Synopsis of the Chapter
As battle approaches, Saul inquires of God about its outcome; but when He does not answer, he consults the Witch of Endor, who raises Samuel, who, in verse 16, predicts destruction and slaughter for Saul and his camp.
Verse 2: David's Ambiguous Reply ¶
2. NOW YOU SHALL KNOW WHAT YOUR SERVANT WILL DO. -- David here speaks ambiguously, lest he offend King Achish and put himself in danger of death. For he did not intend to truly fight with Achish against his own Israelites; for it would have been impious to wage war against his own fatherland and the people of God: nor did he wish to avenge himself on Saul; hence when Saul was slain, he greatly grieved over his death. So says Abulensis.
Verse 3: Saul Removed the Magicians ¶
3. AND SAUL REMOVED THE MAGICIANS -- because God had commanded it, Leviticus 19 and 20. Saul did this at the beginning of his reign, says Abulensis. But why did Saul, who removed diviners, then consult one himself? Justin Martyr explains: "He removed the diviners because he hoped that by this act he would so appease God that He would revoke His sentence depriving him of the kingdom: not because he hated the wickedness of the diviners, but because he loved the kingdom."
Verse 6: God Does Not Answer ¶
6. AND HE DID NOT ANSWER HIM, NEITHER BY DREAMS, NOR BY PRIESTS. -- In Hebrew, "nor by Urim," that is, through the high priest wearing the Breastplate in which were the Urim. God did not wish to answer Saul because of his disobedience and impiety, by which he had killed the priests and was persecuting David. Therefore Saul, seeing himself spurned by God, fled to the Python, that is, to the devil, according to that saying of the godless: "If I cannot bend the gods above, I will move the underworld."
Verse 7: The Witch of Endor ¶
7. AND SAUL SAID TO HIS SERVANTS: SEEK ME A WOMAN WHO HAS A FAMILIAR SPIRIT -- that is, a familiar demon, which the Septuagint calls engastrimython, that is, a ventriloquist, who would speak from the woman's belly as if from a wineskin (for this is what the Hebrew ob means). Hence Apollo was called Pythian, because he gave oracles, and his ministers were called Pythii and Pythonissae. Hence "Python" signifies any kind of divination, whether done through necromancy and raising of the dead, as was done here through the raising of Samuel, or through sorcery, or through incantations.
Verse 11: Was It the True Samuel? ¶
11. BRING UP SAMUEL FOR ME. -- You may ask, was it the true Samuel whom the Witch of Endor raised? Many deny it, and think it was a demon or phantom. So say Procopius, Theodoret, Rupert, Tertullian, Cyril, Bede, and others. More truly, other more numerous and more authoritative scholars affirm it, because the text clearly indicates it, and more clearly Ecclesiasticus 46:23, where among the praises of Samuel it assigns this, that he prophesied after death: "He raised his voice from the earth in prophecy, to cause sins to cease." This is the opinion of Abulensis, Lyranus, Cajetan, St. Augustine, Basil, Nazianzen, Josephus, Justin Martyr, St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Thomas, Suarez, and Bellarmine.
Verse 12: The Woman Sees Samuel ¶
12. AND WHEN THE WOMAN SAW SAMUEL. -- God preempted the incantations of the Witch of Endor, which tend to be lengthy, lest Samuel appear to have been raised by their force: therefore immediately at Saul's request He presented Samuel. For this reason the troubled woman "cried out." She cried out in alarm because she saw that Samuel had preempted her incantations and presented himself before being called: for his venerable and majestic appearance struck her.
Verse 13: Gods Ascending ¶
13. I SAW GODS ASCENDING FROM THE EARTH. -- "Gods," that is, "God." For in Hebrew it is Elohim, meaning a divine man, namely Samuel: for she saw only him, as is clear from what follows.
Verse 15: Why Have You Disturbed Me? ¶
15. WHY HAVE YOU DISTURBED ME TO BE RAISED UP? -- That is, why were you the occasion for my being raised? For the proper and efficient cause of Samuel's raising was God. Moreover, Samuel said he was disturbed by Saul, because he was moved and angered by the unworthiness of the manner in which Saul was attempting to raise him through sorcery.
Verse 19: Tomorrow You and Your Sons ¶
19. TOMORROW YOU AND YOUR SONS WILL BE WITH ME -- in the next world, namely in the underworld, but not in the same part and place of the underworld, as if to say: You and your sons will die and be added to the dead, and will be with me in the place and state of the dead, but with different lots and dwelling places: for I am in limbo, you will descend to hell. "For wicked Saul did not deserve to be received where good Jonathan was," says Bede.
Verse 21: The Woman's Hospitality ¶
21. AND THE WOMAN CAME IN. -- Abulensis plausibly judges that the Witch of Endor was not present while Saul spoke with Samuel, because Saul wanted to deal with him in secret. When Samuel departed and his conversation with Saul was finished, the woman entered.
AND I HAVE PUT MY LIFE IN MY HAND -- that is, I exposed myself to the danger of death, as a sorceress by raising Samuel: for I knew that Saul had killed all magicians.