1 Samuel 15 · Verse 12

1 Samuel 15:12

And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
1 Samuel 15:12, King James Version

1 Samuel 15:12 in other translations

BSBEarly in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
WEBSamuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and Samuel was told, saying, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, turned, passed on, and went down to Gilgal.”
ASVAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
YLTAnd Samuel riseth early to meet Saul in the morning, and it is declared to Samuel, saying, ‘Saul hath come in to Carmel, and lo, he is setting up to himself a monument, and goeth round, and passeth over, and goeth down to Gilgal.'
DARBYAnd Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a monument, and has turned about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
BBEAnd early in the morning he got up and went to Saul; and word was given to Samuel that Saul had come to Carmel and put up a pillar, and had gone from there down to Gilgal.
WebsterAnd when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

What does 1 Samuel 15:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. Saul came to Carmel--in the south of Judah (Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2). he set him up a place--that is, a pillar (2Sa 18:18); literally, a hand, indicating that whatever was the form of the monument, it was surmounted, according to the ancient fashion, by the figure of a hand, the symbol of power and energy. The erection of this vainglorious trophy was an additional act of disobedience. His pride had overborne his sense of duty in first raising this monument to his own honor, and then going to Gilgal to offer sacrifice to God.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 He set him up a place - Literally, a hand, יד yad. Some say it was a monument; others, a triumphal arch: probably it was no more than a hand, pointing out the place where Saul had gained the victory. Absalom's pillar is called the hand of Absalom, 2Sam 18:18.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 15:10-23

Repentance in God is not a change of mind, as it is in us, but a change of method. The change was in Saul; "He is turned back from following me." Hereby he made God his enemy. Samuel spent a whole night in pleading for Saul. The rejection of sinners is the grief of believers: God delights not in their death, nor should we. Saul boasts to Samuel of his obedience. Thus sinners think, by justifying themselves, to…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 15:10-23 →

1 Samuel 15:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֧םvai.yash.Kemand he rose earlyH7925
שְׁמוּאֵ֛לshe.mu.'ElSamuelH8050
לִקְרַ֥אתlik.Ratto meetH7122
שָׁא֖וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
בַּבֹּ֑קֶרba.Bo.kerin the morningH1242
וַיֻּגַּ֨דvai.yu.Gadand it was toldH5046
לִשְׁמוּאֵ֜לlish.mu.'Elto SamuelH8050
לֵאמֹ֗רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
בָּֽא\־ba'-he cameH935
שָׁא֤וּלsha.'UlSaulH7586
הַכַּרְמֶ֙לָה֙ha.kar.Me.lah<the> Carmel towardsH3760
וְהִנֵּ֨הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
מַצִּ֥יבma.Tziv[he was] setting upH5324
לוֹ֙lofor <the> himself
יָ֔דYada monumentH3027
וַיִּסֹּב֙vai.yi.Soand he turnedH5437
וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֔רvai.ya.'a.Vorand he passed onH5674
וַיֵּ֖רֶדvai.Ye.redand he went downH3381
הַגִּלְגָּֽל\׃ha.gil.Gal<the> GilgalH1537

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 15:12

  • Joshua 15:55

    Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,

  • 1 Samuel 25:2

    And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

  • 2 Samuel 18:18

    Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.

  • 1 Kings 18:42

    So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

  • Joshua 4:8-9

    And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

  • 1 Samuel 7:12

    Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Carmel.
25:2; Jos 15:55; 1Ki 18:42
he set him.
7:12; Jos 4:8,9; 2Sa 18:18
a place. Yad.Literally as the LXX. render [cheira,] a hand; probably because the trophy or monument of victory was in the shape of a large hand, the emblem of power, erected on a pillar. These memorial pillars were anciently much in use; and the figure of a hand, by its emblematical meaning, was well adapted to preserve the remembrance of a victory. Niebuhr, speaking of the Mesjed Ali, or Mosque of Ali, says that, "at the top of the dome, where one generally sees on the Turkish mosques a crescent, or only a pole, there is here a hand stretched out, to represent that of Ali." Another writer informs us, that at the Alhamra, or red palace of the Moorish kings in Grenada, "on the key-stone of the outward arch [of the present principal entrance] is sculptured the figure of an arm, the symbol of strength and dominion."

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 15:11

    It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.

  • 1 Samuel 15:12

    And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

  • 1 Samuel 15:13

    And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

Read all of 1 Samuel 15

1 Samuel 15:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Madrugó luego Samuel para ir á encontrar á Saúl por la mañana; y fué dado aviso á Samuel, diciendo: Saúl ha venido al Carmel, y he aquí él se ha levantado un trofeo, y después volviendo, ha pasado y descendido á Gilgal.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Samuel se leva de bonne heure pour aller le matin à la rencontre de Saül. Et on rapporta à Samuel, disant: Saül est allé à Carmel; et voici, il s’est érigé un trophée, et il s’est tourné ailleurs, et a passé plus loin, et est descendu à Guilgal.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und am Morgen machte Samuel sich früh auf, Saul entgegen. Und es wurde Samuel berichtet und gesagt: Saul ist nach Karmel gekommen; und siehe, er hat sich ein Denkmal errichtet, und er hat sich gewandt und ist weitergegangen und nach Gilgal hinabgezogen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Cumque de nocte surrexisset Samuel ut iret ad Saul mane, nuntiatum est Samueli eo quod venisset Saul in Carmelum, et erexisset sibi fornicem triumphalem, et reversus transisset, descendissetque in Galgala. Venit ergo Samuel ad Saul, et Saul offerebat holocaustum Domino de initiis prædarum quæ attulerat ex Amalec.