1 Samuel 28:6
in 1 Samuel 28He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
KJV
And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 28
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe Lord answered him not - He used the three methods by which supernatural intelligence was ordinarily given: - 1. Dreams. - The person prayed for instruction; and begged that God would answer by a significant dream. 2. Urim. - This was a kind of oracular answer given to the high priest when clothed with the ephod, on which were the Urim and Thummim. How these communicated the answer, is not well known. 3. Prophets. - Who were requested by the party concerned to consult the Lord on the subject in question, and to report his answer.
This site's exposition
the Lord answered him not
This is Saul's one recorded enquiry of the Lord as king, and it meets total silence across all three lawful channels: dreams, Urim, and prophets. The pattern set against David's own habit of enquiry, at 23:2, 23:4 and 30:8, and after him 2 Sam 2:1, 5:19 and 5:23, makes the contrast the book's own argument rather than a later reader's addition. Chronicles states the verdict this chapter leaves the reader to draw: he enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He did not enquire in faith, but with a double unstable mind. He enquired of the Lord when it was too late, when the days of his probation were over and he was finally rejected. Seek the Lord while he may be found, for there is a time when he will not be found.
And when Saul inquired of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When Saul inquired of the Lord ... - It is said 1Ch 10:14 that one reason why the Lord killed Saul, and gave his kingdom to David, was because he inquired not of the Lord. The explanation of this apparent discrepancy is to be found in the fact that inquiring of the familiar spirit was positively antagonistic to inquiring of the Lord. That Saul received no answer - when he “inquired of the Lord” by dreams, which was an immediate revelation to himself; by Urim, which was an answer through the high priest clothed in the ephod; or by prophets, which was an answer conveyed through some seer speaking by the Word of the Lord 1Sa 22:5 - was a reason for self-abasement and self-examination, to find out and, if possible, remove the cause, but was no justification whatever of his sin in asking counsel of familiar spirits.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל | vaiyishal | and he enquired | H7592 → | 171 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| בַּֽיהוָ֔ה | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָנָ֖הוּ | ʾanahu | he answered him | H6030 → | 331 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| גַּ֧ם | gam | neither | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בַּחֲלֹמ֛וֹת | bachalomot | by <the> dreams | H2472 → | |
| גַּ֥ם | gam | nor | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בָּאוּרִ֖ים | baurim | by <the> Urim | H224 → | |
| גַּ֥ם | gam | nor | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בַּנְּבִיאִֽם׃ | baneviim | by <the> prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
וַיִּשְׁאַ֤לand he enquired
vaiyishalH7592 →171 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
בַּֽיהוָ֔הby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
עָנָ֖הוּhe answered him
ʾanahuH6030 →331 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
גַּ֧םneither
gamH1571 →769 times
בַּחֲלֹמ֛וֹתby <the> dreams
bachalomotH2472 →
גַּ֥םnor
gamH1571 →769 times
בָּאוּרִ֖יםby <the> Urim
baurimH224 →
גַּ֥םnor
gamH1571 →769 times
בַּנְּבִיאִֽם׃by <the> prophets
baneviimH5030 →314 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 3:5
One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
- Genesis 31:10–11
When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
- Genesis 46:2
And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- Acts 22:17–18
Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
- Luke 1:22
When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained speechless.
- 1 Kings 3:5
Through
Lamentations 2:9Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and even her prophets find…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 7:26
Disaster upon disaster will come, and rumor after rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction from the priests will perish, as will counsel from the elders.
- Hosea 3:4
For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Ezekiel 7:26
Through
Numbers 27:21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
it leads to
- Exodus 28:30
And place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece of judgment, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the judgment of the…
- Exodus 28:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.