Tree of Life Version
1 Samuel 28:7
7Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go to her and inquire through her.” So his courtiers said to him, “Behold, there is a woman that 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
5Now when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6When Saul inquired of Adonai, Adonai did not answer, neither by dreams nor by Urim or prophets. Then Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go to her and inquire through her.” So his courtiers said to him, “Behold, there is a woman that is a medium at En-dor.” 8So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and went with two other men, and they reached the woman by night. Then he said, “Please conjure up for me a ghost—bring up for me the one I will name to you.” 9“Look, you know what Saul has done,” she said, “how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. So why then are you setting a trap for my life 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 1:2Now Ahaziah fell down from the balcony of his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. 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 he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. So the king said, “Look! This evil is from Adonai—why should I wait for Adonai any longer?”
- Isaiah 8:19When they say to you: “Consult the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter,” shouldn’t a people seek their God? Should a people consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Lamentations 3:25Adonai is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
- Habakkuk 2:3For the vision is yet for an appointed time. It hastens to the end and will not fail. If it should be slow in coming, wait for it, For it will surely come—it will not delay.”
- 1 Samuel 28:3Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists.
- Deuteronomy 18:11or one who casts spells, or a medium, a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
- Isaiah 19:3The spirit of Egypt will drain within it, and I will confuse its counsel. So they will resort to idols, charmers, mediums and familiar spirits.
- Acts 16:16It so happened that as we were going to prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination, who was bringing her masters much profit from her fortune-telling.
- Leviticus 19:31“Do not turn to those who are mediums or to soothsayers. Do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am Adonai your God.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13So Saul died because of his unfaithful acts that he committed against the word of Adonai, which he did not keep, and he even consulted a medium for guidance
- Joshua 17:11Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages—three regions.
- Psalms 83:10Do to them as You did to Midian, to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River,
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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