Medium of Endor

Biblical Account

The account appears in 1 Samuel 28:3–25. Scripture does not give the woman's name. She is described as a person possessed by a spirit who calls up the souls of the dead; the Hebrew expression is ba'alat ob, "a woman who controls an ob" (KJV: "a woman that hath a familiar spirit," 1 Samuel 28:7).

Saul had earlier put those who had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land (1 Samuel 28:3). When the Philistine army encamped at Shunem, however, he was afraid and inquired of the Lord. He received no answer, "neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Samuel 28:6). Saul then disguised himself, went to the woman by night with two of his servants, and asked her to call up the dead Samuel.

The woman at first refused, citing the king's prohibition, but she agreed after Saul swore to her by the name of the Lord. When she saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice and recognized that her visitor was Saul. She said that she saw a spirit coming up out of the earth and an old man covered with a mantle. Samuel declared that because Saul had disobeyed the command concerning Amalek, the Lord had given the kingdom to David. He added that on the following day Saul and his sons would be with him. When Saul collapsed, drained of strength, the woman killed a fatted calf and baked unleavened bread for him, and Saul and his men departed that same night. Saul died in the battle on Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31).

Significance Within Scripture

The Old Testament law forbids consulting familiar spirits and necromancy (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:10–12). First Chronicles 10:13–14 attributes Saul's death both to his failure to keep the word of the Lord and to his consulting a medium rather than inquiring of the Lord. The scene is therefore read as depicting the final downfall of a king rejected by God. The New Testament does not mention this woman.

Interpretation and Debate

The chief point of debate is whether the figure that appeared was actually Samuel.

• The view that it was truly Samuel: Proponents note that the text consistently calls the figure "Samuel" and that his prophecy was fulfilled exactly. They hold that the woman was startled because the event was not the result of her arts but something God had specially permitted. The early church father Origen is known to have held this view. Sirach 46:20, which the Catholic Church accepts as deuterocanonical, also states that Samuel prophesied after his death.
• The view that an evil spirit impersonated Samuel: Proponents argue that the spirit of a righteous man cannot be summoned by means of an art God has forbidden. Martin Luther and John Calvin are known to have held this view.
• The view that the woman practiced deception: Scholars who take this position point out that Saul saw nothing himself and only heard the woman's words. The Septuagint renders her occupation with a word meaning "one who speaks from the belly" (a ventriloquist).

Within Protestantism, both of the first two views have found support. The common English name "Witch of Endor" is a later designation; the text does not call her a witch. The story that the woman was the mother of Abner, Saul's commander, appears in some Jewish traditions but not in Scripture.