedience Better Than Sacrifice” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.