Was Samuel Raised from the Dead to Speak to Saul?

Samuel was the last of the judges and the first of the major prophets (1 Samuel 3:19-21). After Samuel died, ungodly King Saul was desperate for counsel and so went to a medium to get word from the dead prophet, which was a wicked act strictly forbidden by the LORD (Deuteronomy 18:10-13). The question is, was it really Samuel who appeared on this occasion or was it an evil spirit masquerading as the prophet?

For answers, let’s read the passage:

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

⁴ The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. ⁶ He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. ⁷ Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,” they said.

⁸ So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

⁹ But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

¹⁰ Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

¹¹ Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

¹³ The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure [a “spirit” or “god” in the Hebrew] coming up out of the earth.”

¹⁴ “What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

¹⁵ 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.”

¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. ¹⁹ The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.

1 Samuel 28:3-20

Was Samuel’s appearance after his death an illusion, an evil spirit masquerading as Samuel or Samuel himself coming back from the dead, that is, coming back from Sheol/Hades? How scholars can be divided on the issue is bewildering because the evidence clearly shows that it was indeed Samuel in disembodied form. Verses 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 20 prove this and a couple verses state point blank that it was Samuel; for example, verse 15 says “Samuel said to Saul” and verse 16 that “Samuel said.” Notice that these verses don’t say “A spirit masquerading as Samuel said.” No, “Samuel said.”

God chose to allow Samuel to be resurrected from Sheol to ‘witness’ to the witch and prophesy to King Saul. Further proof that this was actually Samuel can be observed in that the witch cries out in fear when she sees the prophet coming up out of the earth; in other words, she wasn’t used to such real manifestations! Lastly, notice that what Samuel says is in line with God’s Word, and what he predicted came to pass — Saul and his sons were dead the next day (1 Samuel 31).

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