1 Samuel 28:9

1Sa 28:9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

Ver. 9. Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done.] This speech could not choose but beat hard upon Saul’s evil conscience, making it sound heavily, as a Shaulm, but to little purpose.

How he hath cut off those, &c.] The Hebrews say he cut them off because they also foretold the ruin of his family, and the succession of David in the kingdom. {a}

Wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life?] A good and seasonable answer to Satan, soliciting us to evil. We should cut him up short in such a case, as Christ doth the Pharisees, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? and as Solomon did his mother interceding for Adoniah, Ask for him the kingdom also.

{a} Lyra.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28:9 outlawed: Literally cut off, suggesting that Saul might have had most of the mediums executed.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(9) What Saul hath done . . .—The law, re-enacted by Saul in earlier days, which made the practice of these dark arts a capital offence, was evidently still in force. Sorcerers and witches, like the woman of En-dor, had, no doubt, been often hunted down by means of informers. The woman possibly at first suspected that something of the kind was intended now. The old tradition, however, which represents the two companions of the king as Abner and Amasa, would preclude such a supposition. Still, in any event, the act of summoning the dead was a capital offence, and the woman would be on her guard, even in the presence of her near relatives, which the old tradition asserts Abner and Amasa to have been. She may, too, by enhancing the peril in which she stood, have thought a larger present would be extorted from the stranger who sought her aid.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the woman said unto him,.... Not knowing who he was:

behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done; for by his speech and habit she perceived he was an Israelite, and so must be acquainted with what had passed in the nation, especially of a public nature, and which made a great noise, as doubtless this, lid:

how he both cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards,

out of the land; as many of them as he had knowledge of, or information about; and by this it appears that he did not merely expel them his dominions, but he put them to death, according to the law of God, Exo 22:18; so the putting them out of the land, Sa1 28:3, was putting them to death, and the woman's after reasoning confirms this: one should think for Saul to be told this to his face must fill him with shame and confusion, and his conscience must accuse him of sin and folly to make this attempt; and he must stand self-convicted and self-condemned; and it was enough to have deterred him from pursuing his scheme, had not his heart been strangely hardened:

wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? she suspected that Saul and his men were persons that came to entrap her; that when they had prevailed upon her to exercise her art, would turn informers against her, to the taking away of her life, it being death to practise it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Woman said, Behold, thou knowest; for his speech and garb discovered him to be an Israelite, and therefore acquainted with these matters.

To cause me to die, by accusing me to Saul as guilty of a capital crime.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. Wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life — We have seen (note introductory to 1Sa_28:3) that according to some interpreters the witch knew Saul as soon as he came into her presence, and her words to him are but a device to deceive him and secure herself. The possibility of this cannot be denied. She might have recognised his stately form though in disguise, or possibly some secret sympathizer with her craft might have advised her of the king’s approach. But it is more in harmony with the narrative to understand that she knew him not until she entered the clairvoyant state. Her words in this verse virtually charge Saul with a purpose of convicting her of sorcery that he might bring her to capital punishment.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 9, 10. Thou knowest what Saul hath done. Not only had Saul in the earlier part of his reign been earnest in his zeal for the Mosaic law, but even now it seems as if a witch was in danger of death; for he has to take an oath before she will acknowledge that she practises any illicit art,

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To entrap. Seek a stumbling block [i.e., trap].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.