1 Samuel 13:2-14
Konteks13:2 Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; 1 the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 2 He sent all the rest of the people back home. 3
13:3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost 4 that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted 5 all the land saying, “Let the Hebrews pay attention!” 13:4 All Israel heard this message, 6 “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive 7 to the Philistines!” So the people were summoned to join 8 Saul at Gilgal.
13:5 For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 9 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. 13:6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, 10 and cisterns. 13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River 11 to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. 13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. 12 But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. 13
13:9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering. 13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 14
13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me 15 and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, 13:12 I thought, 16 ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt obligated 17 to offer the burnt offering.”
13:13 Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed 18 the commandment that the Lord your God gave 19 you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! 13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out 20 for himself a man who is loyal to him 21 and the Lord has appointed 22 him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”
1 Samuel 15:10-35
Konteks15:10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
15:12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where 23 he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left 24 and went down to Gilgal.” 25 15:13 When Samuel came to him, 26 Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”
15:14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, 27 then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15:15 Saul said, “They were brought 28 from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”
15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! 29 Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul 30 said to him, “Tell me.” 15:17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose 31 you as king over Israel. 15:18 The Lord sent you on a campaign 32 saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you 33 have destroyed them.’ 15:19 Why haven’t you obeyed 34 the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.” 35
15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed 36 the Lord! I went on the campaign 37 the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 15:21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle – the best of what was to be slaughtered – to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
15:22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience? 38
Certainly, 39 obedience 40 is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than 41 the fat of rams.
15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as 42 king.”
15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded 43 and what you said as well. 44 For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. 45 15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship 46 the Lord.”
15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”
15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul 47 grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One 48 of Israel does not go back on his word 49 or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” 50 15:30 Saul 51 again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, 52 thinking to himself, 53 “Surely death is bitter!” 54 15:33 Samuel said, “Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!” Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord.
15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 15:35 Until the day he 55 died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
[13:2] 1 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[13:2] 2 tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:2] 3 tn Heb “each one to his tents.”
[13:3] 4 tn Or perhaps “struck down the Philistine official.” See the note at 1 Sam 10:5. Cf. TEV “killed the Philistine commander.”
[13:3] 5 tn Heb “blew the ram’s horn in.”
[13:4] 6 tn The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:4] 7 tn Heb “stinks.” The figurative language indicates that Israel had become repulsive to the Philistines.
[13:4] 8 tn Heb “were summoned after.”
[13:5] 9 tn Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) read “30,000” here.
[13:6] 10 tn Or perhaps “vaults.” This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49. Cf. KJV “high places”; ASV “coverts”; NAB “caverns”; NASB “cellars”; NIV, NCV, TEV “pits”; NRSV, NLT “tombs.”
[13:7] 11 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:8] 12 tn This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.
[13:8] 13 tn Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”
[13:10] 14 tn Heb “to bless him.”
[13:11] 15 tn Heb “dispersed from upon me.”
[13:12] 17 tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”
[13:13] 19 tn Heb “commanded.”
[13:14] 20 tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.
[13:14] 21 tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.
[13:14] 22 tn Heb “commanded.”
[15:12] 24 tn Heb “and he turned and crossed over.”
[15:12] 25 tc At the end of v. 12 the LXX and one Old Latin
[15:14] 27 tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:15] 28 tn Heb “they brought them.”
[15:16] 29 tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”
[15:16] 30 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[15:16] tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:18] 33 tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).
[15:19] 34 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the
[15:19] 35 tn Heb “you have done what is evil in the eyes of the
[15:20] 36 tn Heb “listened to the voice of the
[15:22] 38 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the
[15:22] 40 tn Heb “listening.”
[15:22] 41 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
[15:23] 42 tn Or “from [being].”
[15:24] 43 tn Heb “the mouth of the
[15:24] 44 tn Heb “and your words.”
[15:24] 45 tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”
[15:25] 46 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.
[15:27] 47 tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran
[15:29] 48 tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the
[15:29] 49 tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”
[15:29] 50 sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
[15:30] 51 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:32] 52 tn The MT reading מַעֲדַנֹּת (ma’adannot, literally, “bonds,” used here adverbially, “in bonds”) is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ענד (’nd, “to bind around”), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root עדן (’dn) with the meaning “voluptuously,” but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root מעד (m’d, “to totter” or “shake”). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle τρέμον (tremon, “trembling”).
[15:32] 53 tn Heb “and Agag said.”
[15:32] 54 tc The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin
