THE DEATH OF SAMUEL.

This venerable prophet, after his miraculous deliverance from Saul's fury, died about two years before him, at the advanced age of ninety-two years, 1 Sam. xxv. 1. The precise time is not noticed in Scripture, but may be collected very nearly from the subsequent transactions.

Immediately after his death, David retired to the wilderness of Paran, where he spent half a year, or eight months, as appears from the declaration of Nabal's servants, speaking of the inoffensive behaviour of David's men, and their protection, as long as they were in their neighbourhood, xxv. 15, 16. When he married Abigail, and shortly after Ahinoam, upon the loss of his wife Michal, xxv. 39–44. He then spent a year and four months among the Philistines, during his first and second flight to Gath, xxvii. 7. Both these times amount to about two years. And it is evident, that the Philistine war was not long after Samuel's death, xxviii. 1-4. Accordingly, Chais, &c. from Lightfoot, Bedford, reduces it to two years: which might also have been the original reckoning of Josephus, Ant. VI. 14, 9, where the present reading, twenty-two years *, is utterly inconsistent with the history, and with Josephus elsewhere, assigning only twenty years to Saul's reign, Ant. X. 8, 4; and eighteen years to Samuel's joint administration with him, Ant. VI. 13, 5, VI. 14, 9.

David's conduct during this disastrous period, in which he was "hunted like a partridge in the mountains," by the implacable Saul, xxvi. 20, though praise-worthy in sparing his life, twice, yet in other respects was not free from censure. His marrying two wives, was an irregularity that Samuel, probably, would have prevented, had he been living; his flight to the Philistines twice, was a desperate measure, in which he did not ask counsel of THE LORD, as he might have done, and did against the machinations of Saul, xxiii. 9; but was instigated by "his own heart," or his apprehensions, xxvii. 1; from which he escaped the first time, only by counterfeiting madness or idiotcy, xxi. 10-15; and the second, by abusing the confidence

* Hudson, in his note on Ant. VI. 9, p. 276, (k), cites the Epiphanian version of Josephus,-Et regnavit Saul, vivente Samuele, 18 annis, et eo mortuo, 2 annis-and correcting from thence the present text, δυο και εικοσι, reads έτη δυο, [όμου δε, ετη] ELKOOL.-" 18 and 2 years; twenty years in all."

of the generous and unsuspecting Achish, with repeated acts of equivocation and hypocrisy, xxvii. 8-12, xxix. 8; and thereby he exposed himself to the dreadful dilemma of the destruction of himself and his family, if he refused to join the Philistines against Saul, in the fatal battle of Gilboa; or of turning traitor and rebel, and fighting against his king and country: had he not been providentially extricated by the jealousy of the Philistines, lest he should turn against them in the battle, in order to reconcile himself with his master, xxix. 1–7, as they had suffered before from "the Hebrews," in the victory of Jonathan, 1 Sam. xiv. 21.

SAUL'S LAST OFFENCE.

About the time of Samuel's death, in a lucid interval, perhaps, wishing to make some atonement for his crimes, Saul banished from the land all the diviners and wizards he could find, in obedience to the divine law, Deut. xviii. 10, 11. But on the renewal of the war by the Philistines, in his dismay, he consulted THE LORD, who answered him no more, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Abandoned by THE LORD, he now had recourse to the witch of Endor, not far from Gilboa, where his camp lay, by night, and in disguise, attended by two of his men, to evoke the spirit of Samuel, by divination or necromancy, in order to seek counsel from him in this dreadful emergency; contrary to the law, Levit. xx. 6.

His enquiry may thus be more closely rendered:

XXVIII. 8. "Divine for me, by 28, Aob, or Ob, [the spirit of divination,] and raise him for me, whom I shall name unto thee."

9. And the woman said, Thou knowest what Saul hath done; how he hath cut off, N, Haoboth, [the diviners,] and , Haiedoni, [the wizards,] or prognosticators, out of the land: and now layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

10. And Saul sware unto her by THE LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no harm befal thee for this thing.

11. Then said the woman, Whom shall I raise for thee? And he said, Raise me Samuel.

12. And the woman saw Samuel. And she cried with a loud voice and said unto Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? even thou art Saul!

13. And the king said unto her, Fear not: but what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw a god rising out of the earth. And he said unto her, What is his form? And she said, An old man rising, and he is clad with a mantle.

14. And Saul [also saw, and] knew that it was Samuel himself. And he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed [before Samuel.]

15. And Samuel said unto Saul, Why hast thou provoked me to raise me? And Saul said, I am sorely distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and GOD is departed from me, and aaswereth me no more, neither by dreams, nor by prophets; therefore I called upon thee, to inform me what I shall do.

16. Then Samuel said, And why dost thou enquire of me, since THE LORD is departed from thee, and is with thy rival?

17. And THE LORD hath done to him, as He spake by me; for THE LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, [or family,]

18. And hath given it to thy neighbour, even David. Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce anger upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

19. Moreover THE LORD will also give up Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: even to-morrow, shalt thou and thy sons be with me; the host of Israel also, will THE LORD give into the hand of the Philistines.

20. Then Saul straightway fell all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel, &c.

Whatever might have been the nature of this woman's art, or her design in undertaking to raise Samuel; whether she meant to impose on Saul by getting some accomplice to personate Samuel, whom she must have often seen, and well known, during his long administration; or whether she expected to raise a demoniacal spirit, to give an answer: it is evident from the original, more closely translated and compared throughout with itself, that "Samuel himself," or his spirit, was actually raised, immediately, and before the witch had time to utter any incan

So Josephus also correctly rendered the Original ; εγνωρισεν εκ τούτων ὁ βασιλevs, 70v Zaμovnλov ovra, who also expressly states, that Samuel's soul enquired why it was raised from Hades. Σαμουηλου ψυχης πυθόμενης διατι-αναχθηναι ποιήσειε [εξ άδου.] Ant. VI, 14, 2.

tations, by the power of GOD, in a glorified form, and wearing the appearance of the ominous mantle in which was the rent that signified the rending of the kingdom from Saul's family: for the following reasons:

1. The woman herself was surprised at his unexpected ap pearance, and immediately concluded that the enquirer could be no other than Saul; for that the venerable prophet would not probably answer any one inferior to the king.

2. Saul acknowledged his reality, when he prostrated himself before him, and declared the cause of his evocation.

3. The very soul of Samuel seems to breathe in the keenness and severity of his reproaches,-"Why hast thou provoked me*, to raise me?-And why dost thou enquire of ME, since THE LORD is departed from thee, and is with thy rival ?—Darid,” whom he now expressly names, as "the neighbour,” meant in his former prophecy, of which this is the terrific sequel; foretelling the impending defeat of his army, and death of himself and his sons in the battle; and their going to join the prophet in Hades, or the region of departed spirits in general.

4. Saul gave the most unequivocal proof of the reality of the denunciation, which none surely but a prophet of THE LORD could utter; for he fell down in a swoon, overwhelmed with anguish and despair when he heard his doom, and the just reward of his sacrilegious impiety: and was with difficulty restored to his senses, and refreshed by the witch and his attendants; who might also have been witnesses of the awful

He returned that night to his camp, and on the fated "morrow," rushed on his doom, after he was sore wounded by the Philistine archers, falling on his own sword! xxx. 4.

5. The reality of Samuel's appearance on this occasion, was the doctrine of the primitive Jewish Church:

"And after his death he prophesied, and shewed the king his end. And he lift up his voice from the earth, to blot out the wickedness of the people," [foretelling their defeat by the Philistines,] Ecclus. xlvi. 20.

The leading offences of Saul, are thus well summed up Book of Chronicles.

This is the judicious rendering of the Vulgate, Cur irritasti me? And the original verb,, is rendered to provoke, Job xii. 6, to rage, Prov. xxix. 9, to be wroth, Isai xxxviii. 21.

"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against THE LORD, even against the word of THE LORD, which he kept not; and also for asking counsel by Ob, [the spirit of divination,] to enquire of it; and trusted not in THE LORD. Wherefore HE slew him, and transferred the kingdom to David, the son of Jesse," 1 Chron. x. 13, 14.

This Ob, or spirit of divination," was unquestionably the same, which in the New Testament is called "the spirit of Python," by which the damsel at Philippi, was possessed, and which was expelled by the apostle Paul, Acts xvi. 16-19.

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For the phrase by, Balaath aub, or Ob, signifying "mistress of Ob," twice applied to the witch of Endor, 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, and loosely rendered in the English Bible, “ having a familiar spirit," is there rendered by the Vulgate, “habens Pythonem" and is equivalent to 18 D, Behem Ob," in whom is Ob," Levit. xx. 6-27, there rendered by the Vulgate, "in quibus pythonicus spiritus." But this is the very expression of the evangelist in the foregoing passage, εχουσαν πνευμα TUVOS, "having a spirit of Python," or " of divination," in the English Bible. But the Greek #vwv, or Latin Python, are evidently the Hebrew D, Pethon, signifying the asp, or adder, a most venomous serpent, whose poisonous bite was incurable, Deut. xxxii. 33, Psalm lviii. 4, xci. 13, Isai. xi. 8, Job xx. 1416, and aptly denoting "the old serpent, the Devil and Satan, that deceiveth the whole world," Rev. xii. 9, whose Hebrew name, 28, seems to be a contraction of ", signifying "an enemy," from 8, Aibah, “the enmity," decreed between the serpent and the woman at the time of the fall *, Gen. iii. 15,

That Python signified" a serpent," we learn from the mythological poet, Ovid, in the curious account of his destruction by the youthful archer Apollo. Representing it as a huge serpent of an unknown species, produced by the earth after the deluge, which was a terror to the new race of mankind, until he destroyed it, pierced through with a thousand arrows, almost exhausting his quiver; and instituted the Pythian games, in honour of this his first victory.

Sed te quoque, maxime Python,

[Terra] tum genuit, Populisque novis, incognite serpens,

Terror eras, tantum spatii de monte tenebas.

Hunc Deus arcitenens, (et nunquam talibus armis

Ante, nisi in damis capreisque fugacibus usus,)

Mille gravem telis, exhaustâ pene pharetrâ,

Perdidit, effuso per vulnera nigra veneno.