Amplified Bible
1 Samuel 28:7
7Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium [between the living and the dead], so that I may go to her and ask her advice.” His servants said to him, “There is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.”
1 Samuel 28:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 En–dor.
- New International Version (NIV)Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a medium at En-dor."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”
Context of 1 Samuel 28:7
5When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and badly shaken. 6So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim [used like lots by the priest to determine the will of God] or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium [between the living and the dead], so that I may go to her and ask her advice.” His servants said to him, “There is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.” 8So Saul disguised himself by wearing different clothes, and he left with two men, and they came to the woman at night. He said to her, “Conjure up for me, please, and bring up [from the dead] for me [the spirit] whom I shall name to you.” 9But the woman said to him, “See here, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off (eliminated) those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. So why are you laying a trap for my life, to cause my death?”
Read all of 1 Samuel 281 Samuel 28:7 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שָׁא֜וּל לַעֲבָדָ֗יו בַּקְּשׁוּ־לִי֙ אֵ֣שֶׁת בַּעֲלַת־א֔וֹב וְאֵלְכָ֥ה אֵלֶ֖יהָ וְאֶדְרְשָׁה־בָּ֑הּ וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ עֲבָדָיו֙ אֵלָ֔יו הִנֵּ֛ה אֵ֥שֶׁת בַּֽעֲלַת־א֖וֹב בְּעֵ֥ין דּֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- unto his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- Seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- me a womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- that hathבַּעֲלָהba‛ălâh · mistressH1172
- a familiar spiritאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
- that I may goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- to her, and enquireדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- at En–dorעֵין־דֹּר‛êyn-d'ôr ‛êyn dôr ‛êyn-dôr · En-dorH5874
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 28:7
- 2 Kings 1:2Ahaziah [the king of Israel] fell through the lattice (grid) in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became sick [from the injury]. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this sickness.”
- 2 Kings 6:33While Elisha was still talking with them, the messenger came down to him [followed by the king] and the king said, “This evil [situation] is from the Lord! Why should I wait for [help from] the Lord any longer?”
- Isaiah 8:19When the people [instead of trusting God] say to you, “Consult the mediums [who try to talk to the dead] and the soothsayers who chirp and whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him, To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].
- Habakkuk 2:3For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, Because it will certainly come; it will not delay.
- 1 Samuel 28:3Now 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 the spiritists (soothsayers) from the land.
- Deuteronomy 18:11or one who casts a charm or spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or a necromancer [who seeks the dead].
- Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out; And I will confuse their strategy, So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, And mediums and soothsayers.
- Acts 16:16It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling.
- Leviticus 19:31‘Do not turn to mediums [who pretend to consult the dead] or to spiritists [who have spirits of divination]; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, for his failure to keep the word of the Lord; and also because he consulted a medium [regarding a spirit of the dead], to inquire of her,
- Joshua 17:11Also, in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is Napheth.
- Psalms 83:10Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became like dung for the earth.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit - Literally, Seek me a woman, אוב בעלת baalath ob, the mistress of the Obidiah or Pythonic spirit - one who had a familiar spirit, whom she could invoke when she pleased, and receive answers from him relative to futurity. Strange that a man, who had banished all such from the land, as dangerous to the state, as impostors and deceivers, should now have recourse to them as the only persons in whom he could safely…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Enquire - A different word from that in 1 Samuel 28:6, though nearly synonymous with it. It is more frequently applied to inquiry of a false god, as e. g. 2 Kings 1:2; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 19:3. En-dor (see Joshua 11:2 note) was seven or eight miles from the slopes of Gilboa, on the north of little Hermon, where the Philistines were encamped; so that Saul must have run great risks in going there.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-19Verses 7-19 When we go from the plain path of duty, every thing draws us further aside, and increases our perplexity and temptation. Saul desires the woman to bring one from the dead, with whom he wished to speak; this was expressly forbidden, De 18:11. All real or pretended witchcraft or conjuration, is a malicious or an ignorant attempt to gain knowledge or help from some creature, when it cannot be had from the Lord in the path of duty. While Samuel…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7Without God's guidance, Saul turned to forbidden ways to learn God's will. Saul had earlier banned the occult practice that he now used himself (1 Samuel 28:3). Endor was on the border between Israel and Philistia. The area near Israel’s border was probably a safer location for a banned practice.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit--From the energetic measures which he himself had taken for extirpating the dealers in magical arts (the profession having been declared a capital offense), his most attached courtiers might have had reason to doubt the possibility of gratifying their master's wish. Anxious inquiries, however, led to the discovery of a woman living very secluded in the neighborhood, who had…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 28:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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