Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 28
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Samuel 28
Albert Barnes Commentary
1 Samuel 28
"And David said to Achish, Therefore thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever." — 1 Samuel 28:2 (ASV)
You shall know ... - David dissembled (compare also 1 Samuel 29:8), hoping, no doubt, that something would happen to prevent his fighting against his king and country.
Keeper of my head - Captain of his bodyguard.
"Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land." — 1 Samuel 28:3 (ASV)
It is not clear when Saul suppressed witchcraft; it was probably in the early part of his reign.
Familiar spirits ... wizards - that is, ventriloquists ... wise or cunning men. See Leviticus 19:31 note.
"And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped in Gilboa." — 1 Samuel 28:4 (ASV)
Gilboa - Now called Jebel Fukuak. But the ancient name is preserved in the village of Jelbon, situated on the south side of the mountain. It was separated from Shunem (see the marginal reference) by the deep valley of Jezreel. The Philistines either advanced along the seacoast, and then entered the valley of Jezreel from the west, or they came by the present road right through Samaria, starting from Aphek (1 Samuel 29:1).
"And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." — 1 Samuel 28:6 (ASV)
When Saul inquired of the Lord... It is said in 1 Chronicles 10:14 that one reason the Lord killed Saul and gave his kingdom to David was because he did not inquire of the Lord.
This apparent discrepancy is explained by the fact that inquiring of a familiar spirit was fundamentally opposed to inquiring of the Lord.
That Saul received no answer when he “inquired of the Lord”—whether by dreams (a direct revelation to himself), by Urim (an answer through the high priest wearing the ephod), or by prophets (an answer from a seer speaking the Word of the Lord, as in 1 Samuel 22:5)—should have been a reason for self-abasement and self-examination. He should have sought to find and, if possible, remove the cause of God's silence. This, however, was no justification whatsoever for his sin in asking counsel from a familiar spirit.
"Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor." — 1 Samuel 28:7 (ASV)
Enquire - This is a different word from the one in 1 Samuel 28:6, though nearly synonymous with it. It is more frequently applied to inquiring of a false god, for example, in 2 Kings 1:2, Isaiah 8:19, and Isaiah 19:3.
En-dor (see the note on Joshua 11:2) was seven or eight miles from the slopes of Gilboa, on the north of Little Hermon, where the Philistines were encamped. Therefore, Saul must have run great risks in going there.
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