1 Samuel 28
1 In those days the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the army, you and your men.” 2 David said to Achish, “Therefore you will know what your servant can do.” Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you keeper of my head forever.”
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. Saul had put away those who had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. 4 The Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 When Saul inquired of Yahweh, Yahweh didn’t answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek me a woman who has a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.” His servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who has a familiar spirit at En Dor.” 8 Saul disguised himself, and put on other clothing, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. He said, “Please divine to me by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomever I shall name to you.”
9 The woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” 10 Saul swore to her by Yahweh, saying, “As Yahweh lives, no punishment shall come on you for this thing.”
11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up to you?” He said, “Bring me up Samuel.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What form is he of?” She said, “An old man comes up; and he is covered with a robe.” Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and showed respect.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up?” Saul answered, “I am very distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why then do you ask of me, since Yahweh has departed from you, and has become your adversary? 17 Yahweh has done to you, as he spoke by me. Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, even to David. 18 Because you didn’t obey Yahweh’s voice, and didn’t execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. 19 Moreover Yahweh will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Yahweh will deliver the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul fell immediately his full length on the earth, and was very afraid, because of Samuel’s words. There was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.
21 The woman came to Saul, and saw that he was very troubled, and said to him, “Behold, your servant has listened to your voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 Now therefore, please listen also to the voice of your servant, and let me set a morsel of bread before you. Eat, that you may have strength, when you go on your way.”
23 But he refused, and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he listened to their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat on the bed. 24 The woman had a fattened calf in the house. She hurried, and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it. 25 She brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
1 Samuel 28 Commentary
Chapter Overview
1 Samuel 28 brings Saul’s long decline to a terrifying crisis. As the Philistines assemble for a major campaign, Achish expects David to accompany them against Israel. The narrative then turns to Saul, who sees the enemy army, becomes afraid, and receives no answer when he seeks guidance from Yahweh. Instead of responding to that silence with repentance, he disguises himself and searches for a medium, even though he had previously removed mediums and spiritists from the land.
At Endor, Saul asks the woman to bring up Samuel. The encounter is unusual and should not be treated as a normal description of occult practice. The text itself calls the figure Samuel, and the message confirms the judgment Samuel had already announced: because Saul rejected Yahweh’s command concerning Amalek, the kingdom has been given to David, Israel will be defeated, and Saul and several of his sons will die. God remains sovereign throughout the scene; neither Saul nor the medium gains control over divine revelation.
The chapter ends with Saul collapsed in fear and weakness. The woman and his servants persuade him to eat, and he leaves during the night to face the battle foretold in 1 Samuel 31. The meal restores his physical strength but does not reverse his spiritual condition. The tragedy is not simply that Saul receives no new guidance. It is that he repeatedly rejected the clear word already given, then sought forbidden knowledge when obedience no longer seemed to offer the outcome he wanted.
Key Themes
God’s silence must be read in light of previous revelation. Saul had received repeated instruction, correction, warning, and opportunity through Samuel. His problem was not a lack of information but a history of resisting what God had already said. When no answer comes through dreams, the Urim, or prophets, the silence functions as judgment rather than proof that God has failed to make his will known.
Fear can drive a person toward the very practices once condemned. Saul had expelled mediums and spiritists, apparently enforcing commands such as Deuteronomy 18. Yet when the Philistine threat becomes overwhelming, he secretly seeks the guidance he publicly prohibited. External reform without inward trust may collapse when fear exposes what a person truly depends upon.
Forbidden spiritual practices do not become acceptable because the situation is desperate. Saul’s military danger is real, and his desire to know what will happen is understandable. Nevertheless, Scripture does not excuse necromancy as an emergency measure. The chapter warns against bypassing God’s moral boundaries to gain certainty, control, comfort, or hidden knowledge.
The appearance of Samuel does not show that mediums can command the dead. The woman’s alarm suggests that the event exceeds what she expected, and Samuel’s message offers Saul no manipulable secret. A careful reading is that God sovereignly permitted an exceptional encounter for judgment. Christians have debated the precise nature of the appearance, but the narrative itself identifies the speaker as Samuel and never commends the woman’s practice.
Religious experience is not automatically divine approval. Saul receives a supernatural message, yet the message condemns rather than restores him. Unusual experiences, accurate predictions, intense emotions, and contact with spiritual realities must be tested by God’s revealed truth. The presence of something extraordinary does not make the method righteous or the participant faithful.
Rejected truth eventually becomes unavoidable judgment. Samuel repeats the substance of the earlier sentence from 1 Samuel 15: Saul did not obey Yahweh concerning Amalek, so the kingdom has been torn from him and given to David. Saul cannot escape that word by silencing Samuel, chasing David, or consulting another source. What he refused to accept in life now confronts him on the eve of defeat.
Human compassion can appear in morally compromised places. The woman at Endor participates in a forbidden practice, yet she also risks her life, responds to Saul’s collapse, prepares food, and helps him regain strength. The text does not approve her occupation, but it does not erase her humanity. Biblical narratives often portray people with moral complexity rather than reducing every person to a single action.
Physical strength cannot substitute for restored relationship with God. Saul eats, stands, and continues toward the battlefield, but the meal cannot repair years of disobedience. Practical care matters, especially in crisis, yet food, rest, courage, or strategic preparation cannot by themselves resolve guilt before God. The chapter ends in darkness because Saul is strengthened to travel without being spiritually reconciled.
Important Verse Questions
Why were the Philistines gathering at Shunem? They were preparing a major invasion of Israel through the Jezreel Valley, a strategic corridor suitable for a large army. Saul camps at Gilboa across from them. The geography places the forces in the region where the final battle and Saul’s death will occur in 1 Samuel 31.
Why does verse 2 begin with Achish and David? The opening continues the crisis created in 1 Samuel 27. Achish believes David is loyal and expects him to fight Israel. The chapter then suspends that question and turns to Saul’s crisis. 1 Samuel 29 will explain how David is removed from the Philistine army before the battle.
Why does the chapter mention that Samuel was dead? The reminder emphasizes Saul’s isolation and prepares for the forbidden consultation. Saul had resisted Samuel while he lived, and now he desperately wants access to him after death. The statement also prevents readers from mistaking the later encounter for an ordinary meeting with the prophet.
Why did Yahweh not answer Saul? Saul had persistently rejected God’s commands and had not demonstrated the repentance described in 1 Samuel 7. God is not obligated to provide fresh direction to someone seeking information while continuing in rebellion. The silence confirms that Saul’s kingship has reached the judgment long announced.
What were dreams, the Urim, and prophets? They were recognized means through which God could guide Israel. Dreams could convey revelation, prophets spoke God’s word, and the priestly Urim was associated with seeking decisions from Yahweh. Saul’s loss of access is especially tragic because he destroyed the priests of Nob, while Abiathar and the ephod remained with David.
Where was Endor, and why did Saul go there secretly? Endor lay near the Philistine position, making the journey dangerous as well as unlawful. Saul disguises himself because his own policy had driven mediums from public practice and because consulting one would expose his hypocrisy. His secrecy shows that he knows the action violates the standard he enforced.
Did the woman actually bring Samuel up from the dead? The passage calls the figure Samuel and presents his words as true, but it does not say the medium possessed power over him. Her startled reaction may indicate that God produced an event beyond her normal expectations. The safest conclusion is that this was a unique, sovereignly permitted judgment, not proof that occult techniques reliably contact the dead.
Why did Saul bow before Samuel? Saul recognizes the figure as the prophet whose authority he repeatedly resisted. His posture expresses fear and respect, but it does not by itself demonstrate repentance. Throughout Saul’s story, intense emotion and religious language often appear without the enduring obedience that genuine change requires.
What does “Yahweh has departed from you” mean? It refers to the loss of divine favor and kingly empowerment already described in 1 Samuel 16. It does not mean God has ceased to exist near Saul or has lost control of events. God is present as judge, but Saul no longer enjoys the covenantal support attached to faithful kingship.
How could Samuel say Saul and his sons would be “with me” tomorrow? In context, the phrase chiefly means that they would join Samuel among the dead. It does not require the conclusion that every person mentioned shares the same final spiritual destiny. The focus is the certainty and nearness of death, not a detailed doctrine of the afterlife.
Did all Saul’s sons die the next day? The battle recorded in 1 Samuel 31 kills Saul and the sons fighting beside him, including Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua. Other descendants survived, including Ish-bosheth. “Your sons” therefore refers naturally to the sons accompanying Saul in the coming battle rather than every male descendant he had.
Why does the woman feed Saul at the end? Saul has fasted, collapsed, and lacks strength to travel. The woman’s urgent hospitality meets an immediate physical need and may also reflect fear for what could happen in her house. The meal is compassionate, but it is not a covenant feast or sign that judgment has been removed. Saul rises only to walk into the foretold night.
Practical Applications
Obey clear truth before demanding additional guidance. People often ask God for a new sign while avoiding commands they already understand. Before seeking extraordinary direction, examine whether Scripture has already addressed the issue through honesty, justice, faithfulness, forgiveness, or repentance. More information cannot replace obedience to the light already received.
Do not let fear choose your spiritual sources. Desperation can make forbidden practices, manipulative teachers, divination, horoscopes, mediums, or promises of secret knowledge feel attractive. Need does not make every source safe. Seek guidance through Scripture, prayer, wise Christian counsel, and accountable community rather than methods designed to offer control over the unseen.
Test spiritual claims by revealed truth, not intensity. A vivid experience may feel persuasive, and a prediction may even prove accurate, but truthfulness also includes the source, method, message, and fruit. Christians should neither mock every spiritual claim nor accept one uncritically. Compare it with Scripture and reject practices God has forbidden.
Recognize the difference between remorse and repentance. Saul is terrified, physically shaken, and emotionally overwhelmed, yet the chapter records no turning from his rebellion toward trusting obedience. Strong feelings can accompany repentance, but they are not the same thing. Genuine repentance accepts God’s verdict, turns from sin, and seeks faithful action even when consequences remain.
Offer humane care without endorsing harmful choices. The woman and Saul’s servants feed a man in collapse even though the circumstances are morally broken. In ministry and crisis response, practical compassion can be given without declaring every decision acceptable. Protect life, meet immediate needs, tell the truth, and maintain clear boundaries about practices that cause spiritual or physical harm.