Bible Strands
1 Samuel 28:7
Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul commands his servants to locate a medium at a moment when he has already been refused answer by the Lord through dreams, Urim, or prophets. His servants respond by identifying a specific practitioner at Endor.
The words — The phrase בַּעֲלַת אֹב (ba'alat 'ov) literally means "owner of a necromancy," designating a female spirit consultant. Saul's directive בַקְּשׁוּ־אֵשֶׁת (baqeshu-'eshet) translates to "seek a woman," underscoring his explicit order to find an occult practitioner.
The thread — Endor is noted in Joshua 17:11 as land assigned to Manasseh, while the act of consulting a medium is cited in 1 Chronicles 10:13 as the cause of Saul’s death. A comparable encounter with a spirit of divination appears in Acts 16:16.
Why it lands — The text documents a ruler turning to forbidden occult practices after God remains silent. It demands the reader observe the immediate shift from seeking divine direction to pursuing human-mediated spirit consultation.
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
Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En–dor.
Cross-references
- Acts 16:16 One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
- Joshua 17:11 Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
- Psalms 83:10 who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
- 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.
- Isaiah 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
- Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Deuteronomy 18:11 casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
- 2 Kings 1:2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
- 2 Kings 6:33 While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”