1 Samuel 28:11-12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:7-14

Here, I. Saul seeks for a witch, 1 Sam. 28:7. When God answered him not, if he had humbled himself by repentance and persevered in seeking God, who knows but that at length he might have been entreated for him? but, since he can discern no comfort either from heaven or earth (Isa. 8:21, 22), he resolves to knock at the gates of hell, and to see if any there will befriend him and give him advice: Seek me a woman that has a familiar spirit, 1 Sam. 28:7. And his servants were too officious to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:11

Then said the woman, whom shall I bring up unto thee ?.... For such persons, according to their profession, pretended they were able to bring up any of the dead, that he who inquired of them should name: and he said, bring me up Samuel ; the prophet Samuel he meant, and no doubt the woman so understood him, whose name was well known; he had been an old acquaintance and friend of Saul's, his counsellor and adviser in many things and though he greatly neglected him in the latter part of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:12

And when the woman saw Samuel ,.... The appearance of him whom she took for Samuel; no mention is made of the methods she used to raise him, to check the curiosity of such as might be desirous to know them, and to prevent the imitation of them; though some think that Samuel, or the apparition, was seen before she made use of any, which surprised her; but this seems not so probable, and is only observed for the sake of an hypothesis; though it must be owned the word "when" is not in the text:... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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 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... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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, for the appearances which took place at this time were such as she was wholly unacquainted with. Her familiar did not appear; and from the confused description she gives, it is fully evident that she was both... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:6-14

Man's appeal from God to man. The facts are— 1 . Saul in his trouble seeks in vain guidance from God. 2 . In despair he has recourse to the witch of Endor, promising her that no harm should come to her for assisting him with her incantations. 3 . Saul desires of her to bring up Samuel. 4 . On Samuel coining forth the woman is in terror, and also discovers Saul's identity. 5 . By the aid of the woman Saul recognises Samuel, and bows himself to the earth. The strange... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:11

Whom shall I bring up to thee? Assured by Saul's oath, the woman now asserts her ability to call up the spirits of the dead, and asks, just as would happen now with those who claim similar powers, who it is to be. We need not suppose that she possessed either greater or less powers than those claimed or even exercised now; for many of the phenomena of clairvoyance, though undoubtedly natural, still belong to an unscientific, and therefore vague and illusory, region. Perhaps on this very... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:11-15

A God-forsaken man. I. FOREBODING BEFORE THE BATTLE . As the clouds gather blackness before a storm, so the mind of King Saul became more than ever dejected and gloomy before his defeat and death on Mount Gilboa. He who in the beginning of his reign struck so boldly at the Philistines, and threw off their yoke from the neck of Israel, was now afraid at the approach of their host, and "his heart greatly trembled." Not that his natural courage had deserted him, but, amidst all the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 28:12

When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice. Evidently the last thing that she had expected was that anything else should happen than the usual illusion by which she imposed upon her victims; nor is it certain that anything else did happen. Her assertion that she saw Samuel was probably false; and it was in feigned excitement that she cried out, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. She could not but have noticed the tall stature, the dignified manner, and also the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Samuel 28:11

Bring me up Samuel - Dr. Trench observes, “All human history has failed to record a despair deeper or more tragic than his, who, having forsaken God and being of God forsaken, is now seeking to move hell; and infinitely guilty as he is, assuredly there is something unutterably pathetic in that yearning of the disanointed king to change words with the friend and counselor of his youth, and if he must hear his doom, to hear it from no other lips but his” (‘Shipwrecks of Faith, ‘ p. 47). read more

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