1 Samuel 15:7
in 1 Samuel 15Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt.
KJV
And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The district here described would stretch from Havilah on the extreme east to Shur, either near Suez, or further north on the coast road from Gaza to Egypt.
This site's exposition
from Havilah until thou comest
on 1 Samuel 15:7-9
Saul carries the campaign the length of Amalek's territory, from Havilah to Shur on the border of Egypt, and takes Agag alive. Verse 9 states the failure plainly: Saul and the people spared the king and the best of the flocks and herds, keeping back exactly what verse 3 had named for destruction, and destroyed only what was already worthless. Barnes reads the sparing of Agag as a king's calculation, a captive kept to be paraded, and the text itself gives no motive beyond an appetite for what was good.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
And Saul struck the Amalekites, etc. Evila, which is said to mean "suffering" or "labor," signifies the beginning of conversion, which is not initiated without a certain painful and laborious birth of the new man. Sur, which translates to "right," represents the final perfection of …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
Havilah is interpreted as "one who gives birth," Shur as "anguish," Egypt as "darkness." But concupiscence gives birth to sin. Rightly, therefore, concupiscence is designated by the name of "one who gives birth." The Prophet also, fearing to fall into the anguish of an impenitent heart, beseeches, saying: "Let not the deep swallow me up, neither let the pit shut its mouth upon me" (Psalm 68:16). The teacher, therefore, strikes Amalek from Havilah to Shur when he suppresses in the hearts of his hearers the vices of conceived delight and the resolve of deliberate choice.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To Shur - That is, from one end of their country to the other; he smote all that he met with: but a great number of them fled away upon the noise of his coming, and secured themselves in other places, 'till the storm was over. Now they paid dear for the sin of their ancestors. They were themselves guilty of idolatry and numberless sins, for which they deserved to be cut off.
And Saul smote the Amalekites,.... Engaging in battle with them, he overcame them, and beat them, and slew great numbers of them: from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt; having routed them in the valley, or in whatsoever place the battle was fought, he pursued them from one end of their country to the other; from Havilah, which lay to the northeast, to Shur, which lay to the southwest, and destroyed all that came in his way between those two points, see Gen 25:18.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
From Havilah - to Shur - From Pelusium in Egypt, unto the Red Sea. - Josephus. But Havilah lay eastward from the Red Sea; the Amalekites lay between this and the way to Egypt towards Shur.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥ךְ | vaiyakh | and he attacked | H5221 → | 499 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲמָלֵ֑ק | ʾamalek | Amalek | H6002 → | 39 times |
| מֵֽחֲוִילָה֙ | mechavilah | from Havilah | H2341 → | |
| בּוֹאֲךָ֣ | boakha | coming you | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שׁ֔וּר | shur | Shur | H7793 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַיַּ֥ךְand he attacked
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲמָלֵ֑קAmalek
ʾamalekH6002 →39 times
מֵֽחֲוִילָה֙from Havilah
mechavilahH2341 →
בּוֹאֲךָ֣coming you
boakhaH935 →2568 times
שׁ֔וּרShur
shurH7793 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →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
Genesis 25:18Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
it leads to
- Genesis 20:1
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 16:12
He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
- Genesis 20:1
Through
Genesis 16:7Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
it leads to
- Genesis 25:18
Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 21:17
Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the…
- Exodus 15:22
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
- Genesis 25:18
Through
Exodus 15:22Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
it leads to
- Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 16:7
Through
1 Samuel 27:8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:7–8
Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
- Joshua 13:2
This is the land that remains:
- 1 Samuel 15:7–8
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 6, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.