(8) And Saul disguised himself.--The disguise and the time chosen for the expedition served a double purpose. The king would, he thought, be unknown in the darkness and disguise when he came to the witch's dwelling, and there was, too, a far greater probability of his escaping his Philistine foes, whose army lay between him and the village of En-dor.
Divine unto me by the familiar spirit.--Literally, divine unto me by the ob. Keil's remark is interesting: "Prophesying by the ob was probably performed by calling up a departed spirit from Sheol, and obtaining prophecies--i.e., disclosures--concerning one's own fate through the medium of such a spirit." No other commentator touches on the ob here, and Keil leaves it in doubt as to whether he considered the ob was some special spirit devoted to the service of the mistress of the ob, or the spirit or soul of one already dead, who, through some occult power, was to be brought back again for a season to this earth. As far as we can judge of these old mysteries, the sorcerer or sorceress possessed, or was supposed to possess, a "familiar." Through the aid of this "familiar," the departed spirit was compelled or induced to re-visit this world, and to submit to certain questioning. The Hebrew rendered "divine unto me" is of Syriac origin, like most of those words describing illicit vaticinations.--Speaker's Commentary. This miserable power, if it did exist, was one of the things the Israelites learned from the original inhabitants of Canaan. These "black" arts, as they have been called, have, in all ages, in every degree of civilisation, always had an extraordinary fascination for men. It is well known that even in our own "cultured age" similar pretensions are put forth, and the dead are still invoked, summoned, and questioned, as they were in the half-barbarous age when Saul and his companions, in their desperate strait, sought the witch of En-dor.
And bring me him up.--The popular idea has always been that Sheol, the place of departed spirits, is somewhere beneath the ground or earth on which we live, just as heaven, the abode of God and His holy angels, is in a region above the earth. St. Paul speaks in this popular language (Ephesians 4:9), where he refers to the lower parts of the earth as the abode of departed spirits. Hence we have here, "bring me him up." The Christian Church, Bishop Wordsworth reminds us, has adopted this language into her creeds, where she says that Christ in His human soul descended into hell (Hades). Keil well remarks on this human idea of what is "above" and "below": "With our modes of thought, which are so bound up with time and space, it is impossible to represent to ourselves in any other way the difference and contrast between blessedness with God and shade-life in death."
28:7-19 When we go from the plain path of duty, every thing draws us further aside, and increases our perplexity and temptation. Saul desires the woman to bring one from the dead, with whom he wished to speak; this was expressly forbidden, De 18:11. All real or pretended witchcraft or conjuration, is a malicious or an ignorant attempt to gain knowledge or help from some creature, when it cannot be had from the Lord in the path of duty. While Samuel was living, we never read of Saul's going to advise with him in any difficulties; it had been well for him if he had. But now he is dead, Bring me up Samuel. Many who despise and persecute God's saints and ministers when living, would be glad to have them again, when they are gone. The whole shows that it was no human fraud or trick. Though the woman could not cause Samuel's being sent, yet Saul's inquiry might be the occasion of it. The woman's surprise and terror proved that it was an unusual and unexpected appearance. Saul had despised Samuel's solemn warnings in his lifetime, yet now that he hoped, as in defiance of God, to obtain some counsel and encouragement from him, might not God permit the soul of his departed prophet to appear to Saul, to confirm his former sentence, and denounce his doom? The expression, Thou and thy sons shall be with me, means no more than that they shall be in the eternal world. There appears much solemnity in God's permitting the soul of a departed prophet to come as a witness from heaven, to confirm the word he had spoken on earth.
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment,.... Stripped himself of his royal robes, or military apparel, as supreme commander, and clothed himself in the habit of a peasant or a common soldier; and this not only that he might not be known by the woman, but that he might pass from his army incognito, and it might not be known that he was gone, and especially whither he was gone:
and he went, and two men with him: these, according to the tradition of the Jews (e), were Abner and Amasa; but it is not probable that Saul should leave his army destitute of their general at such a time as this:
and they came to the woman by night; not only that they might not be seen, but because it was a work of darkness they were going about, and it was only in the night season that such persons exercised their black art; though the Jews (f) say it was day, only because of their distress it was like tonight with them; but the literal sense is best:
and he said, I pray thee divine unto me by the familiar spirit; exercise her art of divination, by the assistance of the familiar spirit she conversed with:
and bring me up whom I shall name unto thee: that is, from the dead; for necromancy was the kind of divination she professed; and such persons pretended to have a power to bring up a deceased person, and consult with him about secret and future things.
(e) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 26. fol. 167. 1. Shalshalet ib. (f) Tanchuma apud Jarchiura in loc.
Divine unto me by the familiar spirit.--Literally, divine unto me by the ob. Keil's remark is interesting: "Prophesying by the ob was probably performed by calling up a departed spirit from Sheol, and obtaining prophecies--i.e., disclosures--concerning one's own fate through the medium of such a spirit." No other commentator touches on the ob here, and Keil leaves it in doubt as to whether he considered the ob was some special spirit devoted to the service of the mistress of the ob, or the spirit or soul of one already dead, who, through some occult power, was to be brought back again for a season to this earth. As far as we can judge of these old mysteries, the sorcerer or sorceress possessed, or was supposed to possess, a "familiar." Through the aid of this "familiar," the departed spirit was compelled or induced to re-visit this world, and to submit to certain questioning. The Hebrew rendered "divine unto me" is of Syriac origin, like most of those words describing illicit vaticinations.--Speaker's Commentary. This miserable power, if it did exist, was one of the things the Israelites learned from the original inhabitants of Canaan. These "black" arts, as they have been called, have, in all ages, in every degree of civilisation, always had an extraordinary fascination for men. It is well known that even in our own "cultured age" similar pretensions are put forth, and the dead are still invoked, summoned, and questioned, as they were in the half-barbarous age when Saul and his companions, in their desperate strait, sought the witch of En-dor.
And bring me him up.--The popular idea has always been that Sheol, the place of departed spirits, is somewhere beneath the ground or earth on which we live, just as heaven, the abode of God and His holy angels, is in a region above the earth. St. Paul speaks in this popular language (Ephesians 4:9), where he refers to the lower parts of the earth as the abode of departed spirits. Hence we have here, "bring me him up." The Christian Church, Bishop Wordsworth reminds us, has adopted this language into her creeds, where she says that Christ in His human soul descended into hell (Hades). Keil well remarks on this human idea of what is "above" and "below": "With our modes of thought, which are so bound up with time and space, it is impossible to represent to ourselves in any other way the difference and contrast between blessedness with God and shade-life in death."
and he went, and two men with him: these, according to the tradition of the Jews (e), were Abner and Amasa; but it is not probable that Saul should leave his army destitute of their general at such a time as this:
and they came to the woman by night; not only that they might not be seen, but because it was a work of darkness they were going about, and it was only in the night season that such persons exercised their black art; though the Jews (f) say it was day, only because of their distress it was like tonight with them; but the literal sense is best:
and he said, I pray thee divine unto me by the familiar spirit; exercise her art of divination, by the assistance of the familiar spirit she conversed with:
and bring me up whom I shall name unto thee: that is, from the dead; for necromancy was the kind of divination she professed; and such persons pretended to have a power to bring up a deceased person, and consult with him about secret and future things.
(e) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 26. fol. 167. 1. Shalshalet ib. (f) Tanchuma apud Jarchiura in loc.