וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁא֣וּל אֶֽל־הַקֵּינִ֡י לְכוּ֩ סֻּ֨רוּ רְד֜וּ מִתּ֣וֹךְ עֲמָלֵקִ֗י פֶּן־אֹֽסִפְךָ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֞ה עָשִׂ֤יתָה חֶ֙סֶד֙ עִם־כָּל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בַּעֲלוֹתָ֖ם מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וַיָּ֥סַר קֵינִ֖י מִתּ֥וֹךְ עֲמָלֵֽק׃
Saul berkata kepada orang Keni, “Pergilah, menyingkirlah, turunlah dari tengah-tengah orang Amalek, supaya aku tidak membinasakan kamu bersama mereka, sebab kamu telah menunjukkan kebaikan kepada seluruh bani Israel ketika mereka keluar dari Mesir.” Maka orang Keni pun menyingkir dari tengah-tengah orang Amalek.
Zohar
AND MOSES ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, ETC. R. Hiya opened here a discourse on the text: “And Saul said unto the Kenites: Go depart”, etc. (I Sam. 15, 6). ‘Observe’, he said, ‘that in regard to Amalek it is written: “I remember that which Amalek did to Israel”, etc. (Ibid. 15, 2). What is the reason that none of the wars waged by other nations against Israel was so displeasing to the Almighty as was the war waged against them by Amalek? The reason, assuredly, is that the battle with Amalek was waged on both fronts, both on high and below; for at that time the evil serpent gathered all its forces both above and below.
Zohar
Our verse continues: “And Saul said to the Kenite.” The Kenite, as we know, was Jethro. Now, how came the descendants of Jethro to have their abode alongside of Amalek? Was not Jericho their home? But the explanation is found in the verse: “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees (i.e. Jericho) with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah” (Judges 1, 16); that is to say, when they left Jericho, they moved on as far as the border of Amalek, where they settled and remained until the time of King Saul, when, as we read, “the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites” (I Sam. 15, 6).
Sha'arei Kedusha
We find this about the great sage, Yeravam, that because he sought power, both he and his descendants were uprooted from this world, nor does he have a portion in the coming world. Similarly, when Shaul, the chosen one of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, began his reign, he was as pure as a one-year-old child who has never tasted sin.500Talmud Bavli, Yoma 22b Moreover, as the verse attests, when they sought to crown him as king,501Samuel I 10:22 “He hid amongst the baggage,” in that he fled from power. Nevertheless, he was ultimately caught in its net and pursued it, as he said to the Prophet Shmuel,502Samuel I 15:30 “Please honor me in the presence of the elders of my people.” In the end he lost the kingdom and he was killed along with three of his sons, as mentioned before in the section on envy.