1 Samuel 28:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up out of the earth."

NIV: The king said to her, "Don’t be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said, "I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth."

NASB: But the king said to her, 'Do not be afraid; but what do you see?' And the woman said to Saul, 'I see a divine being coming up from the earth.'

CSB: But the king said to her, "Don’t be afraid. What do you see?" "I see a spirit form coming up out of the earth," the woman answered.

NLT: Don’t be afraid!' the king told her. 'What do you see?' 'I see a god coming up out of the earth,' she said.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”

The medium Saul hired to summon the spirit of Samuel suddenly realizes that her client is the king who outlawed her work. Saul likely executed others for doing exactly what she is doing right now (1 Samuel 28:12). Saul, though, has not come to catch and punish her for this. He has come to get an audience with Samuel. He tells her not to be afraid and to keep going.

Clearly, only the medium sees this spirit. Scholars debate whether this is literally the spirit of Samuel the prophet, or a demonic spirit disguised that way. She describes a "god" coming up out of the earth. Some Canaanite people imagined that those who had died became gods, especially if they were able to appear to the living once more.

The description of Samuel's spirit coming up out of the ground suggests that the woman is using a pit in the earth. This may have been converted by ritual sacrifices into what the mediums believed was a portal between the underworld of the dead and that of the living above.

Saul and the woman are breaking God's law by attempting to communicate with the dead (Leviticus 20:27). There is nothing in the Bible suggesting the dead revisit earth through magic. This singular event—if it is, indeed, Samuel, and not a demonic fraud—is only possible through God's grace and His judgment. "Samuel" is irritated. God is resolved. Saul and his sons will die in battle the very next day (1 Samuel 28:15, 19).

First 1 Samuel 28:8–14 describes a controversial moment in the life of King Saul. The Philistines have amassed armies against Saul's. He's terrified that this is his doom. God refuses to speak. Samuel is gone. Saul puts on a disguise, goes to one of the few mediums who escaped his cleansing, and asks her to contact the dead prophet. When Samuel appears, she seems as surprised as everyone else. She also realizes her client is the king. Saul reassures the witch that she's safe, but Samuel does not have the same message for Saul (1 Samuel 28:15–19).

Israelites and the Philistines prepare for war. The Philistine king Achish demands that David fight with him against Israel. Terrified at the amassed Philistine army and unable to reach the Lord for help, Saul finds a medium to contact Samuel's spirit. Samuel repeats that the Lord has taken the kingdom from Saul and adds that Saul and his sons will fall, along with Israel, the next day. The medium serves Saul and his men a large meal, and the men leave under the cover of darkness. David is saved from having to fight his own people, but Saul and his sons do die. David will soon be king (1 Samuel 29; 31).

David and his men have escaped Saul (1 Samuel 27) and begun been fighting Israel's enemies under the protection of the Philistine king Achish (1 Samuel 28). Now, Achish wants David to fight Israel with him. Saul sees the Philistine army and is terrified. He finds a medium to call up Samuel's spirit. Samuel tells Saul that he, his sons, and Israel will fall. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with David, and Achish sends him home. But Saul's sons are killed. Mortally wounded, Saul will take his own life (1 Samuel 29; 31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.