Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 28:7
7Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor who is a medium.”
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 camp, he was afraid and his heart pounded. 6He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets. Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor who is a medium.” 8Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes and 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 tell you.” 9But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you setting a trap for me 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
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 had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing 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. Then he said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
- Isaiah 8:19When they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
- Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him.
- Habakkuk 2:3For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.
- 1 Samuel 28:3By this time Samuel had died, all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city, and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
- Deuteronomy 18:11cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead.
- Isaiah 19:3Egypt’s spirit will be disturbed within it, and I will frustrate its plans. Then they will inquire of worthless idols, ghosts, mediums, and spiritists.
- Acts 16:16Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.
- Leviticus 19:31“Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists, or you will be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord because he did not keep the Lord’s word. He even consulted a medium for guidance,
- Joshua 17:11Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean, Ibleam, and the inhabitants of Dor with their surrounding villages; the inhabitants of En-dor, Taanach, and Megiddo — the three cities of Naphath — with their surrounding villages.
- Psalms 83:10They were destroyed at En-dor; they became manure for 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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