1 Samuel 28

1Sa 28:1-6.

ACHISH'S

CONFIDENCE IN

DAVID.

1. The Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight

with Israel--The death of Samuel, the general dissatisfaction with

Saul, and the absence of David, instigated the cupidity of those

restless enemies of Israel.

Achish said to David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with

me to battle--This was evidently to try him. Achish, however, seems to

have thought he had gained the confidence of David and had a claim on

his services.

2. Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do--This answer, while

it seemed to express an apparent cheerfulness in agreeing to the

proposal, contained a studied ambiguity--a wary and politic generality.

Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever--or, "my life";

that is, "captain of my bodyguard," an office of great trust and high

honor.

3. Now Samuel is dead, &c.--This event is here alluded to as affording

an explanation of the secret and improper methods by which Saul sought

information and direction in the present crisis of his affairs.

Overwhelmed in perplexity and fear, he yet found the common and

legitimate channels of communication with Heaven shut against him. And

so, under the impulse of that dark, distempered, superstitious spirit

which had overmastered him, he resolved, in desperation, to seek the

aid of one of those fortune telling impostors whom, in accordance with

the divine command

(Le 19:31;

20:6, 27;

De 18:11),

he had set himself formerly to exterminate from his kingdom.

4. the Philistines . . . pitched in Shunem--Having collected their

forces for a last grand effort, they marched up from the seacoast and

encamped in the "valley of Jezreel." The spot on which their encampment

was fixed was Shunem

(Jos 19:18),

now Sulem, a village which still exists on the slope of a range called

"Little Hermon." On the opposite side, on the rise of Mount Gilboa,

hard by "the spring of Jezreel," was Saul's army--the Israelites,

according to their wont, keeping to the heights, while their enemies

clung to the plain.

1Sa 28:7-25.

SAUL

SEEKS A

WITCH,

WHO,

BEING

ENCOURAGED BY

HIM,

RAISES

UP

SAMUEL.

7, 8. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a

familiar spirit--From the energetic measures which he himself had

taken for extirpating the dealers in magical arts (the profession

having been declared a capital offense), his most attached courtiers

might have had reason to doubt the possibility of gratifying their

master's wish. Anxious inquiries, however, led to the discovery of a

woman living very secluded in the neighborhood, who had the credit of

possessing the forbidden powers. To her house he repaired by night in

disguise, accompanied by two faithful servants.

En-dor--"the fountain of the circle" (that figure being constantly

affected by magicians) was situated directly on the other side of the

Gilboa range, opposite Tabor; so that, in this midnight adventure, Saul

had to pass over the shoulder of the ridge on which the Philistines

were encamped.

8-14. bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee--This pythoness

united to the arts of divination a claim to be a necromancer

(De 18:11);

and it was her supposed power in calling back the dead of which Saul

was desirous to avail himself. Though she at first refused to listen to

his request, she accepted his pledge that no risk would be incurred by

her compliance. It is probable that his extraordinary stature, the

deference paid him by his attendants, the easy distance of his camp

from En-dor, and the proposal to call up the great prophet and first

magistrate in Israel (a proposal which no private individual would

venture to make), had awakened her suspicions as to the true character

and rank of her visitor. The story has led to much discussion whether

there was a real appearance of Samuel or not. On the one hand, the

woman's profession, which was forbidden by the divine law, the refusal

of God to answer Saul by any divinely constituted means, the well-known

age, figure, and dress of Samuel, which she could easily represent

herself, or by an accomplice--his apparition being evidently at some

distance, being muffled, and not actually seen by Saul, whose attitude

of prostrate homage, moreover, must have prevented him distinguishing

the person though he had been near, and the voice seemingly issuing out

of the ground, and coming along to Saul--and the vagueness of the

information, imparted much which might have been reached by natural

conjecture as to the probable result of the approaching conflict--the

woman's representation--all of this has led many to think that this was

a mere deception. On the other hand, many eminent writers (considering

that the apparition came before her arts were put in practice; that she

herself was surprised and alarmed; that the prediction of Saul's own

death and the defeat of his forces was confidently made), are of

opinion that Samuel really appeared.

24. the woman had a fat calf . . . and she hasted, and killed it,

&c.--(See on

Ge 18:1-8).

25. Then they rose up, and went away that night--Exhausted by long

abstinence, overwhelmed with mental distress, and now driven to

despair, the cold sweat broke on his anxious brow, and he sank helpless

on the ground. But the kind attentions of the woman and his servants

having revived him, he returned to the camp to await his doom.