Bible Strands
1 Samuel 15:7
Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul executes the campaign against the Amalekites immediately after warning the Kenites to withdraw. This action occurs at the midpoint of God’s judgment command, preceding the capture of King Agag.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיַּךְ (va.yakh) literally means "and he struck" or "he attacked," denoting Saul’s military action. The geographic markers Havilah and Shur define the northern and southern boundaries of the campaign.
The thread — Havilah and Shur reappear in Genesis 25:18 as the settlement range of Ishmael’s descendants and in Genesis 16:7 near a desert spring. The conflict against Amalek continues the earlier victory recorded in 1 Samuel 14:48.
Why it lands — The text records a completed military strike without editorial commentary, requiring the reader to track how geographic and historical details fulfill prior divine warnings. It demands sober attention to the execution of judgment before the narrative reveals Saul’s subsequent failures.
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 smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
Cross-references
- Genesis 16:7 Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 25:18 Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
- 1 Samuel 14:48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.
- 1 Samuel 27:8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
- Genesis 2:11 The name of the first river is the Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
- Exodus 15:22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the Desert of Shur. For three days they walked in the desert without finding water.
- Job 21:30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
- Ecclesiastes 8:13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.