John Gill Commentary 1 Samuel 28:13

"And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what seest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth." — 1 Samuel 28:13 (ASV)

And the king said to her, do not be afraid
Meaning not of the apparition, but of him; since he has sworn no punishment should come upon her, and he should inviolably observe his oath: for what did you see? for as yet Saul himself saw nothing, the woman being between him and the apparition; or she might be in another room with her familiar spirit performing the operations when Samuel appeared:

and the woman said to Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth ;
a great personage, one of a majestic form, like the gods, or judges and civil magistrates, sometimes so called, as Kimchi and R. Isaiah rightly interpret it; and so the Targum,

``I saw an angel of the Lord;'' a person that looked like one; for not many came up with him, and particularly Moses, as say some Jewish writers ^F4 .

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FOOTNOTES:

• F4: T. Bab. Chagigah, fol. 4. 8. Pirke Eliezer, c. 33.