1 Samuel 15

The Hebrew word for “kill” is herem, meaning “annihilate.” This is the same term used to describe what Joshua and the invading Israelites did to the Canaanites. Moses had told them, “When the LORD your God gives them to you, you’ll need to finish them off. After you defeat them in battle, wipe them out by killing them all. Don’t make any peace treaty with them. Don’t show them mercy” (Deuteronomy 7:2). Scholars describe this as a “curse of war” or a “ban.” The “ban” means that when soldiers conquer a city, for example, they are banned from keeping anything for themselves—everything in the city is under the curse of war and must die. This kind of vow in ancient times was considered irrevocable and irredeemable. You couldn’t take it back. And nothing of the enemy was allowed to live. Everything in the city was devoted to God, much like sacrificial animals that are slaughtered and burned. “It’s a vow of devotion. If something is devoted to the LORD—whether human, animal, or land—you can’t have it back. If you devote something in this unique way, it’s holy and it stays holy because it belongs to the LORD…You can’t reverse that. You can’t buy back that person’s life. That person is doomed to die” (Leviticus 27:28-29).

Some Bible scholars argue that this number and many others like it in the Old Testament are too high. In earlier chapters, Saul had smaller armies of just a few hundred (13:2; 14:2). And David later fought the Amalekites with just 400 men (1 Samuel 30:10). Some scholars argue that the word for “thousand” may have referred to a smaller group, such as 200 extended families who sent volunteer militiamen to go with Saul. Or maybe it referred to 200 military units of 10 or 20 soldiers each.

It’s unknown where Telem was. The town shows up in Joshua 15, after what may be its neighboring town of Ziph, in the Negev badlands, and about 50 miles (80 km) south of Jerusalem. Saul’s home was just a few miles north of Jerusalem. If Telem was near Ziph, that would put it in the territory of the Amalekite people in what is now southern Israel.

Location unknown. But it was apparently their main town or settlement. They settled in the area around what is now Arad, roughly 40 miles (64 km) south of Jerusalem.

There’s nothing in the Bible about Kenites, nomadic herders, showing kindness to Israel. But Moses’ father was a Kenite, and he did give Moses some helpful advice about how to delegate responsibility (Exodus 18:21).

More literally, the LORD “regretted he made Saul king.” But the way that’s phrased seems to clash with verse 29, “He’s not a mortal who needs to change his mind.” Perhaps the context of Saul’s full story suggests that Israel is to blame for wanting a human king in place of God (1 Samuel 8:7). In which case, God didn’t regret his choice of Saul, but he regretted Israel’s demand for a king.

Carmel was a town in Israel’s southland area, in southern Judah.

Fat was considered some of the best and juiciest parts of an animal. Some sacrifices devoted to God involved burning “fat in and around the intestines and internal organs” (Leviticus 3:14).

An alternate interpretation: “Death would have been terrible,” implying that the king didn’t expect the Israelites to kill him at this point.