UTN uW Translation Notes:

1 Samuel 15 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter concludes the section of the book that describes how Saul became king (8–15). It relates how Saul disobeyed a direct command from Yahweh for a second time and so forfeited the kingship itself.Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with the poetry in 15:22–23 and 15:33.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Why did Samuel become angry when Yahweh said he was sorry he had made Saul king?

While the author does not say specifically why Samuel became angry when Yahweh said he was sorry he had made Saul king (15:11), this seems to have been because Samuel had anointed Saul and still believed that he could be a good king. However, this was before Samuel went to Gilgal and discovered how badly Saul had disobeyed Yahweh. The author is not suggesting that there was anything sinful about Samuel feeling this emotion. It reflected Samuel’s accurate understanding of what a good king Saul could have been if he had obeyed Yahweh (as he suggested in 12:20–25).

When Saul repented of his sin, why did Samuel at first refuse to go with him to worship?

In 15:14–23, Samuel chastises Saul for disobeying Yahweh and plundering the best of the Amalekites’ animals rather than destroying all of them. At first Saul makes excuses, but in 15:24–25 he finally admits that he has sinned and asks for forgiveness. Even so, Samuel at first refuses to go back with him to where the other Israelite soldiers are and worship Yahweh. In general, the Bible promises that if people admit that they have sinned and ask forgiveness, God will forgive their sin and restore them to a condition in which they can freely worship him again. However, in this context, it appears that Saul wanted Samuel to preside at the sacrifice of the animals the soldiers had kept from the Amalekite plunder. If Samuel had done that, for one thing, he would have been implicitly approving the act of keeping those animals. Beyond that, since Yahweh had rejected Saul as king, Samuel apparently did not want to endorse his kingship any longer. So he refused to return with Saul. However, after Saul pleaded with him, “please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel,” Samuel agreed. It appears that Samuel recognized that the Israelite people still needed to honor and respect the king they had until Yahweh appointed another one. So he did return with Saul. However, while 15:31 says that then “Saul worshiped Yahweh,” it does not say that Samuel offered any sacrifices using the animals that the Israelite soldiers had disobediently plundered.

“devote”

In this chapter, Yahweh (in 15:3) and the author (in 15:8) use a term that the ULT translates as “devote” and “devoted.” This was a specialized term that described the cultural practice of giving something over to Yahweh so that humans would no longer be able to use it. Depending on the context, this term could indicate either “destroy” or “preserve but set apart.” The context must determine the meaning, and in the context of this chapter, the term describes total destruction.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

“to the mouth of the sword”

Biblical authors often use the expression “to the mouth of the sword” in connection with the term “devoted.” That was a common expression of this culture that referred to destroying something completely. When it appears, it helps clarify what the term “devoted” means in a specific context.

“the Glory of Israel”

In 15:29, Samuel refers to Yahweh as the “Glory of Israel.” Interpreters are not entirely sure what this phrase means. The term that the ULT translates as “Glory” refers to a bright object in the distance that provides an orientation point towards which someone travels constantly. The focus could therefore be either on the brightness or on the constancy. Some versions translate this as the “Glory of Israel” or the “Splendor of Israel,” while other versions translate it with phrases such as “the Enduring One of Israel.” In context, this could be a reference either to Yahweh as glorious and divine, and therefore someone whom Saul should not have disobeyed, or to Yahweh as constant and unchanging, which is a theme in the rest of the verse. If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to follow the interpretation that it does. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to follow the interpretation of the ULT.