1 Samuel 28:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it,

NIV: The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast.

NASB: Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; then she took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it.

CSB: The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread.

NLT: The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it.

Earlier this night, the woman thought she was going to die. The king had purged the land, as much as possible, of mediums like her. So, when a man and his two servants arrived in the middle of the night and asked her to call up the dead, she refused. The man reassured her she'd be safe. She called the person the man asked for. When Samuel, the dead prophet and judge of Israel, came up from the ground, she realized her customer was the king. He reassured her, again, that she was safe (1 Samuel 28:8–14).

She then had the horrible responsibility of either facilitating or translating a conversation between the king and the spirit. She learned the king had lost favor with his God because of disobedience, and on the next day, he and his sons would die in battle (1 Samuel 28:15–19).

The king collapsed with the message. She couldn't change the prophecy, but he had kept her safe. The least she could do was show proper hospitality. While he sat on her bed, eating stale bread, she cooked up a generous meal and some fresh unleavened bread (1 Samuel 28:20–23).

In the morning, her guests would lose a terrible war. All she could do was feed them so they could fight to the end.

First Samuel 28:20–25 records King Saul's last known meal on earth. This gives him just enough strength to meet his doom. He's about to face the combined armies of the Philistines. Samuel's spirit has told him the Philistines will win, and Saul and his sons will die (1 Samuel 28:3–19). Saul hasn't eaten and collapses on the ground. The witch prepares them food, and she and his servants convince him to eat. The next day, three of Saul's sons, including Jonathan, will die. When Saul is wounded, he will fall on his sword (1 Samuel 31). Because of Saul's rebellion against God, David will be king.

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.