1 Samuel 15:8

8 He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

1 Samuel 15:8 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 15:8

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive
This name seems to be a common name of the kings of these people, as Pharaoh was of the Egyptians, see ( Numbers 24:2 ) . When this king fell into the hands of Saul, he did not put him to death, as he should have done, but preserved him; for what reasons, see in the following verse:

and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword;
that is, all that came in his way, or fell into his hands; all between Havilah and Shur; all excepting those that made their escape, for we after read of Amalekites, and that in large bodies, ( 1 Samuel 27:8 ) ( 30:1 ) .

1 Samuel 15:8 In-Context

6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7 And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

8 He also took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

10 Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying,