Bible Strands
1 Samuel 28:10
Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Saul speaks to the medium of Endor immediately after she warns him that he previously executed all mediums and spiritists in Israel. He issues this oath at the precise moment she hesitates to summon the dead Samuel out of fear for her own safety.
The words — The text records Saul’s use of שָׁבַע (sha.va'), meaning "he swore," alongside the oath formula חַי יְהוָה (chai Yahweh), literally "life of Yahweh" or "as Yahweh lives." This phrasing functions as a binding guarantee that no punishment will reach her.
The thread — This divine oath formula appears in other legal and covenantal contexts where a superior invokes God’s life to secure safety, such as 2 Samuel 14:11 where a king invokes the LORD to halt an avenger of blood. The direct invocation of the divine name also parallels the warning against taking it in vain in Exodus 20:7.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that a desperate political oath cannot override historical patterns of violence or divine justice. It requires the reader to observe how fear drives the use of sacred language without conferring moral weight upon it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 14:11 “Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
- Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Deuteronomy 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
- 1 Samuel 14:39 As surely as the LORD who saves Israel lives, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must die!” But not one of the troops said a word.
- 1 Samuel 19:6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
- Matthew 26:72 And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”
- Mark 6:23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”