Bible Strands
1 Samuel 28:15
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” “I am deeply distressed,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samuel addresses Saul immediately after the medium reports an old man in a robe approaching. The exchange occurs during Saul’s secret nighttime consultation at Endor while the Philistine army gathers for battle.
The words — The Hebrew הִרְגַּזְתָּנִי (hirgaztani) literally means “you have disturbed,” paired with לְהַעֲלוֹת (leha‘alot), “by bringing up.” Samuel uses these terms to mark the unnatural disruption of his rest.
The thread — This confrontation echoes 1 Samuel 28:6, where God previously refused to answer Saul by dreams or prophets, and parallels Luke 16:23, which depicts the dead Abraham in a fixed state beyond earthly mediation.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine silence is not a negotiation tactic but a settled reality. It forces the reader to confront the consequences of persisting in spiritual inquiry after God has explicitly withdrawn His communication.
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 Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Cross-references
- Luke 16:23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.
- 1 Samuel 28:6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
- 1 Samuel 18:12 So Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.
- 1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
- Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
- Jeremiah 2:17 Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way?
- Hosea 9:12 Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!
- Judges 16:20 Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
- 1 Samuel 23:2 So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
- 1 Samuel 23:9 When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”