In dialogue with the thought of Martha Nussbaum, divine emotions point to God’s cherished projects and are relevant for the ethical evaluation of divine violence. There is complexity in analysing ancient concepts broadly labelled ‘emotions’ that hold emotive, cognitive, and physical dimensions, including regret and favour. Divine regret suggests that the divine violence against Saul is not a repayment of Saul’s guilt but a repayment of God’s own prior action in making Saul king. Divine regret is an emotion/cognition that is not based on an attempt to determine good and evil but on divine attachments and values, the need to remove Saul, and God’s favour for his neighbour. God’s characterisation is also described through the phrase ‘according to [God’s] own heart,’ and divine presence indicated the divine spirits upon Saul and David.