The Necromancer of Endor (1 Samuel 28)

This is a bizarre and fascinating anecdote. It has interesting implications any way that it is interpreted. I actually had a dream this morning about my dead cousin, which is a little creepy now that I am reading this.

Also, why did George Lucas name the Ewok home world after this incident? I don't know.

The Philistines are mustering their armies. Saul hears of this and grows in fear. Samuel is dead, so Saul gets the idea to use a medium to contact Samuel's ghost.

OK. Contacting the spirits of the dead was one of the big no-nos from the Mosaic law. Chapter 28, verse 3 reminds us of that because Saul had banned all the mediums from the land. However, one still lives in Endor. His people know about her and tell him about her.

Saul and two of his men come to her in disguise. She initially does not want to contact any dead people, thinking that this is a trap and she will be put to death per Saul's order. Saul promises that no harm will befall her and asks for Samuel.

She does her stuff and when she sees Samuel, she somehow knows that her visitor is Saul.

She sees a figure coming out of the earth wearing a robe. Saul cannot see this and after her description, he says it is Samuel and falls prostrate on the ground.

"why have you disturbed my rest?" asks Samuel.

"the philistines are coming and God has abandoned me", said Saul.

"yup, because you did not kill the Amalekites. By the way, you'll die tomorrow."

After this, the medium makes some food, kills the fat calf, and gives food to Saul and his men.

So, what is going on here? I think there are two interpretive camps - Samuel was actually (1) a demonic manifestation or (2) Samuel himself.

One view is that "Samuel" was actually a demonic spirit that appears as Samuel and not actually Samuel. This is consistent with the overwhelming prohibition of contacting dead spirits in the Mosaic law. I also think the implications of Samuel's spirit returning from the dead make people very uncomfortable, so this becomes the de facto alternative. Plus, there is some dispute whether the prediction of Saul dying "tomorrow" is correct or if Saul dies three days later. The problem stems from an interluding story about David that occurs three days later.

Here is the timing:

Chapter 28 - Israel is camped at Guiboa and Saul visits the witch of Endor

Chapter 29 - David is dismissed from the Philistine army (Israelites are camped by the spring in Jezreel)

Chapter 30 - 3 days later, David arrives at Ziklag

Chapter 31 - Israel's army is defeated at Guiboa; Saul dies there

I think a reasonable reading is that the story breaks off from a strict chronological approach and that each chapter describes events happening relatively simultaneously or concurrently. So, the "three days later" in David's journey should not necessarily be added to three days after Saul's visit to the witch. Further, since the Israelites are camped in Guibau (ch. 28) and are defeated there (ch. 31), it would seem that those chapters are connected chronologically. I have no idea where the spring in Jezreel is (ch. 29).

My point is that the prophecy told by the apparation of Samuel actually could have been correct and that Saul died the next day. But to reach that conclusion, the story must be diverging chronologically and instead be discussing simultaneous/concurrent events.

There are several problems with the demonic manifestation theory. First, the text itself clearly says "Samuel" and not "spirit impersonating Samuel". So, you would have to read into the text something that it does not say. The straightforward reading of the text is that it actually is Samuel.

Second, the woman's actions are more consistent with it being Samuel. We can assume she has done this before. However, she is really surprised different has happened now. What would be different? Perhaps the other times she has contacted the dead, they were in fact demonic manifestations. This time, if it actually was Samuel - a holy man of God appearing before her in spirit - then she would be very surprised and fear for her life. That fear and surprise is precisely what happened.

We also see something similar happening in the New Testament. Moses and Elijah appear with Christ at one point. We have one other episode to gauge this story so it actually is not as much of an outlier as it appears.

If it actually was Samuel, then what are the possible implications? Probably a lot, but here are some I see: (1) ghosts exist, (2) ghosts existed in the pre-Christ era, or (3) spirits of dead people can be summoned (if summoning is required, then it is not exactly a ghost).

Personally, I believed it was a demonic manifestation for a long time. After studying it this time around, I am a lot more comfortable with the fact that it may have actually been Samuel. I would say I lean towards that interpretation now.

Last but not least, the name of Endor is now more associated with Ewoks and not this crazy story.