1 Samuel 14:32
And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.
Original Language Analysis
וַיַּ֤עַשׂ
H6213
וַיַּ֤עַשׂ
Strong's:
H6213
Word #:
1 of 15
to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
הָעָ֖ם
And the people
H5971
הָעָ֖ם
And the people
Strong's:
H5971
Word #:
2 of 15
a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
וַיִּקְח֨וּ
and took
H3947
וַיִּקְח֨וּ
and took
Strong's:
H3947
Word #:
5 of 15
to take (in the widest variety of applications)
צֹ֧אן
sheep
H6629
צֹ֧אן
sheep
Strong's:
H6629
Word #:
6 of 15
a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats); also figuratively (of men)
בָקָ֖ר
and oxen
H1241
בָקָ֖ר
and oxen
Strong's:
H1241
Word #:
7 of 15
a beeve or an animal of the ox family of either gender (as used for plowing); collectively, a herd
וּבְנֵ֥י
and calves
H1121
וּבְנֵ֥י
and calves
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
8 of 15
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
בָקָ֖ר
and oxen
H1241
בָקָ֖ר
and oxen
Strong's:
H1241
Word #:
9 of 15
a beeve or an animal of the ox family of either gender (as used for plowing); collectively, a herd
אָ֑רְצָה
them on the ground
H776
אָ֑רְצָה
them on the ground
Strong's:
H776
Word #:
11 of 15
the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
הָעָ֖ם
And the people
H5971
הָעָ֖ם
And the people
Strong's:
H5971
Word #:
13 of 15
a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
Cross References
Leviticus 3:17It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.1 Samuel 15:19Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?Genesis 9:4But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.Deuteronomy 12:16Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.Leviticus 19:26Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.Acts 15:20But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Historical Context
Levitical law prohibited consuming blood because 'the life of the flesh is in the blood' (Leviticus 17:11). Proper slaughter required draining blood completely. The people's hasty eating of insufficiently bled animals violated fundamental dietary law.
Questions for Reflection
- How do extreme religious requirements sometimes produce the very sins they seek to prevent?
- What is the connection between unhealthy deprivation and subsequent excess?
Related Resources
Explore related topics, people, and study resources to deepen your understanding of this passage.
Analysis & Commentary
And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.
The consequence of Saul's oath: 'the people flew upon the spoil' and ate animals 'with the blood.' Extreme hunger from enforced fasting drives the people to violate Levitical law (Leviticus 17:10-14). Saul's attempt at extraordinary piety produces actual sin. The Hebrew ya'at ('flew') pictures ravenous desperation. The king's oath designed to secure divine favor instead causes his people to transgress divine command. Legalistic excess often produces the opposite of its intention.