Word Matters · Brandon Smith and Trevin Wax

Did a Witch Bring a Prophet Back from the Dead?

July 22, 2019·16 min·1 clip

Did a witch really summon the prophet Samuel from the dead for King Saul?

The episode opens with hosts Brandon Smith and Trevin Wax acknowledging that the Witch of Endor passage from 1 Samuel 28 has been among the most-requested topics from listeners. Trevin sets the scene: this encounter occurs near the end of King Saul's life, during a period of severe spiritual decline. Saul, facing a Philistine army and receiving no answer from God through prophets or dreams, disguises himself and visits a medium at Endor to summon the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel. The hosts read the full passage from the Christian Standard Bible, which uses the word 'medium' where other translations say 'witch.' The passage describes the woman screaming when Samuel appears, Saul falling prostrate in terror, and Samuel delivering a grim prophecy: Saul and his sons will die the next day, and Israel's army will fall to the Philistines. The episode then presents three interpretive views. The first holds that God supernaturally allowed Samuel's spirit to appear, surprising even the medium, who was not responsible for the result. Evidence cited includes the woman's shocked scream, the ancient Septuagint's reading of 1 Chronicles 10, and the text's consistent use of 'Samuel' rather than 'a spirit resembling Samuel.' The second view argues the appearance was a demonic delusion, with Satan impersonating Samuel to deceive Saul, citing 2 Corinthians 11:14 where Satan appears as an angel of light. The third view holds that the witch genuinely succeeded in raising Samuel through occult power, with God permitting but not directing the event. Brandon rejects the demonic delusion view on the grounds that the message Samuel delivers — a rebuke of Saul's disobedience — does not resemble what a demon would say, since a demon would more likely encourage further sin rather than call Saul to account. He narrows his preference to views one and three, ultimately landing on view one. Trevin agrees, arguing the woman's scream indicates this encounter was qualitatively different from her normal practice, and that the text's language treats Samuel as genuinely present. Both hosts note the passage never qualifies Samuel's appearance as a spirit or apparition. Trevin draws on 1 Chronicles 10, which summarizes Saul's life as one of unfaithfulness demonstrated by consulting a medium. He argues that God's silence toward Saul was not arbitrary but a consequence of Saul's own hardened heart, and that the silence of God can itself be a warning sign. He warns against consulting mediums, fortune tellers, or dark practices even casually or for entertainment. Brandon adds that the entire episode functions as an indictment on Saul, since God had already communicated the same message through legitimate channels and Saul's turn to a medium revealed his unwillingness to truly listen. He extends this to a broader application: seeking answers through self-help books or other substitutes for Scripture is a sign of spiritual avoidance rather than genuine seeking. The hosts close by noting the dark comedy embedded in the scene — the witch ends up feeding Saul a meal of veal and unleavened bread before he leaves — and reflect that the banality of the ending underscores the tragic arc of Saul's life.

As heard by us

A careful, sober reading of Saul, Samuel, and the witch of Endor.

Word Matters handles the witch of Endor with sober curiosity, placing the strange scene near the end of Saul's long spiritual collapse rather than treating it as a Bible trivia problem.

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You want a careful guide through the witch of Endor question.

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