1 Samuel 28:7

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 camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. 6So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim nor by the prophets. So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.” 8So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.” 9But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed the mediums and magicians from the land! Why are you trapping me so you can put me to death?”

1 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 fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, “Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
• 2 Kings 6:33He was still talking to them when the messenger approached and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”
• Isaiah 8:19They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
• Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who trust in him, to the one who seeks him.
• Habakkuk 2:3For the message is a witness to what is decreed; it gives reliable testimony about how matters will turn out. Even if the message is not fulfilled right away, wait patiently; for it will certainly come to pass – it will not arrive late.
• 1 Samuel 28:3Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums and magicians from the land.
• Deuteronomy 18:11one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.
• Isaiah 19:3The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.
• Acts 16:16Now as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. She brought her owners a great profit by fortune-telling.
• Leviticus 19:31Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God.
• 1 Chronicles 10:13So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord’s instructions; he even tried to conjure up underworld spirits.
• Joshua 17:11Within Issachar’s and Asher’s territory Manasseh was assigned Beth Shean, Ibleam, the residents of Dor, En Dor, the residents of Taanach, the residents of Megiddo, the three of Napheth, and the towns surrounding all these cities.
• Psalms 83:10They were destroyed at Endor; their corpses were like manure 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

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

In the dictionaries

• Saul
• Paul, Saul
• Familiar spirit
• En-Dor
• Along
• David
• Disquiet
• Divination
• Endor
• Magic

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