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1 Samuel 28

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David Musters with the Philistines 1–2

1
And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. ​
2
And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. ​

Saul Seeks the Lord in Vain 3–6

3
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. ​
4
And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
5
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. ​
6
And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ​

Saul Consults the Medium at Endor 7–11

7
Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. ​
8
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. ​
9
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
10
And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11
Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. ​

Samuel Appears and Prophesies 12–19

12
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. ​
13
And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. ​
14
And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. ​
15
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. ​
16
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
17
And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
18
Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. ​
19
Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. ​

Saul Collapses and Is Revived 20–25

20
Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. ​
21
And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.
22
Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.
23
But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. ​
24
And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:
25
And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 28

Verse 1

Know thou assuredly — Achish speaks as to the man he took for ‘my servant for ever’ (1 Sam 27:12), and David and ‘thy men’ are to march with him. The host gathers (qabats) at Aphek (1 Sam 29:1) while Israel camps in Gilboa (v.4). David answers Achish’s ‘Know’ with a ‘know’ of his own in v.2, and still names no enemy.

Verse 2

keeper of mine head — ‘Keeper’ is shamar, to guard, so Achish offers a bodyguard’s place. David’s reply, ‘what thy servant can do’, says nothing of whom he will fight, and Achish supplies the answer (‘Therefore’). David’s later words still leave it open: ‘that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king?’ (1 Sam 29:8).

Verse 3

Samuel was dead — His death and burial at Ramah were told in 1 Sam 25:1 and are recalled here as the setting. Saul had put out ‘those that had familiar spirits’ (’ob) and the ‘wizards’ (yidde’oni, ‘knowing ones’) as the law required (Lev 20:27), so the practice he asks for in v.7 is one he had banned.

Verse 5

his heart greatly trembled — ‘Trembled’ is charad, to shudder, the word for the people who ‘followed him trembling’ at Gilgal (1 Sam 13:7). Now the fear is Saul’s own. The verse names the cause: he ‘saw the host of the Philistines’, who had pitched at Shunem (v.4) while Saul gathered Israel in Gilboa. His inquiry of the LORD follows in v.6.

Verse 6

neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets — Three ways the LORD made himself known: dreams (Num 12:6), the Urim, by which the priest asked counsel ‘before the LORD’ (Num 27:21), and the prophets. The silence repeats 1 Sam 14:37, ‘he answered him not that day’. Of the three, only the Urim is left out of Saul’s own account in v.15.

Verse 7

a woman that hath a familiar spirit — Literally a ‘mistress of a familiar spirit’ (ba’alah ‘ob). Endor lay in Manasseh’s holding within Issachar (Josh 17:11). ‘Enquire’ is darash, the verb for seeking the LORD, and 1 Chr 10:13–14 sums up Saul’s end by it: he asked counsel of a familiar spirit ‘And enquired not of the LORD’.

Verse 8

divine unto me — ‘Divine’ is qasam, the verb of the forbidden ‘divination’ in Deut 18:10, and Deut 18:11 names ‘familiar spirits’ and the ‘necromancer’. Saul goes ‘by night’, ‘disguised’ (chaphas) and with two men, the word used of Ahab before his last battle (1 Kgs 22:30). ‘Bring me him up’ asks for a dead man to be made to ascend.

Verse 11

Bring me up Samuel — Samuel had anointed Saul (1 Sam 10:1) and told him, ‘the LORD hath rejected thee from being king’ (1 Sam 15:26). ‘Bring up’ is ’alah, to cause to ascend, the same verb as the woman’s ‘ascending out of the earth’ (v.13) and Samuel’s ‘to bring me up’ (v.15).

Verse 12

she cried with a loud voice — The cry (za’aq) comes when ‘the woman saw Samuel’, and at once she names her client: ‘thou art Saul’. The text does not say what showed her. ‘Deceived’ is ramah, to beguile. The message that follows (vv.16–19) speaks as the LORD’s prophet, and readers have differed on whether Samuel himself or an impersonating spirit appeared.

Verse 13

gods ascending out of the earth — Elohim, the ordinary Hebrew word for God, plural in form, which the KJV renders ‘gods’ here. The word is also applied to human judges (Ps 82:6). The woman describes only what she saw, and Saul does not ask what it was but ‘What form is he of?’ in v.14.

Verse 14

covered with a mantle — Me’il, the robe Samuel wore from boyhood (‘a little coat’, 1 Sam 2:19) to the day he turned to leave Saul and Saul ‘laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent’ (1 Sam 15:27). Saul ‘perceived’ (literally knew, yada’) from her description, and he ‘stooped with his face to the ground’.

Verse 15

Why hast thou disquieted me — ‘Disquieted’ is ragaz, to be shaken, the verb of Isa 14:9, where the realm of the dead ‘is moved’ at a king’s coming. Saul’s answer gives his reason for the summons: ‘God is departed from me’ (cf. 1 Sam 18:12), and he ‘answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams’, the channels of v.6.

Verse 18

nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek — ‘Fierce wrath’ is charon aph, the burning of anger. The charge repeats 1 Sam 15: Saul and the people ‘spared Agag, and the best of the sheep’ (1 Sam 15:9), and Saul had claimed, ‘I have obeyed the voice of the LORD’ (1 Sam 15:20). ‘This thing’ is the kingdom rent from his hand and given to David (v.17).

Verse 19

to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me — ‘To morrow’ (machar) is the next day’s battle, told in ch. 31, where ‘Saul died, and his three sons’ (1 Sam 31:6). The verse says ‘deliver’ (nathan, to give) twice, ‘the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee’, ‘the LORD also shall deliver the host’, so the defeat is set with the LORD himself.

Verse 20

fell straightway all along on the earth — Literally ‘the fulness of his stature’ (melo qomah), said of the man who stood ‘from his shoulders and upward… higher than any of the people’ (1 Sam 9:2). ‘Straightway’ is maher, hastily. Two causes are given: ‘the words of Samuel’, and a day and a night without bread.

Verse 23

he hearkened unto their voice — The phrase is shama’ qol, ‘hear the voice’, as in v.18, ‘obeyedst not the voice of the LORD’, and 1 Sam 15:24, ‘I feared the people, and obeyed their voice’. ‘Compelled’ is parats, to press hard. The man who ‘refused’ (ma’en) is raised from the earth to ‘the bed’ (mittah) for the meal in vv.24–25.