שמואל א, פרק ט״ו, פסוק ל״ג

A moment of absolute justice unfolds as God's prophet confronts the cruel Amalekite king. The encounter culminates in a public, uncompromising execution driven by the principle of measure for measure. Samuel confronts Agag with the devastating reality that his violence has left countless women grieving. Agag had brutally murdered men and children, leaving a wake of widows and bereaved mothers [מצודת דוד]. His cruelty went even further; he mutilated young Israelite men and threw their severed limbs upward in direct defiance of God [רש״י, צאינה וראינה]. In response, Samuel declares that Agag's own mother will now suffer that same profound sorrow [מצודת דוד]. Interestingly, at this stage, Agag actually preferred death. However, Samuel does not execute him as an act of mercy to end his suffering. Instead, the execution is carried out specifically to punish Agag's mother, ensuring she feels the exact pain of losing a son that she desperately wanted to live [מלבי״ם].

The specific mention of women and Agag's mother carries a prophetic hint. Just as Agag faces his doom in this moment, his future descendant, Haman, will eventually be destroyed through the actions of a righteous woman, Queen Esther [אהבת יהונתן].

Before his death, Agag attempted to claim legal immunity [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. There is a view that he and his followers even tried to convert to avoid their fate, as Jewish law generally exempts a non-Jew who converts from prior offenses. To prevent this evasion, Samuel judged him under the universal laws of the nations. Under this legal framework, standard witnesses and warnings are not required, and a conversion performed solely to escape justice holds no weight. Consequently, Agag was rightfully condemned to death for his previous murders [נחל שורק, חומת אנך].

The execution itself is brutal and definitive. Samuel hacks Agag apart, an action compared to splitting wood [מצודת ציון, רלב״ג, רד״ק, אברבנאל]. While some commentators suggest Samuel cut him in half [מצודת ציון], others note he was severed into four pieces [רש״י]. This was not a dignified death, but rather a destruction resembling the slaughter of an animal unfit for consumption [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Although Samuel was an elderly man, he received special strength to carry out this intense physical task [אברבנאל]. The stark severity of the execution served a broader purpose: to strike fear into the surrounding nations and deter them from ever waging war against Israel [רלב״ג].