1 Samuel 28:8

1 Samuel 28:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
• New International Version (NIV)So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

Context of 1 Samuel 28:8

6Saul asked the Lord what he should do. But the Lord did not answer him in any way. He did not give Saul a dream. He did not use the Urim. He did not give a message to the prophets. 7So Saul said to his servants, ‘Look for a woman who can talk to dead people. Then I will go and ask her what will happen.’ His servants replied, ‘There is a woman at Endor who can do that.’ Saul changed his clothes so that no one would recognize him. At night, Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, ‘Use your magic to bring up the spirit of a certain dead man. I will tell you his name.’ 9But the woman said to him, ‘You know what King Saul has done. He has removed all the magicians from Israel. Are you using a trap to catch me? Do you want me to die?’ 10Then Saul promised the woman very strongly. He said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, nobody will punish you if you do this.’

1 Samuel 28:8 word by word

וַיִּתְחַפֵּ֣שׂ שָׁא֗וּל וַיִּלְבַּשׁ֙ בְּגָדִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ ה֗וּא וּשְׁנֵ֤י אֲנָשִׁים֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁ֖ה לָ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קָֽסֳמִי נָ֥א לִי֙ בָּא֔וֹב וְהַ֣עֲלִי לִ֔י אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־אֹמַ֖ר אֵלָֽיִךְ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
• disguisedחָפַשׂchâphaώ · to searchH2664
• himself, and put onלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• raimentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• and he wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• and twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• with him, and they cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I pray thee, divineקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
• unto me by the familiar spiritאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
• upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 28:8

• 1 Kings 14:2So Jeroboam said to his wife, ‘Change what you look like so that people will not recognize you as my wife. Then go to Shiloh. The prophet Ahijah lives there. He told me that I would rule the nation of Israel.
• 1 Kings 22:30King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, ‘When we go into the battle, I will wear ordinary clothes. People will not recognize me as the king. But you should wear your royal clothes.’ So the king of Israel went into the battle as if he was an ordinary soldier.
• Job 24:13Some people refuse to live in the light. They do not understand it. They do not go along the good way that it shows to them.
• Jeremiah 23:24Do you think you can hide in a place where I cannot see you? You should know that I am everywhere, in the heavens above and on the earth.’ That is what the Lord says.
• John 3:19God's Son has brought light into the world. But some people did not love the light. They loved the dark instead. That was because they were doing evil things. That is why God has decided to punish those people.
• Deuteronomy 18:11Never use magic to curse anyone. Never try to speak to the spirits of dead people or other spirits.
• 1 Chronicles 10:13Saul died because he turned away from the Lord. He did not obey the Lord's commands. He even tried to get advice from the spirits of dead people.
• Isaiah 8:19They will say to you, ‘Go to the people who speak to the spirits of dead people. Go to the magicians who speak magic words. They will tell you what you should do. People should ask their gods and spirits to give them messages. People who are alive should ask the spirits of dead people to help them.’
• 1 Samuel 28:15Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you caused this trouble for me? Why have you brought me back?’ Saul said, ‘I have a lot of trouble. The Philistines are fighting against me. God has turned away from me. He will not use the prophets or give me dreams to answer my questions. So I have called you to come here. Please tell me what I should do.’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Saul disguised himself - That he might not be known by the woman, lest she, being terrified, should refuse to use her art.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Divine - Compare to 1 Samuel 6:2, note; Numbers 23:23, note. Bring me him up - The art of the ventriloquist seems to have been always connected with necromancy. The Greeks had necromancers who called up departed spirits to give answers to those who consulted them.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. 3-14Saul consulted the dead, a practice forbidden by God’s law (see Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:9–11).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 28:8

• En-Dor
• Familiar Spirits
• Miracles
• Necromancy
• Samuel
• Saul
• Sorcery
• Witchcraft

In the dictionaries

• Saul
• Paul, Saul
• Familiar spirit
• Along
• David
• Disquiet
• Divination
• Magic
• Warfare
• Witchcraft

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