Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 28:16
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
16. Wherefore then, &c.] As if in such extremity I who am only God’s servant could do aught for thee.
is become thine enemy ] The expression is startling, and it is almost certain that there is some corruption in the text. ( a) The word for “enemy” is an Aramaic form, found elsewhere in Hebrew only in one or two doubtful instances. ( b) The ancient versions point to some different reading. The Sept. gives “has turned to be with thy neighbour;” the Vulg. “has passed over to thy rival;” the Targ. “has become the help of a man who is thine enemy.” It seems best to follow the Sept. Comp. 1Sa 15:28 ; 1Sa 16:13-14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 16. Wherefore then dost thou ask of me] Was ever I wont to give answers that were not dictated by the Lord? It is his counsel alone that I communicate.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Then said Samuel, wherefore then dost thou, ask of me,…. Whom thou knowest to have been a prophet of the Lord, and therefore can say nothing more or less than what comes from him, and is according to his will, if anything at all; the “devil” representing Samuel, whom Saul had called for, and reasons in such language as might be thought to be his own, though sometimes he betrays himself:
seeing the Lord is departed from thee; as Saul himself owned: to which he adds,
and is become thine enemy; to make his case appear still more desperate; for his whole view is to lead him to despair, which shows what sort of spirit he was: though some understand this as spoken of David, and read the words, and “he is with thine enemy” i; is on his side, and favours his cause; so the Targum,
“and he is for the help of a man, whose enmity thou sharest in;”
or who is at enmity with thee, meaning David; but now the true Samuel would never have said this, or suggested it, that David was an enemy to Saul, for he was not.
i “et est cum inimico tuo”, Pagninus, Vatablus; so V. L.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(16) Seeing the Lord is departed from thee.In other words, If Jehovah have left thee, why comest thou to consult me, His servant and prophet? The Hebrew word here translated enemy is only found in Psa. 139:20 and has been assumed to be an Aramaic formain for tsadde. There are, however, no other Aramaic forms in this book, which is written in pure classical Hebrew. The letter ain, or the first letter in the text here, through a very slight error of the copyist, could easily have been altered from tsadde, the first letter of the usual word for enemy. The LXX. and Vulg. Versions apparently had another reading before them, for they translate the last clause of the verse, and is with thy neighbours.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Wherefore then dost thou ask of me It required no prophet from heaven to suggest this question to the God-forsaken king, and if we regard it as any thing more than another device of the woman to increase Saul’s terror and impose upon him, we involve ourselves in the absurdity of supposing that after Jehovah had in his law condemned all seeking unto necromancers, and after he had refused to answer the king by urim and by prophets, he nevertheless disturbed a holy prophet from his rest in heaven, and suffered him to rise from the dead, apparently as if forced up against his will by the arts of witchcraft!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 28:16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
Ver. 16. Wherefore then dost thou ask of me? ] Samuel himself could not have spoken more gravely, severely, divinely, than this fiend doth. a Well may lewd men be good preachers; well may hypocrites make a great flaunt; well, it may be, that in charms and spells there is nothing to be found but good words and good prayers; of which, nevertheless, one well saith, Si Magicae, Deus non vult tales: si piae, non per tales.
a Dr Hall.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Then said Samuel. Jehovah might have sent “a lying spirit”, and given by it a true message, just as He did in 2Ch 18:19-22. Nothing was said but what was well known before.
become thine enemy. The Septuagint reads “and hath come to be with thy neighbour”. Compare 1Sa 28:17 with 1Sa 15:28.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Wherefore: Jdg 5:31, 2Ki 6:27, Psa 68:1-3, Rev 18:20, Rev 18:24, Rev 19:1-6
and is become: Lam 2:5
Reciprocal: 1Sa 30:8 – he answered him Job 13:24 – holdest me Psa 27:3 – war Isa 8:19 – should not Hos 9:12 – woe Mat 27:4 – see Luk 16:24 – have Act 13:22 – when