King James Version · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 28
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And it came to pass in those days, that the gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And said unto , Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. And said to , Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And said to , Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. Now was , and all Israel had him, and in , even in his own city. And had those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. And the gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in : and gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. And when saw the host of the , he was afraid, and greatly trembled. And when enquired of , answered him not, neither by , nor by , nor by . Then said unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar , that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar at En–dor. And disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I thee, divine unto me by the familiar , and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what hath done, how he hath those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to ? And sware to her by , saying, As liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up . And when the woman saw , she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to , saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art . And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto , I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And perceived that it was , and he stooped with to the ground, and bowed himself. And said to , Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And answered, I am sore distressed; for the make war against me, and is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by , nor by : therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said , Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And hath done to him, as he spake by me: for hath rent out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to : Because thou obeyedst not , nor executedst his fierce upon , therefore hath done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover will also Israel with thee into the hand of the : and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: also shall the host of Israel into the hand of the . Then fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of : and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten all the day, nor all the night. And the woman came unto , and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. 22Now therefore, I thee, thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake thereof: 25And she brought it before , and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.