1 Samuel 28:13

13 "Don't be afraid!" the king said to her. "What do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up from the ground."

1 Samuel 28:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 28:13

And the king said unto her, be not afraid
Meaning not of the apparition, but of him; since he had sworn no punishment should come upon her, and he should inviolably observe his oath: for what sawest thou? for as yet Saul himself saw not anything, the woman being between him and the apparition; or she might be in another room with her familiar spirit performing the operations when Samuel appeared:

and the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth;
a great personage, one of a majestic form, like the gods, or judges and civil magistrates, sometimes so called, as Kimchi and R. Isaiah rightly interpret it; and so the Targum,

``I saw an angel of the Lord;''

a person that looked like one; for not many came up with him, and particularly Moses, as say some Jewish writers ^F4.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 T. Bab. Chagigah, fol. 4. 8. Pirke Eliezer, c. 33.

1 Samuel 28:13 In-Context

11 So the woman said, "Who do you want me to bring up for you?" "Bring up Samuel," he said.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed at Saul, "Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!"

13 "Don't be afraid!" the king said to her. "What do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up from the ground."

14 "What does he look like?" Saul asked her. "An old man is coming up," she said. "He's wrapped in a robe." Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed low out of respect, nose to the ground.

15 "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Samuel asked Saul. "I'm in deep trouble!" Saul replied. "The Philistines are at war with me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do."

Footnotes

• [a]. Or I see gods or I see divine figures