1 Samuel 28:7

“Then said Saul unto his servants, etc.] That waited upon him, to some of them, to such as he could place most confidence in to keep a secret; perhaps only the two after mentioned: seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her; that was mistress of the bottle, a ventriloquist, that spoke out of her belly, or seemed to do; who had the spirit of Python or divination, conversed with the devil, and by his assistance pretended to bring up a dead person, and thereby foretell things to come; (see Gill on “<051811>Deuteronomy 18:11”); a woman is pitched upon, because such were most addicted to those wicked arts, and being of the weaker sex, were more easily…”

“SAUL SEEKS A WITCH, WHO, BEING ENCOURAGED BY HIM, RAISES UP SAMUEL. (1Sa. 28:7-25) Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit--From the energetic measures which he himself had taken for extirpating the dealers in magical arts (the profession having been declared a capital offense), his most attached courtiers might have had reason to doubt the possibility of gratifying their master's wish. Anxious inquiries, however, led to the discovery of a woman living very secluded in the neighborhood, who had the credit of possessing the forbidden powers. To her house he repaired by night in disguise, accompanied by two faithful servants. En-dor--"the fountain of the…”

“Enquire - A different word from that in 1 Samuel 28:6, though nearly synonymous with it. It is more frequently applied to inquiry of a false god, as e. g. 2 Kings 1:2; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 19:3. En-dor (see Joshua 11:2 note) was seven or eight miles from the slopes of Gilboa, on the north of little Hermon, where the Philistines were encamped; so that Saul must have run great risks in going there. return to 'Top of Page'”

“That hath, &c. - One that converseth with the devil, or dead men's ghosts, and by them can discover future things. See Isa 8:19. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 28:8”

“28:7 Excluded from God’s counsel, Saul resorted to illegitimate methods for finding God’s will. Saul had earlier prohibited the occult practice that he now engaged in himself (28:3). • Endor was on the boundary between Israel and Philistia; the area near Israel’s border was probably a safer location for a banned practice.”

“Seek me: Kg2 1:2, Kg2 1:3, Kg2 6:33; Isa 8:19, Isa 8:20; Lam 3:25, Lam 3:26; Hab 2:3 a familiar spirit: Sa1 28:3; Deu 18:11; Isa 19:3; Act 16:16 that I may: Lev 19:31; Ch1 10:13; Isa 8:19 Endor: En-dor, a city of Manasseh, was situated in the plain of Jezreel; and Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that it was a great town in their days, four miles south from Mount Tabor, near Nain, towards Scythopolis. This agrees with Maundrell, who says, that not many miles eastward of Tabor, you see mount Hermon, at the foot of which is seated Nain and Endor; and Burckhardt says, that in two hours and a half from Nazareth, towards Scythopolis or Bisan, they came to the village of Denouny, near which are the…”