God allowed the witch of endor to summon the prophet samuel in order to give king saul the news of his coming defeat and death. The witch of endor, the dead prophet, the doomed king marg. According to legend, she was a medium who apparently summoned the prophet samuels spirit. Instead of humbling himself and his kingdom, he sought the council of a witch. Saul speaking to samuels spirit at the witch of endor 1675 by gabriel ehinger, stadelsches kunstinstitut. The story of the witch of endor summoning samuel is recorded in 1 samuel 28. The witch of endor in those days the philistines gathered their troops for war in. The witch of endor, nicolai gey the red of sauls cloak evokes a horrifying image of how his blood, and the blood of his three sons, will be spilt on the following day.
The witch is absent from the version of that event recounted in the deuterocanonical book of sirach 46. And is it simply a coincidence that the story of abigail and the story of the witch of endor are both prefaced with similar statements about samuels death. Its a fascinating story that can be explained in many ways, but there is no real agreement among biblical scholars what really happened when the witch of endor summoned the spirit of prophet samuel. I am reading the book of samuel, and i came across a passage that explained how the witch of endor summoned the spirit of samuel. The vision that appeared to saul through the witch of endor was not really samuel. Her name is not given in the story, although in popular culture, she has become known as the witch of endor. Achish said to david, you should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle. God no longer answered his prayers, and he felt increasingly powerless over his enemies, his kingdom, and himself. In desperation, he asked the witch to raise the spirit of the dead prophet samuel, who had been his counsel while he was alive. The following day sauls sons were slain by the philistines. Also, why doesnt god allow the summoning of spirits to occur today. The witch cried out and was surprised to see the real samuel. Jul 20, 2018 until now, the best applications of 1 samuel 28 ive read, especially when paired with 1 samuel 15, help us see ourselves in saul in our rebellion against god and the desperate lengths well go to live life on our terms instead of his. There are several interpretations of 1 samuel 28, concerning saul and the witch at endor.
The book of jonah tells a story of god declaring to nineveh that they would be. Between the scifi romance, quantum mechanics, and theoretical physics is a realworld question every soldier in history has asked. According to the book of samuel in the old testament, the witch of endor possessed an unusual power. Oct 31, 2017 the witch of endor you will find her story in. Did the witch of endor conjure up the dead spirit of samuel. Saul, samuel and the witch of endor difficult sayings. The city of endor, where the witch was located, is in the northern part of the land god gave to the israelite tribe of isaachar. Whatever the source of the apparition and the womans power, clearly this was an out of the ordinary occurrence for even the witch was shocked 1 samuel 28. Information about samuel is contained in the first book of samuel called in. Samuel is a remote figure, otherworldly, without pity or emotion. Jan 02, 2020 the message samuel gave saul was completely accurate.
Samuel and the witch of endor 1 samuel 28 and sirach 43. The book of first samuel gives us the account of the experience of king saul. The witch of endor was the woman who was consulted by king saul and who brought up the prophet samuel from the dead, as told in i samuel 28. One is that the lord made an exception and permitted the spirit of samuel to appear to the woman and saul. The witch of endor bible study guides amazing facts. For christians the story causes a historical and theological problem. God spoke about what he thought about such people and warned others not to consult them.
He goes at night, so he knows hes doing a great evil, but he has sunk this low. God did allow samuel to come and speak to saul to repeat his message to the disobedient servant. Mystery of the witch of endor a biblical ghost story or a. The bible talks about how saul obtained help from a witch to try to communicate. It was a city, however, assigned to the tribe of manasseh joshua 17. In the hebrew bible, the witch of endor was a woman who summoned the prophet samuels spirit, at the demand of king saul of the kingdom of israel in the first book of samuel. Dec 09, 2017 ellen lloyd one of the most mysterious biblical passages deals with the story of the witch of endor. The ghost of samuel, the witch of endor, and the death of king saul october 30, 2014 joe pranevich 2 comments halloween is the holiday of witches and warlocks, ghosts and goblins, and if we are being honest quite a few kids dressed up as the cast of frozen. Did the witch of endor really summon samuel from the dead. The witch went through her spells and enchantments until an apparition claiming to be samuel the prophet appeared and gave the king an utterly hopeless message.
Sep 17, 2019 the witch of endor summoned the prophet samuel s spirit in the bible, but her magical abilities are known in other traditions too. Samuel and the witch of endor 1 samuel 28 and sirach 43 bishoy marcus if you take this as fact which i do it leaves no doubt as to whether samuel appeared or not however the argument is in fact whether samuel appeared at the command of the medium, or. Women of the bible the witch of endor the word chick. The hebrew word for medium, spiritists and so on are belowb, which means, possessing a familiar spirit. He was able to get the message from the person he sought instead of god. By the time he consulted the witch at endor, he had become a desperate man. Purchase our witch of endor paperback book on amazon here. God appointed him to be the first king over israel. Jul 26, 2018 did the witch of endor really call up samuel, and does this story prove that dead souls live outside of the body. According to legend, she was a medium who apparently summoned the prophet samuel s spirit. Apr 19, 2018 it is remarkable that the witch of endor, who dealt in the occult, is portrayed in a sympathetic light in 1 samuel 28. Witch of endor the adventures of king saul youtube. Although saul had banished all sorcerers and conjurers from his kingdom, his concern about the final outcome of israels battle against the philistines caused him to seek. In the cloak of darkness and dressed as a commoner, king saul approached the witch of endor requesting that she conjure up samuel.
In most cultures across the world, a witch or wizard is generally regarded to be a nefarious practitioner of magic. Oct 31, 2012 one famous incident occurs in the book of 1 samuel, when saul, king of israel, secretly contacts a woman with powers for summoning the dead. Did the witch of endor conjure up the dead spirit of. Did god allow him to speak to saul, or did the witch have the power to call up the. Saul then again committed a grave sin when he decided to conjure for samuel through the medium at endor 1 samuel 28. Samuel and the witch of endor or the sin of witchcraft by j. Did you know that according to the national retail federation the witch has been the bestselling adult halloween costume for the past 10 years, followed closely by the vampire, pirate, nurse and batman. The story of the witch of endor, found in 1 samuel 28, tells a sad tale of the results of disobedience toward god. First, god would never violate his express command in scripture, so we can rule out the witch of endor as the source for the manifestation of samuel and it was samuel, verse 12, 14, 15 etc. And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their god. He asks the medium, the witch of endor the medium, the necromancer to call up samuel from the dead. The witch of endor summoned the prophet samuels spirit in the bible, but her magical abilities are known in other traditions too.
Mystery of the witch of endor a biblical ghost story or. Upon finding a woman in endor who claimed to consult with the dead, the king disguised himself and went to see her. The witch of endor summoned the prophet samuels spirit in the bible, but her. The gospel and the witch of endor the gospel centered woman. Book description as the prophet samuel grows older, his sons begin to help him rule the israelites. Aug 08, 2016 in the cloak of darkness and dressed as a commoner, king saul approached the witch of endor requesting that she conjure up samuel. Jan 08, 2019 the witch of endor also known as the medium of endor was a woman, as reported in samuel i of the old testament of the bible, chapter 28, verses 3 25, who possessed a talisman through which she called up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet samuel, at the demand of king saul of israel. The witch of endor is also known as the biblical medium of endor. In the hebrew bible, the witch of endor is a woman saul consulted to summon the spirit of prophet samuel in the 28th chapter of the first book of samuel in. But the israelites grow tired of their bad behavior and insist on a king.
In this text, the israelite king has reached the bottom of the moral and theological abyss in resorting to occult practices in israel that he himself has forbidden with the death penalty, in a desperate bid to find out what will happen in an imminent battle with. Saul and the witch of endor manifold greatness blog. But the woman of endor has lessons to teach us as well. In jewish culture, in contrast to both modern culture, which has reversed most images of evil creatures vampires are now romantic figures, for example, instead of bloodlusting killers. Even though he has already cast out all the mediums from the kingdom, he disguises himself. Are there some things worth the journey when you walk away from love. The story of the witch of endor has mystified biblical scholar and readers of the holy book in general. And saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. In the hebrew bible, the witch of endor is a woman saul consulted to summon the spirit of prophet samuel in the 28th chapter of the first book of samuel in order to receive advice against the philistines in battle after his prior attempts to consult god through sacred lots and prophets had failed. Did the witch of endor really summon samuel from the dead 1. This does not mean that it is genuinely possible for witches or mediums to speak with the dead, only that god allowed it in this one exception. The witch of endor, matthias stom this later painting is more realistic. Jul 16, 20 saul then again committed a grave sin when he decided to conjure for samuel through the medium at endor 1 samuel 28.