1 Samuel 28:3

28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. ¹  In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums ²  and magicians ³  from the land.

1 Samuel 28:7

28:7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ⁴  so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”

[28:3]  ¹ tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”

[28:3]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).

[28:3]  ³ sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.

[28:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.