Bible/1 Samuel/15

1 Samuel 15:4

15:3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

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Saul summoned the people, and counted them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

15:5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. laid: or, fought

What does 1 Samuel 15:4 mean?

1 Samuel 15:4 is a verse in the book of 1 Samuel, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include שָׁאוּל (Shâʼûwl), שָׁמַע (shâmaʻ), עַם (ʻam). It connects to 8 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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And
SaulשָׁאוּלShâʼûwl/shaw-ool'/H7586Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites
gatheredשָׁמַעshâmaʻ/shaw-mah'/H8085to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
the
peopleעַםʻam/am/H5971a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
together,שָׁמַעshâmaʻ/shaw-mah'/H8085to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
and
numberedפָּקַדpâqad/paw-kad'/H6485to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.
them
in
Telaim,טְלָאִיםṬᵉlâʼîym/tel-aw-eem'/H2923Telaim, a place in Palestine
two
hundredמֵאָהmêʼâh/may-aw'/H3967a hundred; also as a multiplicative and a fraction
thousandאֶלֶףʼeleph/eh'-lef/H505hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand
footmen,רַגְלִיraglîy/rag-lee'/H7273a footman (soldier)
and
tenעֶשֶׂרʻeser/eh'ser/H6235ten (as an accumulation to the extent of the digits)
thousandאֶלֶףʼeleph/eh'-lef/H505hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand
menאִישׁʼîysh/eesh/H376a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
of
Judah.יְהוּדָהYᵉhûwdâh/yeh-hoo-daw'/H3063Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory

Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:4

HENRY_FULL · 1 Samuel 15:4
Samuel had promised Israel, from God, that they should have a king; it is strange that the next news is not of candidates setting up for the government, making an interest in the people, or recommending themselves to Samuel, and, by him, to God, to be put in nomination. Why does not the prince of the tribe of Judah, whoever he is, look about him now, remembering Jacob's entail of the sceptre on that tribe? Is there never a bold aspiring man in Israel, to say, "I will be king, if God will choose me?" No, none appears, whether it is owing to a culpable mean-spiritedness or a laudable humility I know not; but surely it is what can scarcely be paralleled in the history of any kingdom; a crown, such a crown, set up, and nobody bids for it. Most governments began in the ambition of the prince to rule, but Israel's in the ambition of the people to be ruled. Had any of those elders who petitioned for a king afterwards petitioned to be king, I should have suspected that person's ambition to have been at the bottom of the motion; but now (let them have the praise of what was good in them) it was not so. God having, in the law, undertaken to choose their king ( Deut. xvii. 15 ), they all sit still, till they hear from heaven, and that they do in this chapter, which begins the story of Saul, their first king, and, by strange steps of Providence, brings him to Samuel to be anointed privately, and so to be prepared for an election by lot, and a public commendation to the people, which follows in the next chapter. Here is, I. A short account of Saul's parentage and person, ver. 1, 2 . II. A large and particular account of the bringing of him to Samuel, to whom he had been before altogether a stranger. 1. God, by revelation, had told Samuel to expect him, ver. 15, 16 . 2. God, by providence, led him to Samuel. (1.) Being sent to seek his father's asses, he was at a loss, ver. 3-5 . (2.) By the advice of his servant, he determined to consult Samuel, ver. 6-10 . (3.) By the direction of the young maidens, he found him out, ver. 11-14 . (4.) Samuel, being informed of God concerning him ( ver. 17 ), treated him with respect in the gate ( ver. 18-21 ), in the dining-room ( ver. 22-24 ), and at length in private, where he prepared him to hear the surprising news that he must be king, ver. 25-27 . And these beginnings would have been very hopeful and promising if it had not been that the sin of the people was the spring of this great affair.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 6:2

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Numbers 13:33

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

1 Samuel 10:23

And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. outward: Heb. eyes

1 Samuel 17:4

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

2 Samuel 14:25

But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. But: Heb. And as Absalom there was not a beautiful man in all Israel to praise greatly

2 Samuel 14:26

And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.

Jeremiah 9:23

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

Topics

AgencyAmalekites, the

People & places in this verse

People

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with 1 Samuel 15:4.

Judges 20:2

And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

Numbers 1:27

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

Numbers 2:4

And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.

Numbers 26:22

These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred.

Numbers 3:43

And all the firstborn males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and threescore and thirteen.

1 Kings 10:26

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

1 Samuel 14:27

But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

1 Samuel 17:18

And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. cheeses: Heb. cheeses of milk of: Heb. of a thousand

Frequently asked questions

What does 1 Samuel 15:4 say?

1 Samuel 15:4 (King James Version) reads: "And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah."

Is 1 Samuel 15:4 in the Old or New Testament?

1 Samuel 15:4 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of 1 Samuel.

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As you read 1 Samuel 15:4, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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