1Sa 28:3-11 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 3 Samuel was dead - And there was no longer a public accredited prophet to consult. Those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards

1 Samuel 28:3-11

Verse 3

Samuel was dead - And there was no longer a public accredited prophet to consult.

Those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards - See the note on Lev 19:31, and Exo 22:18. Verse 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. Verse 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 to the high priest when clothed with the ephod, on which were the Urim and Thummim. How these communicated the answer, is not well known.

3. Prophets. - Who were requested by the party concerned to consult the Lord on the subject in question, and to report his answer. The prophets at that time could only be those in the schools of the prophets, which Samuel had established at Naioth and Gibeah. These were the only successors of Samuel that we know of. Verse 7

Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit - Literally, Seek me a woman, בעלת אוב 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 put his confidence in the time in which Jehovah had refused to help him!

At En-dor - This was a city in the valley of Jezreel, at the foot of Mount Gilboa, where the army of Saul had now encamped. Verse 8

Saul disguised himself - That he might not be known by the woman, lest she, being terrified, should refuse to use her art. Verse 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 paradise or in the infernal regions they have no power. If we allow that there is such an art founded on true principles, all it can pretend to is, to bring up the familiar; cause him when necessary to assume the form and character of some particular person, and to give such notices relative to futurity as he is able to collect. And this even in the cases to which authenticity is generally allowed, is often scanty, vague, and uncertain, for fallen spirits do not abound in knowledge: this is an attribute of God, and rays of this perfection are imparted to pure and holy intelligences; and even Satan himself, as may be seen from most of his temptations, is far from excelling in knowledge. He may be cunning and insidious, but he certainly is not wise and prudent; we in general give this fallen spirit credit for much more wisdom than he possesses.