1 Samuel 28 Study Notes
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28:1 Achish’s words to David present a serious tension in the narrative. If David’s forces were to march with the Philistines, he would end up fighting against his own people.
28:2 Bodyguard, which is literally “keeper of the head,” is ironic. “David had already kept one Gathite’s head (17:54), but he did so only after he removed it from Goliath’s body!” (Robert Bergen). See 29:4.
28:3 The law of Moses prohibited consulting with mediums and spiritists (Lv 19:31; 20:27; Dt 18:10-11), so Saul’s effort to rid the land of them was commendable.
28:4 The Philistines camped at Shunem deep into the Jezreel Valley at the foot of Mount Moreh. Saul camped at Gilboa at the valley’s southeastern edge, a vantage point from which he could observe the enemy army.
28:5 Jonathan, Saul’s son, knew the Lord was not limited by the size of Israel’s army (14:6); but Saul’s heart pounded when he saw the numbers in the Philistine camp.
28:6 Saul inquired of the Lord for direction. Urim (lit “lights”) denoted the device the priest used for discerning God’s will (Ex 28:30; Nm 27:21), but Saul may not have had that available to him since Abiathar had taken the ephod to David (1Sm 23:6). The prophets likewise gave Saul no answer, perhaps because Saul had cut himself off from them through his clash with Samuel (15:34-35).
28:7 Desperate to find spiritual guidance of any kind about war with the Philistines, Saul turned to the very avenue he knew was wrong and had tried to destroy. Traveling to En-dor would present some risk since it lay about six miles northeast and two miles beyond the Philistine camp.
28:8 Saul disguised himself to avoid being recognized by Philistines who might be patrolling the valley. Traveling with only two of his men put the king in a high-risk situation, but they also looked less “official” than a large group.
28:9 The medium knew about Saul’s cleansing Israel of spiritism and suspected the king of setting a trap for her.
28:10-13 The king swore that she would suffer no harm—an oath by the very Lord who condemned divination. The text suggests that the spirit of Samuel actually appeared and alluded to events in which Samuel had participated (vv. 15-19); the tone of his speech sounds just like Samuel. Perhaps the woman recognized Saul in the light of Samuel’s appearance, or perhaps the king pulled back his hood to look closer at the spirit who appeared before them.
28:14-16 Since Samuel was the Lord’s servant and spoke as God’s representative, it did not make sense for Saul to ask for guidance from Samuel since God had refused to answer him. In the next three verses, however, Samuel would give Saul his answer, though it was not the answer Saul wanted to hear.
28:17 The spirit of Samuel specifically named Saul’s successor as David, whereas before he had only alluded to him (13:14; 15:28).
28:18 The words of Samuel’s spirit, You did not obey the Lord, is a reference to 15:1-3,7-9—Saul’s miserable failure regarding Amalek, whom God had commanded Saul to destroy.
’ob
| Hebrew pronunciation | [OAV] |
| CSB translation | spirit, medium |
| Uses in 1 Samuel | 5 |
| Uses in the OT | 16 |
| Focus passage | 1 Samuel 28:3,7-9 |
The origin of ’ob is uncertain. Some connect it with a word for “pits” dug to communicate with spirits of the dead. In the OT ’ob has two meanings, either a medium for these spirits, or the spirits themselves (1Sm 28:8). Such spirits came from the ground and may have been audible (Is 29:4). Eleven times ’ob occurs in tandem with yid‘oni (spiritist), and often the two are associated with divination and idolatry. The difference between ’ob and yid‘oni is unclear. People consulting a medium defiled themselves (Lv 19:31), and God promised to put them to death (Lv 20:6). Israelites were to kill mediums (Lv 20:27). Mediums were one of the detestable customs that moved God to destroy the Canaanites (Dt 18:9-12). Consultation with the dead (Is 8:19) was evil (2Kg 21:6). There is an example of the activity in 1Sm 28 as Saul seeks guidance for decision making.
28:19 The nation’s defeat would come at God’s hands. The words of Samuel’s spirit, you and your sons will be with me, was an unmistakable verdict of death on Saul and his house.
28:20-22 The content of Samuel’s words, along with Saul’s weariness from traveling six miles, the stress of impending battle, and his fasting all day and all night (cp. 14:24,28), left the king totally exhausted.
28:23 Saul’s initial refusal to eat may have been because he did not wish to break his vow of fasting (cp. 14:24), but the people around him prevailed upon him to take some nourishment (see note at 14:45).
28:24 A fattened calf was a very nice dinner in a land where meat was not eaten often. Unleavened bread could be prepared quickly (Ex 12:34).
28:25 The six-mile return journey would bring more stress on Saul, and he would also get little rest to prepare for the battle the next day.