Berean Standard Bible
1 Samuel 28:7
7Then 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.
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 trembled violently. 6He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 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. 8So 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.” 9But 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?”
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
- Then Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- Findבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- a womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- who isבַּעֲלָהba‛ălâh · mistressH1172
- a mediumאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
- so I can goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- so I can goאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- and consultדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- Thereהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
- at Endorעֵין־דֹּר‛êyn-d'ôr ‛êyn dôr ‛êyn-dôr · En-dorH5874
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 28:7
- 2 Kings 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
- 2 Kings 6:33While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
- Isaiah 8:19When 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?
- Lamentations 3:25The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Habakkuk 2:3For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- 1 Samuel 28:3Now 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.
- Deuteronomy 18:11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
- Isaiah 19:3Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.
- Acts 16:16One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
- Leviticus 19:31You 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.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13So 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,
- Joshua 17:11Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Psalms 83:10who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
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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