1 Samuel 15:3 killing of children

Since this site goes beyond biblical hermeneutics to deal with Christianity in general, we should move beyond the bible quotes to the thorny ethical and theological problem that underlies the OP. Obviously the 10 Commandments do not outlaw all killing, for this would contradict many other instructions from God in the Hebrew Bible, from the specific case mentioned in the OP to general commandments such as: "thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life..." (Deuteronomy 19:21) and "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." (Exodus 22:18)

But the problem is not solved by saying this killing was not murder, for women and children are non-combatants. They were not collateral damage but intentional targets. Nor should the question be limited killing women and children. That issue is difficult enough. But it is also a question of genocide, because God reportedly ordered the elimination of entire Amalekite people, saying, as quoted by the prophet Samuel:

"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling... fight against them until they be consumed." (1 Sam. 15:3,18)

Today we need to ask: did God really command such things? Whether he did or not, we must stand against it today.

Thus, the U.S. National Council of Churches, repenting 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox denominations, condemned the Holocaust and supported legislation condemning the Armenian genocide. It has been addressing the broader issue as well.

Catholic teaching similarly condemns genocide and other crimes against humanity.

So how could God command the genocide of the Amalekites, including their women and children? The OP question has no simple answer other than to justify holy war against the Amalekites based on other OT standards which are no longer operative either for Christians or Jews.

The answer for some of us that God did not command the murder of women and children then, and he does not now. However, this implies a skepticism toward the Bible than many find unacceptable. For others, such commands were necessary in God's plan in the OT Age, but not now that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. In either case, Christians and Jews today have reached consensus today that God does not command us to kill women and children in war, no matter how sinful the enemy.

The word "Kill" has different meanings/definitions depending on the context. For example:

• to kill an animal
• to kill/execute/hang a murderer
• to kill/murder a person
• to kill time

The word kill(H7523) in Exodus 20:13 does not have the same meaning as the word kill(H4191) in 1 Sam 15:3. Kill in Exodus 20:13 is like murder, whereas kill in 1 Sam 15:3 is like an execution.

Numbers 35:16 clearly shows a difference between the kill that God fordids in Exodus 20:13 and the kill that God commands in 1 Sam 15:3

Num 35:16  And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer[H7523 as in Ex 20] shall surely be put to death [H4191 as in 1 Sam 15:3]

*H7523 & H4191 are the Strongs numbers for the Hebrew words translated.

• H7523, meaning "murder" is the Hebrew word "ratsach"
• H4191, meaning "die" or "put to death", is "muwt". Note that God never commanded "ratsach" (murder)--which is what is forbidden in the Ten Commandments

God's reasons for commanding the destruction of the Amalekites were many. Some of them were:

• To punish the crimes of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.')
• To continue the transfer of the promised land to Israel
• To keep his word, as his prophets had previously announced this judgment (See Exodus 17)
• To test the obedience of King Saul and the Israelites (see Judges 2:20-23)
• As continued military training for the Israelite soldiers (Judges 3:1-2)

Part of Exodus 17 says this:

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

The question always comes down to the children. I guess we are like Saul. If God asked us today to obey him and gave us such a command, we would second guess him and spare the children and the animals because in our eyes, that is the merciful thing to do. However, look at the Amalekites. By the word of God given to Moses, their whole nation was under an edict of destruction. Yet that edict was not enforced immediately. What did they do with the grace period given to them? Did they repent and beg God to spare them? Look at what happened in other situations:

• Jonah went to Nineveh, capital of Assyria, a wicked empire that oppressed the Jews, to tell them that God would overthrow their city in forty days. They repented in dust and ashes and God spared them and even their cattle.

• Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous people could be found in them. Of course none were found except Lot, who was then sent away, just as the Kenites were sent away by Israel so they would not be killed along with the Amalekites.

• If Saul really cared about sheep and babies, he would have had the heart of Abraham and pleaded for the Amalekite children to be spared.

• If the Amalekites loved their own children and feared God, they would have repented of their wickedness and been spared.

This teaches us a terrible lesson. If we sin and do not repent, our own children will be swept away with us on the day God sends judgment. Their deaths are on our heads, not God's. Lot's wife was warned not to look back, but she ignored the warning and perished. People are only saved if someone obeys. Noah was saved. He spent a hundred years building that boat. If any of his contemporaries had feared God and loved their children, they could have built their own boats and saved their children. The death of children is due to the disobedience of the ones commanded to care for them.