Bible Strands
1 Samuel 28:12
But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The medium speaks to Saul immediately after he requests a spirit at 1 Samuel 28:11. She reacts the moment she recognizes the figure as the prophet Samuel.
The words — וַתִּזְעַק (va./tiz.'Ak) translates to "and she cried out," while בְּקֹל גָּדוֹל (be./Kol ga.Dol) literally means "with a great voice."
The thread — The narrative of Samuel’s death and burial appears in 1 Samuel 28:3, while 1 Kings 14:5 records a separate encounter involving a woman visiting a prophet about a sick child.
Why it lands — The text records a sudden recognition that interrupts a ritual, forcing Saul to confront the identity of the figure before him. It demands attention to the immediate shock of the encounter rather than speculation about its origin.
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 when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 28:3 Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.
- 1 Kings 14:5 But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”