1 Samuel 7:4

So the Israelites put away the Baals and Ashtoreths and served only the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrative reports the Israelites responding to Samuel’s prior command to abandon foreign gods and prepare their hearts for the LORD.

The words — The Hebrew uses וַ/יָּסִ֙ירוּ֙ (va/i.ya.Si.ru) for "and they removed" and וַ/יַּעַבְד֥וּ (va/i.ya.'av.Du) for "and they served," marking sequential actions of abandonment and exclusive worship.

The thread — The pattern of rejecting foreign gods and serving the LORD alone reappears in Hosea 14:3 and Hosea 14:8, while Judges 2:11 records the opposite cycle of Israel serving the Baals.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear break from syncretism, requiring readers to examine what they actively remove and what they exclusively serve.

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

וַיָּסִ֙ירוּ֙va/i.ya.Si.ruand/ they removed בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people of יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsrael אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַבְּעָלִ֖יםha./be.'a.Limthe/ Baals וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הָעַשְׁתָּרֹ֑תha./'ash.ta.Rotthe/ Ashtaroth וַיַּעַבְד֥וּva/i.ya.'av.Duand/ they served אֶת־'et-<obj.>יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ פle./va.D/oto/ only/ him

King James Version

Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.

Cross-references

Hosea 14:8 O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
Hosea 14:3 Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
Judges 2:11 And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
Judges 2:13 for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.
Judges 10:15 “We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”
1 Kings 11:33 For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.