The Meaning of 1 Samuel 15:6 Explained

1 Samuel 15:6

KJV: 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.

YLT: and Saul saith unto the Kenite, 'Go, turn aside, go down from the midst of Amalek, lest I consume thee with it, and thou didst kindness with all the sons of Israel, in their going up out of Egypt;' and the Kenite turneth aside from the midst of Amalek.

Darby: And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, and go 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. And the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

ASV: And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Samuel 15:6 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 15:1-16 - Leading The People In Disobedience
Several years intervened between the preceding chapter and this. The kingdom had become strong and prosperous. It seemed as though Samuel's sentence of deposition had been forgotten. But even in hot summer weather, the taint of autumn decay may be in the air. The speck of corruption was slowly eating into Saul's heart, and at last, when this charge came concerning Amalek, the evil was revealed to all. Amalek was under a curse, and the existence of the tribe was a standing menace to the peace and prosperity of the surrounding nations; hence the edict for its destruction, Exodus 17:16. Even in this world God judges the nations, and condemns such as have ceased to fulfill His purpose. In spite of God's distinct command, Saul connived at the reservation of the choicest and best of the spoils, and this brought about his rejection. It is noticeable, also, that an Amalekite claimed to have dispatched Him on the field of Gilboa, 2 Samuel 1:1-10. If we spare what God has commanded us to destroy, it may later destroy us. Take care in your obedience; you serve an exacting though loving God! [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 15

1  Samuel sends Saul to destroy Amalek
6  Saul favors the Kenites
7  He spares Agag and the best of the spoil
10  Samuel denounces unto Saul God's rejection of him for his disobedience
24  Saul's humiliation
32  Samuel kills Agag
34  Samuel and Saul part

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 15:6 mean?

And said Saul to the Kenite go depart get down from among the Amalekite Lest I destroy you with them for you showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up out of Egypt so departed the Kenite the Amalekites
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁא֣וּל אֶֽל־ הַקֵּינִ֡י לְכוּ֩ סֻּ֨רוּ רְד֜וּ מִתּ֣וֹךְ עֲמָלֵקִ֗י פֶּן־ אֹֽסִפְךָ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֞ה עָשִׂ֤יתָה חֶ֙סֶד֙ עִם־ כָּל־ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בַּעֲלוֹתָ֖ם מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וַיָּ֥סַר קֵינִ֖י עֲמָלֵֽק

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
שָׁא֣וּל  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
הַקֵּינִ֡י  the  Kenite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵינִי  
Sense: the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.
לְכוּ֩  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
סֻּ֨רוּ  depart 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
רְד֜וּ  get  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
מִתּ֣וֹךְ  from  among 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
עֲמָלֵקִ֗י  the  Amalekite 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲמָלֵקִי  
Sense: descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau.
פֶּן־  Lest 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: פֶּן  
Sense: lest, not, beware lest adv.
אֹֽסִפְךָ֙  I  destroy  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
עִמּ֔וֹ  with  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
וְאַתָּ֞ה  for  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
עָשִׂ֤יתָה  showed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
חֶ֙סֶד֙  kindness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
בְּנֵ֣י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
בַּעֲלוֹתָ֖ם  when  they  came  up 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם  out  of  Egypt 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
וַיָּ֥סַר  so  departed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
קֵינִ֖י  the  Kenite 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵינִי  
Sense: the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.
עֲמָלֵֽק  the  Amalekites 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲמָלֵק  
Sense: son of Eliphaz by his concubine Timnah, grandson of Esau, and progenitor of a race of people in southern Canaan.