King Saul was in dire straits. The army of the Philistines was encamped opposite to his army, and things looked hopeless to him. God seemed to have withdrawn his support from him because of his disobedience, and the king was unable to get any help or assurance from God.
We read in 1 Samuel 28:6-7:
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.'”
1 Samuel 28:6-7 ESV
A “medium”, of course, is a person who purports to facilitate the communication between the living and the dead. Another more precise word in English is “necromancer”. The narrative in the First Book of Samuel mentions twice that necromancy had been banned by King Saul, and it was also forbidden by Mosaic law, as we read in the Book of Deuteronomy:
“When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-11 ESV
The Hebrew word used here for “medium” is אוֹב, and is pronounced “ōb”. While this word means “medium”, it also can signify a bottle made from animal skin. (Strong’s Hebrew: 178. אוֹב (Ob) — a Bottle (Made From Animal Skin), a Necromancer, n.d.) The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament favored by the inspired authors of the New Testament, uses the word “ἐγγαστριμύθῳ”, transliterated “eggastrimytho”, in this verse. “ἐγγαστριμύθῳ” means “belly-story” and is nearly identical to a modern Greek word which means “ventriloquist” (New English Translation of the Septuagint, 2009). Mediums throughout the ages have often used ventriloquism to dupe their clients and the prophet Isaiah alludes to this when he says that the mediums and necromancers “chirp and mutter” [Isaiah 8:19].
Continuing with the narrative from the First Book of Samuel:
“So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, ‘Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.’ The woman said to him, ‘Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?’ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ‘As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.’ Then the woman said, ‘Whom shall I bring up for you?’ He said, ‘Bring up Samuel for me.””
1 Samuel 28:8-11 ESV
Even if the woman normally practiced the trickery when conjuring up the dead, the scriptural narrative tells us that she was genuinely startled when she saw the apparition of Samuel:
“When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, ‘Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.’ The king said to her, ‘Have no fear; what do you see?’ And the woman said to Saul, ‘I see a god coming up out of the earth.’ He said to her, ‘What is his appearance?’ And she said, ‘An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe.’ And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.”
1 Samuel 28:8-14
The spirit of Samuel told Saul,
“…the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
1 Samuel 28:19
Saul and his sons died soon thereafter in the battle against the Philistines. The First Book of Chronicles summarizes it for us:
“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness; he was unfaithful to the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord slew him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”
1 Chronicles 10:13-14 ESV
Lest we doubt that this was really the spirit of Samuel that the medium conjured up, the Book of Sirach assures us:
“Even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people.”
Sirach 46:20
…recourse to mediums…conceal[s] a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. [It] contradict[s] the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2116
The New Testament
The New Testament does not explicitly condemn necromancy, but does condemn sorcery, which we can see in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians:
“Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians 5:19-21
The word for “sorcery” here is the Koine Greek word Φαρμακεία, which is transliterated “pharmakeia” and pronounced “far-mak-i’-ah”. Pharmakeia is the use of potions, poisons and spells to gain power over nature, including abortifacient and contraceptive potions. (Koehne, 2018)
The Church’s teaching has been quite clear on this matter of necromancy, divination and sorcery. We read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
CCC 2116
That last line bears repeating, as it gets to the heart of King Saul’s sin in consulting the “witch” of Endor: Saul was seeking power over time, history, and the Philistines and his recourse to necromancy contradicted the honor, respect, and loving fear that he owed to God alone.
References
Catechism of the Catholic Church. (n.d.). Vatican.va. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
Koehne, M. (2018, July 25). Humanae Vitae and the Words of Christ in Scripture. Saint Joseph’s College Online Theology Blog. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://blogs.sjcme.edu/theology/humanae-vitae-and-the-words-of-christ-in-scripture/
New English Translation of the Septuagint. (2009). NETS: Electronic Edition. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/
Strong’s Hebrew: 178. אוֹב (ob) — a bottle (made from animal skin), a necromancer. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https://biblehub.com/hebrew/178.htm
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Definition: the use of medicine, drugs or spells
a bottle (made from animal skin), a necromancer Ob
ἐγγαστριμύθῳ eggastrimytho
Belly-story
Ventriloquist
nec·ro·man·cy
/ˈnekrəˌmansē/
noun
- the supposed practice of communicating with the dead, especially in order to predict the future.
19 Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Φαρμακεία
Transliteration: pharmakeia
Phonetic Spelling: (far-mak-i’-ah)
Definition: the use of medicine, drugs or spells
Usage: magic, sorcery, enchantment.
properly, drug-related sorcery, like the practice of magical-arts
Phonetic Spelling: (ane-dore’)
Definition: “spring of dwelling”, a town in Manasseh
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
Saul Consults a Medium 1 Sam 28:3-25
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the wizards out of the land. 4 The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped at Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilbo′a. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments, and went, he and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” 9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” 13 The king said to her, “Have no fear; what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Am′alek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Then Saul fell at once full length upon the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, “Behold, your handmaid has hearkened to you; I have taken my life in my hand, and have hearkened to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also hearken to your handmaid; let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” 23 He refused, and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he hearkened to their words. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour, and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, 25 and she put it before Saul and his servants; and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.