And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
- BSB ‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
- NKJV And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
- NASB Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
- NLT “He responded, ‘Who are you?’ “‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The messenger identifies himself to the dying Saul as an Amalekite. This detail proves fatal, since Amalek was Israel's cursed enemy.
Overview
That the man is an Amalekite is deeply significant: Amalek was under God's judgment, and Saul had earlier forfeited his kingdom by sparing Amalekites against the Lord's command. There is a sobering irony that an Amalekite now claims to have finished off the king who spared their forefathers. The detail seals the man's guilt in David's eyes and in the larger story of God's justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Sam 30:17And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled.
- 1 Sam 30:13And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.
- 1 Sam 15:3Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
- 1 Sam 30:1And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
- Num 24:20And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
- Gen 14:7And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
- 1 Sam 27:8And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
- Deut 25:17–19Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
- Exod 17:8–16Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.