1 Samuel 28:15 kjv
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
1 Samuel 28:15 nkjv
Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do."
1 Samuel 28:15 niv
Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" "I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
1 Samuel 28:15 esv
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."
1 Samuel 28:15 nlt
"Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?" Samuel asked Saul. "Because I am in deep trouble," Saul replied. "The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won't reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do."
1 Samuel 28 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 28:6 | When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. | God's silence before this event. |
| 1 Sam 16:14 | Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. | God's prior departure from Saul. |
| 1 Sam 15:23 | For rebellion is as the sin of divination... | Saul's previous acts linked to divination/rebellion. |
| 1 Sam 15:26 | But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” | Samuel's prophecy of God's rejection of Saul. |
| Lev 19:31 | Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. | God's prohibition of necromancy. |
| Deut 18:10-12 | 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, for everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord. | Strong condemnation of consulting the dead. |
| Is 8:19 | And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? | Divine rejection of inquiring the dead. |
| Judg 10:13-14 | Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen... | God's consequence for abandonment: no help. |
| Jer 7:16 | As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. | God refusing to hear desperate prayers due to sin. |
| Ps 74:9 | We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long. | Absence of prophetic guidance. |
| 1 Chr 10:13-14 | So Saul died for his breach of faith. He did not keep the word of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord; therefore the Lord put him to death. | Direct divine judgment for consulting a medium. |
| Prov 1:28 | Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. | Consequences of persistent rejection of wisdom/God. |
| Amos 8:11-12 | “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." | A famine of God's word and communication. |
| Num 12:6 | “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream." | God's normal methods of communication (prophets, dreams). |
| Heb 1:1-2 | Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son... | God's varied historical communication, culminating in Christ. |
| Matt 27:52-53 | The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. | Christ's power over the grave (in contrast to necromancy). |
| John 10:1 | “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber." | Seeking guidance outside God's prescribed ways is illegitimate. |
| Rom 1:28 | And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. | God giving up those who abandon Him. |
| 2 Tim 3:16-17 | All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. | God's established source of guidance (Scripture). |
| James 1:5 | If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. | God answers those who genuinely seek Him in humility. |
| Gal 5:19-21 | Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery (pharmakeia)... | Sorcery/divination listed as works of the flesh. |
1 Samuel 28 verses
1 Samuel 28 15 Meaning
In 1 Samuel 28:15, Samuel's apparition confronts King Saul, asking why Saul has disturbed his peaceful rest by causing him to ascend from the realm of the dead. Saul responds by revealing his overwhelming distress, lamenting that the Philistines are waging war against him, and critically, that God has forsaken him and no longer provides guidance through established divine channels like prophets or dreams. This verse encapsulates Saul's utter desperation and his profound spiritual isolation, setting the stage for his impending doom.
1 Samuel 28 15 Context
1 Samuel 28 describes King Saul's desperate state before his final battle with the Philistines. The chapter opens by highlighting Saul's fear and his failed attempts to receive guidance from the Lord through legitimate means: dreams, Urim (a priestly oracle), or prophets (1 Sam 28:6). Because of his long-standing disobedience, particularly his failure to fully obey God regarding the Amalekites and his consistent self-will (1 Sam 15), God had ceased to communicate with him. In his extreme anxiety and God's silence, Saul, who had previously purged the land of mediums and necromancers, ironically resorts to seeking one out himself. He finds the medium of Endor and compels her to bring up the spirit of the deceased prophet Samuel. The unexpected appearance of Samuel himself (or an authentic divine representation) rather than a mere demonic mimicry of him, confirms the gravity of Saul's sin. Verse 15 marks the moment of interaction, where Samuel addresses Saul, and Saul voices his profound existential crisis. This entire episode serves as a powerful testament to the consequences of disobedience and God's sovereign control even over forbidden acts.
1 Samuel 28 15 Word analysis
- And Samuel said to Saul: The suddenness emphasizes the immediacy and reality of Samuel's appearance. It establishes a direct, if supernatural, confrontation.
- 'Why have you disturbed me...?' (Hebrew: הִרְגַּזְתַּ֣נִי, hirg·gaz·ta·ni, Hiphil perfect): "Disturbed" carries the sense of agitated, roused from rest, or made to tremble. This strong word indicates that the summoning was an unwanted, violent intrusion into Samuel's state of peace in Sheol, the realm of the dead. It underscores the unlawful and invasive nature of necromancy from the perspective of the one called up.
- '...by bringing me up?' (Hebrew: הַעֲלוֹתִ֥י אֹתִֽי, ha·ʿă·lō·w·ṯî ’ō·ṯî, Hiphil infinitive construct): The verb "bringing up" literally means to cause to ascend or come up, commonly used for sacrificial offerings or ascending a mountain. Here, it explicitly refers to ascending from Sheol (the grave or realm of the dead). Samuel's question implies a divinely appointed resting place which has been wrongfully violated.
- 'And Saul answered, 'I am in great distress;' (Hebrew: צַר־לִ֣י, tzar-li, literally "narrow for me"): This conveys an acute sense of being confined, trapped, or experiencing severe anguish. It powerfully depicts Saul's extreme desperation, feeling cornered by his enemies and devoid of divine help.
- 'for the Philistines make war against me,': A statement of immediate, tangible peril. The enemy's direct threat explains the context of Saul's panic and urgent need for guidance, which legitimate channels were not providing.
- 'and God has departed from me' (Hebrew: סָ֣ר מֵעָלַ֔י, sar mē·‘ā·lay, Qal perfect): "Departed" signifies a turning aside or removal. "From me" indicates the removal of God's presence, favor, and the anointing of His Spirit, a condition that occurred much earlier (1 Sam 16:14) due to Saul's disobedience. This is the root cause of Saul's spiritual famine.
- 'and answers me no more,' (Hebrew: וְלֹֽא־עָנָ֤נִי, wĕ·lō·ʾ-‘ā·nā·nî, negative with Qal perfect): God's absolute refusal to communicate through His normal channels. This is the painful consequence of His departure and Saul's persistent rebellion, leading to spiritual darkness.
- 'either by prophets or by dreams.': These are the two principal legitimate ways God spoke to His people in the Old Testament when seeking guidance for immediate events, especially for a king (e.g., Num 12:6, Joel 2:28). Saul acknowledges God's complete silence through these authorized means, highlighting the extreme measures he has taken. The third method, Urim (part of the priestly ephod), is mentioned in 1 Sam 28:6, making his current desperate method even more clearly outside God's will.
1 Samuel 28 15 Bonus section
The nature of Samuel's appearance has been a subject of theological debate among commentators. While the text explicitly states "Samuel said" (1 Sam 28:15) and "Samuel himself" (1 Sam 28:16), some interpretations question whether it was truly the prophet Samuel or a demonic impersonation, citing the impossibility of a medium controlling a righteous spirit and God's absolute prohibition of such acts. However, the prevailing view among many theologians is that God, in His sovereignty, allowed Samuel's actual spirit to appear, not as a result of the medium's power, but as an act of divine judgment. This emphasizes that God can and does override human and demonic intentions to fulfill His purposes. Regardless of the medium's power, the content of the message itself — a confirmation of Saul's impending death and the transfer of his kingdom — perfectly aligned with God's earlier decrees through Samuel. This tragic episode vividly illustrates the dangers of spiritual desperation leading to apostasy and consulting prohibited sources for divine guidance when God remains silent due to unconfessed sin and disobedience. God's established channels are always His only legitimate pathways for true wisdom and direction.
1 Samuel 28 15 Commentary
1 Samuel 28:15 stands as a chilling summary of Saul's tragic reign, capturing his utter abandonment by God and his subsequent turn to forbidden practices. Samuel's opening question "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" implies the violent rupture of his peaceful repose in the afterlife, highlighting the egregious nature of Saul's necromancy—a direct violation of divine law (Deut 18:10-12). Saul's response unveils the full depth of his crisis: an external military threat (the Philistines) compounded by his internal spiritual desolation ("God has departed from me and answers me no more"). The specific mention of "prophets" and "dreams" confirms God's complete cessation of communication through conventional, divine channels. This silence from God was not arbitrary but a righteous consequence of Saul's persistent disobedience, rejection of God's word, and refusal to repent. Saul's desperation led him to seek forbidden answers from the dead, demonstrating his failure to genuinely repent and seek the Lord according to God's terms. The irony is poignant: the king who outlawed mediums now secretly seeks one, driven by a profound spiritual famine, proving that outside of God's will, there is only increasing darkness and desperation.