1 Samuel 28 Study Notes: Saul and the Medium at Endor
As the Philistines gather for war, Saul is terrified, and the LORD gives him no answer. In disguise he consults a medium at Endor, a practice he had banned, and Samuel appears, announcing that the kingdom has gone to David and that Saul and his sons will soon die. Saul collapses, then eats and leaves by night.
General
When Achish told David he must go to war with the Philistines against Israel, what did David answer (1 Samuel 28:1-2)?
Answer: That Achish would soon see what his servant was able to do
When the Philistines gathered for war against Israel, Achish told David that he and his men would march with him (28:1). David answered only that Achish would find out what his servant could do, and Achish responded by promising to make David his personal guard for life (28:2). David’s words are guarded: they could sound like a promise of loyalty, but they do not actually say whose side he will fight on, and the text does not tell us what David meant. Achish had already convinced himself that David belonged to him for good (27:12). The problem is resolved in chapter 29, when the Philistine commanders refuse to let David go into battle at all (29:9).
- 1 Samuel 28:1-2 (BSB)“Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.” David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.””Achish tells David he must march with the Philistines, and David gives a guarded reply.
- 1 Samuel 27:12 (BSB)“So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.””Achish already believed David had made himself hated in Israel and would serve him permanently.
- 1 Samuel 29:9 (BSB)“Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’”Achish later tells David that the Philistine commanders refuse to let him go into the battle.
Theological
How did David reply when Achish insisted that David and his men march out with the Philistine army (1 Samuel 28:1-2)?
Answer: That Achish would soon see what his servant was able to do
Summoned to join the Philistine campaign against Israel, David replied only that Achish would learn what his servant was capable of, and Achish rewarded the reply by naming him his bodyguard for life (28:1-2). The reply is deliberately ambiguous: it sounds like loyalty without stating which side David would fight for, and the narrator does not disclose David’s intent. Achish, already persuaded of David’s permanent allegiance (27:12), hears what he wants to hear. The dilemma is lifted not by David but by the Philistine commanders’ refusal in chapter 29 (29:9).
- 1 Samuel 28:1-2 (BSB)“Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.” David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.” “Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.””Achish tells David he must march with the Philistines, and David gives a guarded reply.
- 1 Samuel 27:12 (BSB)“So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.””Achish already believed David had made himself hated in Israel and would serve him permanently.
- 1 Samuel 29:9 (BSB)“Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’”Achish later tells David that the Philistine commanders refuse to let him go into the battle.
General
According to 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, what part did Saul’s visit to the medium play in his death?
Answer: It was named among the acts of unfaithfulness for which he died
Scripture gives a clear verdict on Saul’s visit to Endor. According to 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, Saul’s death came because he was unfaithful: he disobeyed what the LORD had said and went so far as to seek guidance from a medium. The LORD therefore ended his life and handed the throne to David. Consulting the dead was one of the practices God’s law called detestable (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), and the LORD had warned that He would set His face against anyone who did it (Leviticus 20:6). Saul’s fear was real, but it did not excuse his turning to what God forbade. God had chosen David long before this night (chapter 16), so the visit was not the cause of that choice.
- 1 Samuel 28:7 (BSB)“Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied.”Saul tells his servants to find a medium for him to consult.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 (BSB)“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”Chronicles states that Saul died for his unfaithfulness, including consulting a medium, and that the LORD gave the kingdom to David.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”The law named consulting a medium among practices detestable to the LORD.
- Leviticus 20:6 (BSB)“Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”The LORD said He would set His face against anyone who turns to mediums or spiritists.
Theological
How does 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 evaluate Saul’s consultation of the medium at Endor?
Answer: It was named among the acts of unfaithfulness for which he died
Chronicles supplies the theological verdict on 1 Samuel 28: Saul’s death was the penalty for his unfaithfulness, his disregard of the LORD’s command, and his recourse to a medium; it was the LORD who took his life and transferred the throne to David (1 Chronicles 10:13-14). The verdict holds both truths together: Saul was fully responsible for his sin, and the LORD sovereignly carried out His judgment through the Philistine battle. Necromancy stands among the abominations of Deuteronomy 18:10-12, and the LORD had pledged to set His face against those who practice it (Leviticus 20:6). Saul’s distress mitigates nothing; David’s election long predates this night (chapter 16).
- 1 Samuel 28:7 (BSB)“Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied.”Saul tells his servants to find a medium for him to consult.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 (BSB)“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”Chronicles states that Saul died for his unfaithfulness, including consulting a medium, and that the LORD gave the kingdom to David.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”The law named consulting a medium among practices detestable to the LORD.
- Leviticus 20:6 (BSB)“Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”The LORD said He would set His face against anyone who turns to mediums or spiritists.
General
When Saul caught sight of the Philistine forces and sought the LORD’s guidance, what happened (1 Samuel 28:5-6)?
Answer: The LORD gave him no answer by dreams, Urim, or prophets
Seeing the Philistine camp at Shunem, Saul was terrified and shook with fear (28:5). He sought guidance from the LORD, yet received no reply at all, whether by dreams, by the Urim (a sacred means the priest used to seek God’s guidance, Numbers 27:21), or by prophets (28:6). This was not the first time God had been silent toward Saul (14:37). Behind the silence lies the word Samuel had already spoken: because Saul had rejected the LORD’s word, the LORD had rejected him as king (15:23). The text does not explain the silence beyond that, but it sets the scene for Saul’s desperate next step.
- 1 Samuel 28:5-6 (BSB)“When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.”Saul is terrified at the Philistine army and inquires of the LORD, but receives no answer.
- Numbers 27:21 (BSB)“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.””The Urim was a means by which the priest sought the LORD’s guidance for Israel’s leader.
- 1 Samuel 14:37 (BSB)“So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.”Earlier, too, God had not answered Saul when he inquired about attacking the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (BSB)“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.””Samuel had told Saul that because he rejected the LORD’s word, the LORD had rejected him as king.
Theological
What response did Saul receive when he sought the LORD’s counsel before the battle (1 Samuel 28:5-6)?
Answer: The LORD gave him no answer by dreams, Urim, or prophets
Terrified by the Philistine army at Shunem (28:5), Saul sought the LORD’s counsel, yet received no answer by any of the ordinary channels of revelation: dreams, the Urim (the priestly means of seeking counsel, Numbers 27:21), or prophets (28:6). God had withheld an answer once before (14:37), and the silence stands in the shadow of the sentence pronounced in 15:23: having rejected the LORD’s word, Saul had been rejected as king. Divine silence here is judgment, and it drives Saul toward the forbidden.
- 1 Samuel 28:5-6 (BSB)“When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.”Saul is terrified at the Philistine army and inquires of the LORD, but receives no answer.
- Numbers 27:21 (BSB)“He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.””The Urim was a means by which the priest sought the LORD’s guidance for Israel’s leader.
- 1 Samuel 14:37 (BSB)“So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.”Earlier, too, God had not answered Saul when he inquired about attacking the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (BSB)“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.””Samuel had told Saul that because he rejected the LORD’s word, the LORD had rejected him as king.
General
What reason does Samuel give for the LORD tearing the kingdom away from Saul (1 Samuel 28:18)?
Answer: Saul had disobeyed the LORD’s command concerning Amalek
Samuel asks why Saul is consulting him at all, when the LORD Himself has left Saul and become his enemy (28:16). He then repeats the judgment: the LORD has fulfilled His word given by Samuel, tearing the kingdom from Saul and giving it to David (28:17). The reason is Saul’s disobedience in the matter of Amalek (28:18). God had commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely (15:2-3), but Saul spared their king and the best of the livestock, and Samuel told him then that because he rejected the LORD’s word, the LORD had rejected him (15:23, 28). Nothing has changed since that day; the word God spoke has come to pass.
- 1 Samuel 28:17-18 (BSB)“He has done exactly what He spoke through me: The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His burning anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today.”Samuel says the LORD has torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David because Saul did not carry out God’s judgment on Amalek.
- 1 Samuel 15:28 (BSB)“So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.”After Saul disobeyed concerning Amalek, Samuel had announced that the LORD had torn the kingdom from him.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (BSB)“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.””Saul’s rejection was the result of his rejecting the word of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 15:2-3 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt. Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’””The command Saul failed to carry out was the LORD’s order to destroy Amalek completely.
Theological
On what ground does Samuel say the kingdom was torn from Saul (1 Samuel 28:18)?
Answer: Saul had disobeyed the LORD’s command concerning Amalek
Samuel’s reply turns Saul’s question back on him: why seek counsel from the prophet when the LORD has departed from him (28:16)? He then reaffirms the sentence of chapter 15: the LORD has accomplished what He spoke, tearing the kingdom from Saul and giving it to David (28:17), because Saul failed to obey and to execute the LORD’s wrath against Amalek (28:18). The command had been total destruction (15:2-3); Saul’s partial obedience was rejection of the LORD’s word, answered by the LORD’s rejection of Saul (15:23, 28). The word of judgment, once spoken, stands.
- 1 Samuel 28:17-18 (BSB)“He has done exactly what He spoke through me: The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out His burning anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today.”Samuel says the LORD has torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David because Saul did not carry out God’s judgment on Amalek.
- 1 Samuel 15:28 (BSB)“So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.”After Saul disobeyed concerning Amalek, Samuel had announced that the LORD had torn the kingdom from him.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 (BSB)“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.””Saul’s rejection was the result of his rejecting the word of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 15:2-3 (BSB)“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I witnessed what the Amalekites did to the Israelites when they opposed them on their way up from Egypt. Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’””The command Saul failed to carry out was the LORD’s order to destroy Amalek completely.
General
True or False: Before this crisis, Saul had removed from Israel the people who claimed to contact the dead.
Answer: True
This is true. The narrator pauses to remind the reader of two facts before the story continues: Samuel had already died and been mourned and buried at Ramah (28:3; first told in 25:1), and Saul had expelled from Israel all mediums and spiritists, people who claimed to contact the dead (28:3). God’s law forbade Israel to turn to them (Leviticus 19:31) and treated the practice as a capital crime (Leviticus 20:27). Saul’s earlier action was in line with God’s law. These two reminders set up the tragedy of the chapter: the prophet Saul once relied on is gone, and Saul is about to seek out the very kind of person he had banned.
- 1 Samuel 28:3 (BSB)“Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.”The narrator recalls Samuel’s death and burial and notes that Saul had removed mediums and spiritists from the land.
- 1 Samuel 25:1 (BSB)“When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.”Samuel’s death and burial at Ramah had first been reported in chapter 25.
- Leviticus 19:31 (BSB)“You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”God’s law forbade Israel to turn to mediums or spiritists.
- Leviticus 20:27 (BSB)“A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’””The law required that a medium or spiritist in Israel be put to death.
Theological
True or False: Saul had previously expelled from Israel those who practiced necromancy.
Answer: True
This is true. Verse 3 supplies two background facts: Samuel’s death and burial at Ramah (already narrated in 25:1), and Saul’s earlier expulsion of necromancers from Israel. That removal accorded with the law, which prohibited consulting them (Leviticus 19:31) and made the practice a capital offense (Leviticus 20:27). The notice prepares for the irony that follows: with Samuel gone and heaven silent, Saul will seek out precisely what he had once suppressed.
- 1 Samuel 28:3 (BSB)“Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.”The narrator recalls Samuel’s death and burial and notes that Saul had removed mediums and spiritists from the land.
- 1 Samuel 25:1 (BSB)“When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.”Samuel’s death and burial at Ramah had first been reported in chapter 25.
- Leviticus 19:31 (BSB)“You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”God’s law forbade Israel to turn to mediums or spiritists.
- Leviticus 20:27 (BSB)“A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’””The law required that a medium or spiritist in Israel be put to death.
General
Why did Saul have no strength left after hearing Samuel’s words (1 Samuel 28:20)?
Answer: He had gone without food for a full day and night
On hearing Samuel’s words, Saul collapsed full length on the ground, overcome with fear, and he was completely drained, having gone without food for a full day and night (28:20). The woman offered him food, and though Saul at first refused, his servants added their pleas to hers, and he gave in (28:22-23). She prepared a meal, they ate, and they left that same night (28:24-25). The scene is a sad one: the man who once stood taller than everyone around him (10:23) lies helpless on the floor of a medium’s house on the eve of his death, and no strength of his own can save him (Psalm 33:16). The wound he receives comes later, from the archers in the battle (31:3).
- 1 Samuel 28:20 (BSB)“Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground, terrified by the words of Samuel. And his strength was gone, because he had not eaten anything all that day and night.”Saul falls to the ground in terror and has no strength, since he has eaten nothing for a day and a night.
- 1 Samuel 28:23 (BSB)“Saul refused, saying, “I will not eat.” But his servants joined the woman in urging him, and he heeded their voice. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed.”Saul refuses food at first, but gives in when his servants and the woman urge him.
- 1 Samuel 31:3 (BSB)“When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.”In the battle that follows, the fighting presses hard against Saul and he is badly wounded.
- 1 Samuel 10:23 (BSB)“So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.”At his public choosing, Saul had stood a head taller than everyone else, a sharp contrast with this collapse.
- Psalm 33:16 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.”No king is saved by his own army or strength, as Saul’s helplessness here shows.
Theological
What explanation does the narrator give for Saul’s lack of strength after Samuel’s message (1 Samuel 28:20)?
Answer: He had gone without food for a full day and night
Saul fell prostrate in terror at Samuel’s words, and the narrator attributes his collapse to having taken no food for a full day and night (28:20). He initially refused the woman’s offer of food but yielded when his servants pressed him as well (28:22-23); she prepared a meal, and they departed that night (28:24-25). The episode closes on a stark image: the king once taller than all Israel (10:23) prostrate in a forbidden house on the eve of his death, with no strength of his own to save him (Psalm 33:16). His wounding comes later, at the hands of the archers in the battle (31:3).
- 1 Samuel 28:20 (BSB)“Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground, terrified by the words of Samuel. And his strength was gone, because he had not eaten anything all that day and night.”Saul falls to the ground in terror and has no strength, since he has eaten nothing for a day and a night.
- 1 Samuel 28:23 (BSB)“Saul refused, saying, “I will not eat.” But his servants joined the woman in urging him, and he heeded their voice. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed.”Saul refuses food at first, but gives in when his servants and the woman urge him.
- 1 Samuel 31:3 (BSB)“When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.”In the battle that follows, the fighting presses hard against Saul and he is badly wounded.
- 1 Samuel 10:23 (BSB)“So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.”At his public choosing, Saul had stood a head taller than everyone else, a sharp contrast with this collapse.
- Psalm 33:16 (BSB)“No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.”No king is saved by his own army or strength, as Saul’s helplessness here shows.
General
After receiving no answer from God, what did Saul do (1 Samuel 28:7-8)?
Answer: He had a medium found, disguised himself, and went to her by night
With no answer from the LORD, Saul told his servants to find him a woman who was a medium, someone who claimed to contact the dead. They told him of one at Endor. Saul changed his clothes to disguise himself and went to her at night with two companions (28:7-8). This was forbidden. God’s law called consulting a medium or seeking out the dead detestable to Him (Deuteronomy 18:10-12), and the prophet Isaiah later asked why anyone would consult the dead instead of their God (Isaiah 8:19). In disguise and by night, Saul was seeking out the very practice he himself had banned (28:3).
- 1 Samuel 28:7-8 (BSB)“Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied. So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.””Saul asks his servants to find a medium, then disguises himself and goes to her by night.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”God’s law called consulting a medium or inquiring of the dead detestable to the LORD.
- Isaiah 8:19 (BSB)“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?”The prophet asks why anyone would consult the dead for the living instead of seeking their God.
Theological
What course did Saul take once the LORD would not answer him (1 Samuel 28:7-8)?
Answer: He had a medium found, disguised himself, and went to her by night
Unanswered by God, Saul ordered his servants to find a medium; told of one at Endor, he disguised himself and went to her by night with two men (28:7-8). The act was an open breach of the law, which names consulting a medium or inquiring of the dead among the practices the LORD abhors (Deuteronomy 18:10-12); Isaiah would later press the same point, that God’s people must seek their God rather than the dead (Isaiah 8:19). Disguised and under cover of night, Saul sought out the very practice he had himself outlawed (28:3).
- 1 Samuel 28:7-8 (BSB)“Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied. So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.””Saul asks his servants to find a medium, then disguises himself and goes to her by night.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”God’s law called consulting a medium or inquiring of the dead detestable to the LORD.
- Isaiah 8:19 (BSB)“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?”The prophet asks why anyone would consult the dead for the living instead of seeking their God.
General
The woman at Endor feared she was being trapped. How did Saul reassure her (1 Samuel 28:9-10)?
Answer: He swore an oath by the LORD that she would not be punished
The woman reminded her visitor that Saul had wiped out all who practiced her craft, and asked why he was laying a snare for her life (28:9). Saul then swore a solemn oath on the LORD’s life that no punishment would come to her (28:10). The irony is sharp. Saul calls on the LORD’s own name to protect a practice the LORD’s own law punished with death (Leviticus 20:27). God had commanded that His name not be used in vain (Exodus 20:7), yet the king who had disobeyed the LORD now invokes Him to cover disobedience.
- 1 Samuel 28:9-10 (BSB)“But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?” Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.””The woman fears a trap, and Saul swears by the LORD that she will not be punished.
- Leviticus 20:27 (BSB)“A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’””The law Saul had once enforced required death for a medium or spiritist.
- Exodus 20:7 (BSB)“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.”God forbade taking His name in vain, as Saul does by invoking it to shield a forbidden act.
Theological
By what means did Saul assure the medium that she would not be harmed (1 Samuel 28:9-10)?
Answer: He swore an oath by the LORD that she would not be punished
When the woman protested that Saul had cut off all who practiced her craft and suspected a snare (28:9), Saul swore by the LORD’s life that no punishment would befall her (28:10). The irony is bitter: the king invokes the LORD’s name to guarantee immunity for a practice the LORD’s law made a capital crime (Leviticus 20:27). Invoking the divine name to shelter what God forbids sits badly with the command against misusing His name (Exodus 20:7), and it fits Saul’s pattern of outward religion joined to inward disobedience.
- 1 Samuel 28:9-10 (BSB)“But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?” Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.””The woman fears a trap, and Saul swears by the LORD that she will not be punished.
- Leviticus 20:27 (BSB)“A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’””The law Saul had once enforced required death for a medium or spiritist.
- Exodus 20:7 (BSB)“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.”God forbade taking His name in vain, as Saul does by invoking it to shield a forbidden act.
General
What does Samuel announce will happen the next day (1 Samuel 28:19)?
Answer: Israel will fall to the Philistines, and Saul and his sons will die
Samuel’s final word to Saul is a prediction of judgment: the LORD will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines, and, Samuel says, tomorrow Saul and his sons will join him, that is, among the dead (28:19). Chapter 31 records this coming to pass: the king, three of his sons, the young man who carried his weapons, and his troops all fell together in the battle (31:6; see also 1 Chronicles 10:6). The verse says nothing more about the state of the dead; its point is that Saul’s death and Israel’s defeat are now certain, because the LORD has spoken.
- 1 Samuel 28:19 (BSB)“Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.””Samuel announces that Israel will fall to the Philistines and that Saul and his sons will die the next day.
- 1 Samuel 31:6 (BSB)“So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.”The prediction is fulfilled when Saul, his three sons and his men all die on one day.
- 1 Chronicles 10:6 (BSB)“So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.”Chronicles also records that Saul died together with his three sons.
Theological
What does Samuel foretell for the following day (1 Samuel 28:19)?
Answer: Israel will fall to the Philistines, and Saul and his sons will die
Samuel closes with a definite prediction: the LORD will give Israel into Philistine hands, and tomorrow Saul and his sons will join him, meaning they will be dead (28:19). The fulfillment is recorded in 31:6, where the king, three sons, his weapon-bearer and his troops all fall together on a single day, and Chronicles likewise records Saul’s death with his sons (1 Chronicles 10:6). The verse is not a statement about the condition of the dead; its weight is the certainty of a judgment the LORD has pronounced.
- 1 Samuel 28:19 (BSB)“Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.””Samuel announces that Israel will fall to the Philistines and that Saul and his sons will die the next day.
- 1 Samuel 31:6 (BSB)“So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.”The prediction is fulfilled when Saul, his three sons and his men all die on one day.
- 1 Chronicles 10:6 (BSB)“So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.”Chronicles also records that Saul died together with his three sons.
General
At the moment Samuel appeared, what did the woman suddenly realize (1 Samuel 28:12)?
Answer: That the man who had come to her was King Saul
At the moment she saw Samuel, the woman screamed and accused her visitor of deceiving her, because she now knew he was Saul (28:12). Saul told her not to be afraid, and when she described what she saw, Saul understood who had appeared and bowed with his face to the ground (28:13-14). The text calls the figure Samuel throughout, and what he foretells comes to pass as he had said, with Saul and his sons falling in battle together (28:19; 31:6). His message repeats what Samuel had told Saul earlier (15:27-28). Christians have read the scene in two main ways, either that God permitted Samuel himself to appear or that a deceiving spirit imitated him, and the passage keeps its focus on the message of judgment.
- 1 Samuel 28:12 (BSB)“But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!””When the woman sees Samuel, she cries out and realizes her visitor is Saul.
- 1 Samuel 28:14 (BSB)““What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up,” she replied. “And he is wearing a robe.” So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown in reverence.”Saul understands that it is Samuel and bows down.
- 1 Samuel 15:27-28 (BSB)“As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.”The same Samuel had earlier announced that the kingdom was torn from Saul.
- 1 Samuel 31:6 (BSB)“So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.”The words spoken in this scene are fulfilled when Saul and his sons die together in the battle.
Theological
What did the woman at Endor perceive at the moment Samuel appeared (1 Samuel 28:12)?
Answer: That the man who had come to her was King Saul
The appearance of Samuel exposed Saul’s disguise: the woman cried out that she had been deceived and identified her visitor as Saul (28:12). Reassured, she described the figure, and Saul, perceiving it was Samuel, bowed facedown (28:13-14). The narrator consistently names the figure Samuel, and what he foretells comes to pass as he said, when Saul and his sons fall together in the battle (28:19; 31:6); his message restates the verdict of 15:27-28. Interpreters have taken the scene in two main ways, either that God permitted Samuel himself to appear or that a deceiving spirit impersonated him, and the weight of the passage falls on the word of judgment.
- 1 Samuel 28:12 (BSB)“But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!””When the woman sees Samuel, she cries out and realizes her visitor is Saul.
- 1 Samuel 28:14 (BSB)““What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up,” she replied. “And he is wearing a robe.” So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown in reverence.”Saul understands that it is Samuel and bows down.
- 1 Samuel 15:27-28 (BSB)“As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.”The same Samuel had earlier announced that the kingdom was torn from Saul.
- 1 Samuel 31:6 (BSB)“So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.”The words spoken in this scene are fulfilled when Saul and his sons die together in the battle.