1 Samuel 28:13

13 And the king said to her, Do not thou dread (Fear not); what hast thou seen? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods ascending from [the] earth.

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 And the woman said to him, Whom shall I raise up to thee? And he said, Raise thou Samuel up to me. (And the woman said to him, Whom shall I raise up for thee? And he said, Raise thou up Samuel for me.)

12 Soothly when the woman had seen Samuel, she cried with [a] great voice, and said to Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

13 And the king said to her, Do not thou dread (Fear not); what hast thou seen? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods ascending from [the] earth.

14 And Saul said to her, What manner form is of him? [What manner is the form of him?] And she said, An eld man goeth up, and he is clothed with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel; and Saul bowed himself on his face to the earth, and worshipped. (And Saul said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man goeth up, and he is clothed with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel; and Saul bowed himself low to the ground, and honoured him.)

15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou dis-eased me, that I should be raised? And Saul said, I am constrained greatly; for the Philistines fight against me, and God hath gone away from me, and he would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I called thee, that thou shouldest show to me what I shall do. (And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disturbed me, so that I am raised up? And Saul said, I am in great trouble; for the Philistines fight against me, and God hath gone away from me, and he will not answer me, not by prophets, nor by dreams; and so I called thee, so that thou couldest tell me what I should do.)