1 Samuel 15:3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:1-9

Here, I. Samuel, in God's name, solemnly requires Saul to be obedient to the command of God, and plainly intimates that he was now about to put him upon a trial, in one particular instance, whether he would be obedient or no, 1 Sam. 15:1. And the making of this so expressly the trial of his obedience did very much aggravate his disobedience. 1. He reminds him of what God had done for him: ?The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be a king. God gave thee thy power, and therefore he expects thou... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:3

Now go and smite Amalek ,.... This was one of the three things the Israelites were obliged to do when they came into the land of Canaan, as Kimchi observes; one was, to appoint a king over them, another, to build the house of the sanctuary, and the third, to blot out the name and memory of Amalek, see Deuteronomy 25:19 and this work was reserved for Saul, their first king: and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not ; all were to be devoted to destruction, and nothing... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 15:3

Slay both man and woman - Nothing could justify such an exterminating decree but the absolute authority of God. This was given: all the reasons of it we do not know; but this we know well, The Judge of all the earth doth right. This war was not for plunder, for God commanded that all the property as well as all the people should be destroyed. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:1-7

God's terrible acts. The facts are— 1 . Saul is reminded that though a king he is but the servant of God, and bound to carry out his declared will. 2 . Saul is commanded to utterly destroy Amalek in retribution for former sins. 3 . In prosecuting his duty Saul discriminates in favour of the Kenites, then resident among the Amalekites, in consequence of their former kindness to Israel. It appears from 1 Samuel 14:48 that, although the sin of Amalek in bygone times ( Exodus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:3

Utterly destroy. Hebrew, "put under the ban." The word herem, ban, properly signifies a thing set apart, especially one devoted to God; and whatever was so devoted could not be redeemed, but must be slain. When a country was put under the ban, all living things, men and cattle, were to be killed; no spoil might be taken, but it was to be burnt, and things indestructible by fire, as silver and gold, were to be brought into the treasury. Everything, in short, belonging to such a nation was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 15:3

Utterly destroy - Rather, “devote to destruction” (Leviticus 27:28 note). When a city or people were thus made cherem, everything living was to be destroyed, and no part of the spoil fall to the conquerors (compare 1 Samuel 15:21). The valuables were put into the sacred treasury. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Samuel 15:3

1 Samuel 15:3. Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, &c. This heavy sentence was pronounced against them long before, (Exodus 17:14,) and renewed at the Israelites’ entrance into Canaan, with a charge not to forget it, (Deuteronomy 25:19,) and now ordered to be put in execution. Slay both man and woman, infant and suckling We are to consider these orders of God, given in Scripture, for the slaying the innocent with the guilty, even children and sucklings, who... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 15:1-35

War against the Amalekites (15:1-35)The Amalekites came under the same curse as those Canaanite nations that were to be destroyed (15:1-3; cf. Exodus 17:8-16; Deuteronomy 20:16-18; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Again Saul’s obedience was tested, and again he failed. His kingly power gave him no right to alter God-given instructions to suit himself (4-9).God sent Samuel to tell Saul of the consequences of his disobedience (10-16; cf. 13:13-14). Religious sacrifices and military victories were no... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Samuel 15:3

Now go . Some codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, and Vulgate, read "now therefore go". Amalek. Compare Exodus 17:16 . Numbers 24:20 . utterly destroy = devote to destruction. man. Hebrew. 'ish. App-14 . read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Samuel 15:1-35

5. Yahweh’s final rejection of Saul ch. 15"In the short pericope 1 Samuel 13:7-15 a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him." [Note: Ibid., p. 142.] Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul fought with the Amalekites, Israel’s enemy to the south (cf. 1 Samuel 14:48). The Amalekites were descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:12; 1 Chronicles 1:36) and, therefore, linked with the Edomites. They were nomads who lived principally in southern Canaan and the... read more