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2 Samuel 1:8

in 2 Samuel 1

‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

KJV

And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 1

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

I am an Amalekite - Dr. Delaney remarks that an Amalekite took that crown from off the head of Saul, which he had forfeited by his disobedience in the case of Amalek.

This site's exposition

I am an Amalekite

on 2 Samuel 1:8-10

The man names himself an Amalekite, so the war with Amalek returns in his own words. He says Saul begged, “Stand over me and kill me”, and that he killed him. Saul lost his kingdom in 1 Samuel 15 for sparing Amalek, and now an Amalekite carries his crown.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the L ORD 's anointed. David's reception of these tidings. So far was he from falling into a transport of joy, as the Amalekite expected, that he fell into a passion of weeping, rent his clothes (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And he said unto me, who art thou?....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

a man came out of the camp from Saul--As the narrative of Saul's death, given in the last chapter, is inspired, it must be considered the true account, and the Amalekite's story a fiction of his own, invented to ingratiate himself with David, the presumptive successor to the throne.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

8 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לִ֖יto <the> me

    li

  • מִי־who?

    mi-H4310 →423 times

  • אָ֑תָּה[are] you

    ʾatahH859 →1094 times

  • וָאֹמַ֣רand I said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלָ֔יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • עֲמָלֵקִ֖י[am] an Amalekite

    ʾamalkiH6003 →

  • אָנֹֽכִי׃I

    ʾanokhiH595 →359 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 30:17And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.4 works1 Samuel 30:13Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.4 works1 Samuel 15:3Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”3 works1 Samuel 30:1On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.3 works1 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.)2 worksDeuteronomy 25:17–19Remember what the Amalekites did to you along your way from Egypt,2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 14:7Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.2 worksExodus 17:8–16After this, the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.2 worksNumbers 24:20Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”2 works2 Samuel 1:13And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Samuel 30:1

    On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 29:11

      So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

    • 1 Samuel 15:7

      Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 15:3

    Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and…

    it leads to

    • Numbers 24:20

      Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Amalek was first among the nations, but his end is destruction.”

    • Deuteronomy 20:16–18

      However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.

    • Isaiah 14:21–22

      Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the iniquities of their forefathers. They will never rise up to possess a land or cover the earth with their cities.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 27:8

    Now 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:

    • Joshua 13:13

      but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 1 →