Bible Strands
1 Samuel 15:6
And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away with them.” So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul warns the Kenites while positioned to ambush the Amalekites at their city. He commands them to leave the region before the military campaign begins.
The words — The imperative סֻּ֨רוּ (Su.ru) means "depart" or "turn away," paired with רְד֜וּ (re.Du) "go down" to direct physical removal from the valley. These verbs function as a formal warning to separate from the coming judgment zone.
The thread — The text justifies the warning by citing the Kenites' past kindness to Israel during the Exodus, a historical bond recorded in Judges 1:16 and Numbers 10:29. This prior alliance explains the exception granted before the total destruction ordered in 1 Samuel 15:7.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to see that historical loyalty can modify the execution of a decree without changing the decree itself. It demands acknowledgment that mercy operates within the bounds of a stated command rather than overriding it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
Cross-references
- Judges 1:16 Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
- Numbers 10:29 Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.”
- Exodus 18:19 Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
- Numbers 24:21 Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff.
- Judges 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
- Exodus 18:9 And Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from the hand of the Egyptians.
- Judges 5:24 Most blessed among women is Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
- 1 Samuel 27:10 who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
- Genesis 18:25 Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
- Genesis 19:12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,