CHAPTER XXVIII _The Philistines prepare to attack the Israelites, and Achish_ _informs David that he shall accompany him to battle_, 1, 2. _Saul, unable to obtain any answer from God, applies to a witch_ _at En-dor to bring up Samuel that he may converse with him on_ _the issue of the war_, 3-1... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:2. _SURELY THOU SHALT KNOW WHAT THY SERVANT CAN DO_] This was another equivocal answer; and could only be understood by his succeeding conduct. It might imply what he _could do_ in _favour_ of the _Philistines_ against Israel; or in favour of _Israel_ against the Philistines. Achis... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:3. _SAMUEL WAS DEAD_] And there was no longer a public accredited prophet to consult. _THOSE THAT HAD FAMILIAR SPIRITS, AND THE WIZARDS_] Leviticus 19:31, and _"_Exodus 22:18_"_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:5. _WHEN SAUL SAW_] He saw from the superiority of his enemies, from the state of his army, and especially from his own state towards God, that he had every thing to fear.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:6. _THE LORD ANSWERED HIM NOT _] He used the _three methods_ by which supernatural intelligence was ordinarily given:- 1. _Dreams_. - The person prayed for instruction; and begged that God would answer by a significant dream. 2. _Urim_. - This was a kind of oracular answer given... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:7. _SEEK ME A WOMAN THAT HATH A FAMILIAR SPIRIT_] Literally, Seek me a woman, בעלת אוב _baalath ob, the mistress of the Ob_ 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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:8. _SAUL DISGUISED HIMSELF_] That he might not be known by the woman, lest she, being terrified, should refuse to use her art.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:11. _WHOM SHALL I BRING UP_] The woman certainly meant no more than making her _familiar_ personify whomsoever the querist should wish. In the evocation of spirits this is all that, according to the professed rules of their art, such persons pretend to; for over human souls in _pa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:12. _WHEN THE WOMAN SAW SAMUEL_] That _Samuel did_ appear on this occasion, is most evident from the text; nor can this be denied from any legitimate mode of interpretation: and it is as evident that he was neither raised by the power of the devil nor the incantations of the witch,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:13. _I SAW GODS ASCENDING OUT OF THE EARTH._] The word אלהום _elohim_, which we translate _gods_, is the word which is used for the Supreme Being throughout the Bible; but all the _versions_, the _Chaldee_ excepted, translate it in the _plural_ number, as we do. The _Chaldee_ has,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:14. _AN OLD MAN COMETH UP, AND HE_ IS _COVERED WITH A_ _MANTLE._] This seems to have been a _second_ apparition; she cannot mean that she had seen _gods_ ascending out of the earth, and these _gods_ were like an _old man with a mantle_. The angelic appearance first mentioned prepar... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:15. _WHY HAST THOU DISQUIETED ME_] The complaint is not directed against the _woman_ but against _Saul_. Indeed, her incantations had no influence in the business, and it does not appear that she had commenced her operations before the _angels_ had prepared the way of the prophet,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:16. _WHEREFORE THEN DOST THOU ASK OF ME_] Was ever I wont to give answers that were not dictated by the Lord? It is his counsel alone that I communicate.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:17. _THE LORD HATH DONE TO HIM_] I believe these words are spoken _of_ Saul; and as they are spoken _to_ him, it seems evident that _him_ should be _thee_. The Vulgate has _tibi_, the Septuagint σοι, to THEE: and this is the reading of _five of Kennicott's_ and _De Rossi's_ MSS., a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:18. _NOR EXECUTEDST HIS FIERCE WRATH UPON AMALEK_] See 1 Samuel 15:1 and the notes there.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:19. _TO-MORROW_ SHALT _THOU AND THY SONS_ BE _WITH ME_] What an awful message! In the course of the ensuing day thou shalt be slain, thy three sons shall be slain, and the armies of Israel shall be delivered into the hands of the Philistines! Can any person read this, properly cons... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:20. _THEN SAUL FELL STRAIGHTWAY ALL ALONG ON THE EARTH._] Literally, _he fell with his own length_, or _with the fullness of_ _his stature_. He was so overwhelmed with this most dreadful message, that he swooned away, and thus _fell at his own length_ _upon the ground_. The woman,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:23. _I WILL NOT EAT._] It is no wonder that not only his _strength_, but also his _appetite_, had departed from him. _AND SAT UPON THE BED_] _Beds_ or _couches_ were the common places on which the ancients sat to take their repasts.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:24. _THE WOMAN HAD A FAT CALF_] The ancients used great despatch in their cookery. In hot countries they could not keep flesh meat by them any length of time; hence they generally kept young animals, such as _calves, lambs_, and _kids_, ready for slaughter; and when there was occas... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 28:25. _THEY ROSE UP, AND WENT AWAY THAT NIGHT._] The transactions of this chapter occupy one night only. 1. Saul came by night to _En-dor_, 1 Samuel 28:8. 2. He consulted the woman, and had his conference with Samuel the same night; for no time whatever appears to have been lost af... [ Continue Reading ]