Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator provides a historical and temporal bridge between Saul’s dialogue with Achish and the gathering of Israel at Gilboa. The passage records the death of Samuel and Saul’s prior administrative decree against divination.
The words — מֵת (Met) = he had died; בָרָמָה (va./ra.Mah) = in <the> Ramah. The text states Samuel died and was interred in his own city, Ramah.
The thread — Samuel’s death and burial in Ramah matches the earlier record in 1 Samuel 25:1. Saul’s removal of mediums and spiritists aligns with the prohibitions in Leviticus 19:31 and Leviticus 20:27.
Why it lands — The verse establishes the factual end of Saul’s prophetic guidance and his prior enforcement of Torah law against divination. It frames his subsequent desperation as a direct result of having eliminated both divine and prohibited spiritual channels.
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
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 19:31 You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 20:27 A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”
- 1 Samuel 25:1 When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
- Exodus 22:18 You must not allow a sorceress to live.
- 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,
- Leviticus 20:6 Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.
- 1 Samuel 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
- 1 Samuel 28:9 But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?”
- Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous are taken away from the presence of evil.