26 1 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR 1 Samuel 28: The woman of Endor who is she and what does Saul see? S Fischer (Basel) ABSTRACT This paper puts 1 Samuel 28 in its context and looks into the different suggestions that have been made concerning the role of the woman of Endor, the appearance of Samuel, the consultation, and the meal afterwards. They are reconsidered in an exegetical study, which also takes Southern African practices of necromancy into account. Saul went to the woman of Endor to manipulate his fate. The woman, who acted as medium, conjured up from the ground a spirit, who on Saul's request appeared as Samuel. To describe him the woman uses the term ‫ א ל " י ם‬parallel to spirit, in the sense of ancestor. Samuel appeared, invisible to Saul, as an ancestor. The method of communication between Saul and Samuel shows similarities to African ancestor cults. Samuel's negative message to Saul is a warning against taking part in necromancy. The meal afterwards serves as sacrificial meal, probably as an offering to honour Samuel. A INTRODUCTION The narrative of Saul's visit to the woman of Endor has kept interpreters busy over the centuries but an agreement on some basic questions has not been reached. Questions still discussed include: Who was the woman of Endor? Why did the woman recognise Saul as soon as she saw Samuel? What did Saul see? How did Samuel appear? How did Saul and Samuel talk to each other? What did Saul hope to achieve through the consultation with Samuel? What was the purpose of the meal? OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 27 This paper provides answers, which derive from a classic western exegesis but take into account the practice of divination among the African tribes of the Basotho and Zulu. A cross-cultural analysis faces the difficulty that cultures are not genuinely similar. The danger is that imposing the suppositions of African culture on Israelite culture could lead to the wrong conclusions. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the belief systems and lifestyles of African societies are comparable to those of ancient Israel and can provide fresh insight into texts and practices of the Israelites (Fabian 1998). For our text an African perspective is legitimate because of its animistic background not shaped by Western post-enlightenment rationalism. This might in some respect be closer to the Ancient Near-Eastern World. In spite of the differences among the traditional religions of African tribes there is a general belief that the world of the dead penetrates the world of the living. Dead people continue to exist. Communication and communion with them is possible (Oleka 1998:127). They can appear in dreams and visions and mediums can communicate with the dead on behalf of the living (Gehman 1999:145). B CONTEXT AND SITUATION The narratives about Saul's kingdom (1 Sm 9-31) are not told in a chronological but in a carefully structured thematic order. David and Saul are presented side by side to show David's rise and Saul's downfall.1 With the death of king Saul (31) and Samuel (25:1), who was a judge and a prophet, the end of an era had come and the way was free for David to unite their offices. Since Yahweh had rejected Saul after the battle against the Amalekites (15) he became a tragic figure. He had several times tried to kill David (18-21; 24; 26), slaughtered the priests in Nob (22), and harmed David by giving his daughter Michal to another man (25:44). God's spirit had left him and an evil spirit took possession of him (1 Sm 16:14-16; 18:10; 19:9), while he was naked and falling into ecstatic 28 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR prophecy before Samuel demonstrated his disgrace (20:23-24). After Samuel had died (25:1) things became ever worse. Saul lost his adviser, advocate, and intercessor before God, while, in contrast, David acquired Abigail (2S\2seq), a clever adviser. At the dawn of a battle against the Philistines Saul's lonely and desperate situation is recalled (28:3-6). The death of Samuel is repeated (28:3). After Samuel's death there was no more prophetic revelation for Saul. He had inquired from God but God did not speak to him through the common ways of dreams, Urim2 or prophets. God answered his question with silence (Craig 1994:228).3 Therefore, in his desperation, he sought help from another source, the woman of Endor. Saul acted morally when he 'had expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land' (28:3) but now he slides back to them.4 Saul's cleansing had^ot been very effective. Now, when he slides back to them his two companions have no difficulty in finding a medium quickly and nearby (Fokkelman 1986:597, n 1). C WHO IS THE WOMAN OF ENDOR? Saul inquires of a woman, who is a necromancer. By doing so he accepts her superiority. She has a powerful ability, which he does not have. She has a similar but opposite function to that of a prophet (Pedersen 1940:482).' Hence we find here a certain irony. The woman is to conjure up a prophet, a man from the other camp. According to I Sam 28:7 she is ‫אשת ב ע ל ח ־ א ו י ב‬, a woman, who is a mistress over ‫ א ו ב‬, whereby ‫ ב ע ל ת‬shows a possessive relationship.6 This construct chain is probably a conflation of two independent terms ‫ א ט ת א ו י ב‬and ‫ב ע ל ת ־ א ו'ב‬ (Kyle McCarter 1980:418). These terms are especially assigned to women but are often mentioned together with the masculine equivalent ‫( י ך ע נ ים‬e g I Sm 28:3; Lv 20:27; Dt 18:11; 2 Ki 21:6; 2 Chr 33:6) of the root ‫ י לע‬, pointing to knowledge. Consequently the woman is somebody who acquired knowledge by consulting a ‫א ו ב‬. OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 29 ‫ א ו ב‬is used synonymously for the spirit and the woman (1 Sm 28:3; 2 Ki 21:6; 23:24), 7 which terms become interchangeable. She is a woman, whose divining abilities are not understood as a natural gift, but as the result of her dealing with and possession of ancestors or ancestral spirits (Birch 1998:1184). She is the one who divines, with the help of (Hertzberg 1964:217) an ancestral spirit ( ‫ ) ב א ו ב‬, by bringing up the one demanded (1 Sm 28:8). This description classifies her as a medium, not a witch.8 D ETYMOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Concerning the etymology of ‫ א ו ב‬four different suggestions have been made. 1 It has been linked to a skin-bottle (Job 32:19). The fundamental idea of hollowness might be behind it. In this case it might either refer to the hollow voice or to the place from where the spirit speaks (Hoffner 1974:131). Etymological considerations have shown that ‫ א ו ב‬in Job 32:19 is more likely a homonym. 2 The etymology of ‫ או ב‬has been linked to an Arabic root meaning 'return'. This has not been found convincing because the root does not appear elsewhere in the Old Testament (Lust 1974:135, n 4) and is missing in the older Semitic languages (Hoffner 1974:131). 3 ‫ א ו ב‬derives from a non-Semitic loan-word for a sacrificial pit. Hoffner (1974: 131) favours this and points to several Ancient Near-Eastern parallels. It appears in the Sumerian version of the Gilgamesh epic as ab 'pit'. Gilgamesh digs a pit in the ground and calls forth the spirit of Enkidu. Consequently Hoffner understands ‫א ו ב‬ in 1 Samuel 28 as 'the pit which has been digged (j/c!) out, by means of which the spirits of the dead are called up . . . . The spirit ascends . . . from the ground and undoubtedly comes forth from a prepared opening' (1974:133). Lust (1974:134) points to some difficulties, arguing that ‫ א ו ב‬often appears in a plural form, which 30 1 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR is not the case in the non-Biblical parallels. The consonant ‫ ב‬/ b is dubious. A root ap instead of ab has to be supposed because of Hittite and Assyrian parallels. Taking into account the synonymy of ‫ ב‬IN with medium, a development of the meaning from 'pit' to 'a spirit arising from the pit' and then to 'a necromancer consulting the spirit', remains possible. 4 Lust (1974:135-139) related ‫ א ו ב‬etymologically to ‫' אב‬father', suggesting that change in vocalisation was introduced to dissociate the fathers, to whom everybody is gathered after death, from the appearance of them in divination. In this case ‫א ו ב‬ refers to the deceased fathers, the ancestors. A decision concerning the etymology w‫ ש‬have to be made between the third and fourth option. E SAMUEL AS ANCESTOR: THE SYNONYMY OF ‫ א ו ב‬AND • ‫א ל ה י‬ The medium has the power to call up the spirit. This spirit does not act as another intermediary between the woman and the one to be called up but appears as the one she commands to come up. This is obvious from the procedure of divination. Saul requests that the woman should divine for him a ‫ או ב‬and bring up the one he will name, that is Samuel. Here I find three steps. 1 The woman gets into the condition of stirring up the spirit (28:8). She has the ability to communicate with a .‫או כ‬ 2 Once this communication is established the ‫ א ו ב‬appears on Saul's request (28:11) as a person, in this case Samuel (28:14). 3 The medium describes the ‫ א ו ב‬, who is Samuel, as D ‫אלל! י‬. It is remarkable that the medium describes Samuel as D ‫ א ל ה י‬. ' She may choose this term because she is still afraid to get punished for consulting a spirit or honouring OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 31 Samuel but she may also use it to describe precisely whom she brings up. However, she finds this term appropriate to describe the spirit coming up. She uses ‫אליה י ם‬ parallel to ‫ א ו ב‬for the appearance to Saul. The same usage of D ‫ אליה י‬is found in Isaiah 8:19.20aa: Now if people say to you, Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter: should not a people consult their ‫ אליה י ם‬, the dead on behalf of the living, for teaching and for instruction?10 Here it is evident that ‫ אליה י ם‬is used for the ancestors." Hence we may conclude that the medium uses the term ‫ אליה י ם‬because Samuel appears as Saul's ancestor. Isaiah 8:19.20aa sheds light on our whole narrative. The two groups of mediums that Saul had expelled (1 Sm 28:3) are mentioned ( ‫ א ב ו ת‬, D ‫ ] י‬i n ') and their way of communication is described as chirping and muttering. It is they who say: 'Should not a people consult its ancestors (D ‫)אליה י‬, the dead on behalf of the living.' For the Basotho and other tribes of Southern Africa the identification of ‫א ל ה י ם‬ with ancestors is obvious because a dead person becomes a molimo (pi balimo).12 Molimo is used for god as well as for an ancestor, the later only in the plural. 13 If the woman of Endor said 'I see 14 28:13) ‫ ) ׳ א ל י ה י ם‬she evidently meant that she saw an ancestor, who 'comes up out of the ground' 15 (28:13). In African traditional religion an ancestor is a continued spiritual human existence. If a person dies no substantial change takes place, only a gradual one. The limitations of the human flesh are removed and the divine element, which everybody has because of being created by God," is strengthened. Thus an ancestor has more authority and more knowledge and can act as an intermediary on behalf of the living. As parents have authority over a child ancestors have authority over the living. 32 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR They see with other eyes: the insights they communicate can, therefore, be relied upon as of the Ultimate Reality and never misleading (SetiJoane 1986:20). This African interpretation gives reasons why Saul consulted Samuel. F WHY DOES THE WOMAN RECOGNISE SAUL AS SHE SEES SAMUEL? The scene is introduced by the woman's rejection of conjuring up a dead person and Saul's oath of reassurance that nothing evil will happen to her (1 Sm 28:9-10). Saul takes the whole responsibility on himself, the woman will go off without punishment. Such a conversation may be part of a ritual to set the medium free and to guarantee magical protection.17 Only now the consultation can continue and she can conjure up the dead. But despite this protection she is afraid as she is told to conjure up Samuel. Some commentators assume that the woman had not expected what she saw. She is surprised (Beuken 1978:10) or shocked (Eaton 1995:112) because the situation is beyond her control (Pigott 1998:438). According to Klein (1983) Samuel 'had come up as a prophet of the living God before she could conjure up a dead ghost' (Klein 1983:271) but these views fail. The woman is not frightened because of 'an apparition she did not anticipate' (Keil 1956:262) but because she recognises Saul, 'the persecutor-king himself (Fokkelman 1986:606). She had not expected him and is afraid that he has trapped her and will consequently expel or kill her (28:3, 12) (Brueggemann 1990:193). She is frightened for her own life. If an ancestor is called upon a relationship between the ancestor and the consultant must exist. The ancestral relationship between Saul and Samuel explains why the woman recognises Saul1" immediately." This is a logical consequence, which does not need any prophetic knowledge, because a dead person who is consulted stands in some relationship to the consultant. Likewise, in the African concept ancestors stand in a close relationship to the consultant. They can be family members but the concept is not limited to physical OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 33 relationships (Setiloane 1986:18). There are also 'clan's or chiefs ancestors' for the 'common good of the village or tribe or people' (Manyeli 1995:108-109). Ancestors can only appear in traditions and visions they knew during their lifetime.20 They are people who, during their lifetime, held positions of responsibility in the family, village, tribe and the nation (Manyeli 1995:105). Samuel fits this definition very well. He appears as an ancestor of Saul. Samuel had been the close adviser of and prophetic voice for Saul. He had been like a father to Saul and a leader of the nation. Samuel was a prophet in his lifetime, who was believed to have had knowledge about the welfare of the nation (8:4-18) as well as about Saul's personal fate (15:23b). G WHAT DID SALT SEE? After Saul's demand to bring up Samuel he has to recognise him. He has to acknowledge that the person described by the medium is the one he wants to consult. Saul recognises Samuel by his age and clothes (1 Sm 28:14; cf 15:27). This shows that it was believed that a dead person continued in a state of existence with elements of this life. That Saul is convinced that Samuel has come up shows that he accepts the work of the woman. Immediately, Saul kneels down to show obeisance to Samuel. For Saul, Samuel has lost nothing of his authority. Instead, as an ancestor he probably has gained more authority. Saul inquires from him about the future. We should be aware that Saul has seen nothing. He recognises Samuel only by the description of the medium. Ergo he prostrates before no visual person. Saul, the king, kneels down in the presence or before a medium to honour an invisible ancestor. How deep he has fallen! How ironic! 34 H SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR HOW DOES SAMUEL APPEAR? The narrator assumes that Samuel was in a state of rest inside the earth. From there Samuel comes up although he does not want to be disturbed (1 Sm 28:15). He comes from the one place all people, whether good or evil, go. There one is 'gathered to his kin' (Dt 32:50) and 'sleeps with one's fathers' (1 Ki 11:43; 15:24; 22:50) (Lewis 1992a:242).21 It is clearly the perception of the narrative that Samuel returns from this place (Beuken 1978:14). According to this world-view dead people appear to the living. Scholars often failed to understand this because they did not consider the text's literal meaning, but tried to explain what happened. Therefore they imposed their own world-view on it, often based on other contradicting scripture passages. The answers given depend heavily on the Zeitgeist but they do not clarify the text. 1 The earliest interpretation is that the dead Samuel appears from the dead as prophet. Saul inquired of a ventriloquist to seek counsel, and Samuel the prophet answered him. (LXX I Chr 10:13b.) Even after he (= Samuel) had fallen asleep, he prophesied and made known to the king his death, and lifted up his voice from the ground in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people. (Sir 46:20.) The woman, ignorant who Samuel was, summoned him from Hades. And when he appeared, the woman, beholding a venerable and godlike man. was overcome. (Josephus, Antiquities VI, 332.) And that the souls survive, I have shown to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was called up by the witch, as Saul demanded. (Justin the Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, chap 105.) No exact statement is made about Samuel's appearance. Josephus sees the dead Samuel in a higher state than the living because he describes him as 'venerable, and of a divine form'. Justin the Martyr uses Samuel as an example of a continued existence after death and implies a dichotomy of body and soul. OLD TESTAMENT ESSA YS 14/1 (2001). 26-46 35 2 Most of the early fathers of the Church as well as the reformers who emphasised the battle against demonic powers assumed that a demonic spirit appeared that looked like Samuel. This is not based on the Christian belief that dead people do not return.‫״‬ Therefore such appearances are interpreted as demonic trickery. According to Augustine the spirit of the just man . . . was permitted to appear to him . . . hy some occult dispensation of which neither the witch nor Saul was aware. Or else the spirit of Samuel was not in reality aroused from his rest, but some phantom or mock apparition formed by the machinations of the devil, and styled by Scripture under the name of Samuel. (Ad Simplie. ii, 3, quoted in Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologian, vol 3.95.4.2.)2‫י‬ 3 According to interpreters, after the enlightenment Saul had a hallucination, a vision (Beuken 1978:9), or it was caused by telepathy to picture Saul in Samuel's mind. Kyle McCarter sees here the 'woman's efforts to produce an apparition that turns out to be the shade of Samuel himself (1980:420). Others approach the text from an ontological point of view but deny the existence of a spiritual world and assume that Saul saw nothing. This points to the possibility, that the medium was just excellent in guessing and used her general knowledge and her psychological insight.24 If she could see nothing, Samuel's speech would be the imagination of the medium, as constructed by the narrator, recalling from her memory the rejection of Saul as king (I Sm 15) and telling him what commonly was known. 4 It is my conviction that the synonymy of ‫ א ו ב‬and ‫ אליה י ם‬clarifies the literary meaning of the text. Samuel appears as an ancestor. This takes the text literally, which states that Samuel appears and not someone who has the appearance of Samuel. The usage of ‫ א ו ב‬and the invisibility of Samuel to Saul, show that Samuel does not appear in the flesh of a human being, which has been raised from the dead but in a spiritual appearance. No miracle of God (Keil 1956:263), who makes an exception for allowing Samuel to return from the dead, takes place here. 36 SAMUEL 28 THE WOMAN OF ENDOR Samuel's rest has been disturbed by the conjuring arts of the woman showing that it was believed that dead people appear as ancestors. How this happened was not in view. We have to assume that readers of that time knew what this implied. Now it is open to speculation as the interpretations, mentioned above, indicate. In African traditional religion such spiritual beings are called the living dead. They are visible if they appear in dreams and visions but invisible if they are consulted by means of a medium. The living dead retain their professional skills as during their lifetime (Robinson 1993:143). This is also the case for Samuel who is called in his prophetic function. I HOW DID SAUL AND SAMUEL TALK TO EACH OTHER? Several commentators assume that the woman does not take part in the conversation, even suggesting that she was not present during the conversation (28:15-19) (Beuken 1978:13). This does not convince me. Saul kneels before the woman and communicates with the voice, which the woman makes him hear and accept as belonging to Samuel. As she conjures up Samuel, Saul needs her twice to identify him (28:13.14). Afterwards she does not leave but steps back because as a medium she has no independent function. If we recall that the voice comes from somewhere else we get an idea how the talk took place. In the LXX she is called a yuvaiKa eYY«OTp1Vu0ov (28:7), that is a ventriloquist and likewise in 1 Chronicles 10:13b 'Saul inquired of a ventriloquist to seek counsel, and Samuel the prophet answered him'. According to Isaiah 29:4 the voice of the ‫ א ו ב‬comes from the ground: 'Your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of ‫ א ו ב‬. ' Under the ground, there the ‫ א ו ב‬has its existence and from there Samuel comes up. According to the LXX the medium was not speaking obviously but was speaking out of the belly (cf Is 8:19: 01 ek try; KoiA-iag (Jxovouoiv) that is by ventriloquism. OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 37 Hence the voice does not come directly from the medium but from elsewhere. The voice is described as chirping (‫ף‬2‫)צ‬, as young birds do (Is 8:19; 29:4). She might have had to interpret this and by doing so taking part in the conversation, even if the narrative does not state it. The Basotho know a similar practice that can be explained as ventriloquism. Among the fortunetellers (senohe) is a certain group of diviners who consult the ancestors through little baskets (baphaphi).2‫ י־‬They make the spirits speak out of them. The voice chirps and mutters but cannot, or can only partly be understood by the people, unless the medium explains and translates. A comparison with a consultation among the Zulu, who are known as the best diviners in Southern Africa, can help to imagine the situation even better. Ngubane writes about the whistling great ancestors (abalozi,26 amakhosi amakhulu): The ancestral spirits . . . communicate directly with the clients by whistling out words which are meaningful to the listener. The whistling sound (ventriloquism?) comes directly from the rafters of the thatched roof, particularly at the upper part of the rondavel hut opposite the doorway. The diviner in the meantime sits almost in the centre of the hut facing toward its upper part. i.e. with her back to the doorway. If the clients are unable to understand some of the whistled words she interprets them. The clients are free to ask questions of the whistling spirits (abalozi), and the spirits reply (Ngubane 1977:103). J SAMUEL'S MESSAGE FOR SAUL Samuel's answer reflects the negative judgement of the narrator about necromancy. The narrator draws a distinctive line between Samuel and the pagan ancestor cult. Samuel refers seven times to Yahweh. Saul receives a message of Yahweh, as he had longed for.27 Samuel acts as an intermediary between Saul and Yahweh. By doing so he acts again as prophet and carries out the function of an ancestor. The words of Samuel assess necromancy negatively. Samuel is annoyed to be 38 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR disturbed in his rest (28:15a), while it is positive in the ancestor cult to call upon and remember ancestors. If somebody is not remembered anymore he is forgotten and has ceased to be. 2 8 Even if the consultation of ancestors (Dt 18:10-11) or giving offerings to them (Dt 26:14) was forbidden, its efficacy was acknowledged (Robinson 1993:143).39 However, Samuel's message shows that Yahweh is superior to this cult. If Yahweh has decided about a person no pagan cult can manipulate this decision. Samuel, even as an ancestor, remains the prophet of Yahweh. His message is 'not one last formidable attempt to turn Saul back to God' (Reis 1997:12) but judgement. Samuel confirms, what had already been said (15:28) and makes it totally clear that there is no hope for Saul. The message even becomes worse. Samuel's verdict about Saul is: 'Tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me' (28:19). On the next day Saul and his sons will be dead. Saul understood this message.M Therefore he fell full length on the ground and was terrified to death (28:20, 21). Saul does not find any consolation. Samuel has only a message of death. Saul's visit to Endor sheds light on Samuel's obscure words at the occasion of Saul's rejection. There Samuel had equalled Saul's rebellion with divination: 'For the sin of divination (GOp) is [as] rebellion' (15:23). Now, Saul has come for divination (28:8 • ‫ ) ק ם‬and is told its result. He will die. As Saul went to consult the woman he had hoped for a different message. He did not go merely to find out about his future as Craffert (1999:67) believes. The mere knowledge of the future would not have helped Saul. Saul went because he hoped to get advice for the battle against the Philistines and to manipulate his fate.However, Saul failed. K THE SACRIFICIAL MEAL As the woman approaches the exhausted Saul she slaughters her calf and prepares a OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 39 meal (28:22-25), Within 1 Samuel this is a 'fitting marker of the end of Saul's reign' (Pigott 1998:441). It serves as a counterpoint to the meal in the beginning of his kingship (1 Sm 9:12). It shows an ironical contrast 'to evoke Samuel's meal with Saul in 1 Samuel 9' (Pigott 1998:444, n 28) and frames the rise and downfall of Saul. Here, several contrasting elements are used as a literary device to show how deep Saul has fallen. He had expelled the mediums but now he visits one. He breaks the law but the medium reminds him to keep it. He seeks good news but is doomed. In the beginning Saul gives the commands, at the end the medium does and urges him to take part in the meal. The narrative functions not primarily as a warning against necromancy, even if the superiority of Yahwism is indicated, but shows how deep Saul has fallen and 'sees in his fate a well deserved punishment' (Hertzberg 1964:220).32 These functional elements of the meal do not exempt us from the question, for which purpose the woman prepares a meal. Different suggestions have been made. 1 The woman shows sympathy and hospitality (Hertzberg 1964:220) or human care and attention (Fokkelman 1986:619) to Saul. Even if Saul needed nourishment because he was exhausted and threatened with death, it must be admitted that it does not explain the importance given to this meal. 2 Beuken suggests that the calf is a sacrifice for conjuring up the dead (1978.11). I agree with Beuken that this calf is a sacrifice but its purpose is not to conjure up the dead. Samuel appears before the meal. 3 Reis accepts that the calf is a sacrifice and finds a 'motivation to self-preservation' (1997:4) but she goes too far as she postulates: Firstly it is a mantie sacrifice to the dead entailing the stringently proscribed eating of blood; secondly, it is an unholy but legally effective covenant between God's anointed and an idolatrous shaman; thirdly it warrants Saul's consequent suicide (1997:4). 40 1 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR Pigott (1998:444, n 28) has rightly rejected these suggestions. There is no reason for the woman to mike a covenant with Saul to protect her life. Saul assured her twice (1 Sm 28:10, 1:‫ )׳‬not to harm her. Reis' study clarifies that the meal has been described in sacrificial and covenantal terminology. 4 The meal follows after the consultation of the dead as an offering to honour Samuel. It confirms that Saul was taking part in an ancestor cult. Such offerings are common among the Basotho. Whenever an ancestor appears, in a vision, dream, or consultation of a diviner a sacrifice has to be made in honour of the dead." The sacrificial meal expresses the existential union of the living dead with the living (Manyeli 1995:125). If it is not made, ancestral anger may be provoked (Manyeli 1995:131). For the ancestors blood must flow. Hence the Basotho have the saying. Slaughter in order to please the ancestors. Hlabela balimo ha thabe. The skin of a cow is the blanket for the dead. Letlalo la khomo ke khobo ea bafu. That Saul first rejects the offer of food might be an expression of his depression (Fokkelman 1986:621) because of his death sentence but it could also be the final attempt of a broken man not to be ensnared by this cult or woman (Brueggeinann 1990:196) any further. However, he is too much bound and gives in. We have seen that the consultation of the ancestors has the purpose to manipulate the future: Consequently we might even conclude that the woman tried to change the death-sentence, which had just been passed upon Saul. 5 Another interpretation of the sacrifice might also be given from African traditional Religion. If a person dies an animal is slaughtered to accompany the deceased to the other world. In this case Saul would have received his sacrifice in advance as a prophetic meal signifying his sudden death. OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 41 It is not mentioned that Samuel goes down to the earth after he has spoken. Does this indicate that he takes part in the meal? The belief that the dead and the living could participate in the same meal was common in the Ancient Near East. The Aramaic Hadad-statue of Panamuwa I (KAI 214, 8th century BC) reports about a meal between Hadad and the dead and now divine king (Niehr 1998:167). In Egypt the living and the dead met, for example, in Thebes at the Beautiful Feast of the Valley. In Ugarit the cultic meals (marzi Hu) included the living and the dead (Niehr 1998:58). Such banquets were probably also known in Israel (Jr 16:5; Lewis I992b:582). These meals were related to ancestral worship but not to a consultation with a necromancer. 34 L CONCLUSION Saul took part in an ancestor cult. This can be confirmed by African practices of necromancy, which shed new light on the interpretation of this narrative. The woman is not a witch but a diviner of ancestral spirits. ‫ א ו י ב‬and ‫ אליה י ם‬are used synonymously in the sense of an ancestral spirit. Saul does not consult her to find out about his future but to manipulate his future. Samuel appeared as an ancestor. The meal after the consultation was a sacrifice to honour the ancestor. There is also the possibility that it was a prophetic meal to signify Saul's death. NOTES 1 2 3 This is evident from the macrostructure of 1 Sm 9-31 (Klement 2000:145). Chronologically chapter 28:3-25 immediately precedes 31, describing events in the night before Saul's death. It has been observed that only Urim is mentioned but not Tummim. There does not seem to be any reason for it besides brevity. It might recall I Sm 14:41, where the Urim had fallen on Saul and Jonathan and afterwards Jonathan's fate was altered. This is the second time that God answered Saul with silence. He had done so before the battle against the Philistines (14:37), which led to Saul's rejection. Both questions form an inclusio 42 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR or a narrative frame (Craig 1994:236). There are other cross-references to this event, namely the mentioning of Urim (14:41; 28:6), divination (15:23: 28:8), and Samuel's speech (15:28: 28:17, 18). This was in accordance with the law (Lv 19:31; 20.6; Dt 18:11). The question if these laws are more recent than this narrative or both shaped by deuteronomistic history can be neglected because Samuel's Yahwism excludes these practices likewise. Here and in a prophetic consultation the same elements occur. Cf Lust (1974:133). Davies (1969:86) translates !"‫ בעלי‬into 'the possessor of. The relationship seems to be the same as in New Testament incidents, when it is reported that a spirit is dwelling in a person. Whether a person is in possession of a spirit (Ac 16:16) or possessed by a spirit or spirits (Mk 5:15) is only a question of power struggle. I Sm 28:3: ‫ מהארץ‬. . . ‫ שאול ה ס י ר האיכות‬and Saul had removed the spirits/mediums from the land. 2 Ki 21:6 / 2 Chr 33:6: ‫ הו־בה‬. . . ‫ ו ע ט ה א ו ב‬and he (Manasseh) multiplied the spirits/mediums. Unfortunately she is still called a witch until the present day, e g Reis (1997), Pigott (1998). That ‫ אל ה י ם‬can be used for a human being is evident from Ex 21:6; 22:7, 8, 27, where translators are divided by translating • ‫ א ל ה י‬as 'god' or 'judges'. This contradicts those translations that find here a contrasting voice. 'And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?' (New King James Version.) In this case 'their God' would refer to the God of Israel. This is common in German translations (Luther; Elberfelder, Einheitsiibersetzung, Schlachter), which add an 'then say' before *should not a people seek'. This supports the view that ‫ או כ‬is related to father but does not deny the possible etymological link to the ground as the place from where the ancestors come up. Molimo has two plural forms belonging to different noun classes. Balimo belongs to class 2, which contains nouns that indicate human beings. Accordingly it is used for the ancestors. This plural is not only used to indicate plurality but also to 'indicate that the person whose name is singled out is a person of importance and is accompanied by others under his charge' (Guma 1995, par 4.8). This creates an interesting parallel to the usage of the plural ‫אליה י ם‬. Afelimo belongs to class 4, which is mainly used for parts of nature, natural phenomena, and impersonal nouns. Melimo is used for non-ancestral spirits with whom people cannot communicate. Molimo as god: The humorous saying 'Khomo molimo o nko e metsi' (The cow - a god with a wet nose) refers to the cow as god because it supplies man with all he needs. Molimo as ancestor: 'Pha balimo o ja le bona' (who gives to the ancestors, eats with them). OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001). 26-46 43 14 ‫ ר א ה‬is used elsewhere for supernatural events like prophetic visions (Nm 12:6; 24:17; Zth 1:8; Am 8:1. 2) and dreams (Gn 31:10. 12; 41:22). 15 Samuel appears from the ground (‫)ארץ‬. This is the place where the ‫ א ו ב‬has its existence. ‫ ארץ‬is sometimes used for the place of the dead (Job 10:21; Ps 88:13), the land of no return. 16 This African view finds its equivalent in the Old Testament. In both creation accounts mankind participates in God as image (1:27) or through his breath (2:7). 17 An African ritual may fit in here. Diviners are never directly paid for their service. The consultant throws the money in the dust and tramples on it. Later the diviner will 'find' it there. 18 This explanation makes it unnecessary to assume with Beuken (1978:9) that the woman recognises Saul because of the prophetic power of Samuel. The mentioning of his name and not Samuel's prophetic power reveals Saul's identity. 19 Kyle McCarter (1980:421) fails to understand this and assumes that vv 1 l-12a are secondary. In his opinion the medium would recognise Saul because of his authoritative oath of reassurance (v 10). Some LXX manuscripts smooth and replace Samuel by Saul. 20 'Children . . . cannot appear in dreams or visions complaining about traditions and customs they did not know during their life time. Hence the rarity of their appearance in dreams and visions, because their needs were very limited, because their concerns were likewise very limited' (Manyeli 1995:106). 21 This is in accordance with what Zulu and Basotho assume about their ancestors who all, good or evil dwell under the earth (Ngubane 1977:56). This is the place from where according to several creation myths mankind comes and to which everybody goes (Setiloane 1986:5). This motif for the origin of mankind was familiar in the Ancient Near East and is already found in the Sumerian 'Song of the hoe' (translation in Farber 1997:511-515). 22 Christians refer to Luke 16:23ff and state that the believers are in the hand of God and cannot be called by a human being. 23 See Keil (1956:265) for other examples. 24 Fokkelman intended to avoid the 'ontological trap' by 'writing an explanation of a story not history' (1986:617, n 16) and, therefore, accepts 'that the woman really saw Samuel' (1986:606). However, he is inconsistent by presenting a psychological explanation: 'I therefore imagine that the aura or energy field of the internally divided and highly stressed Saul induces such a figure of Samuel that the woman who, purely professionally, has already carefully attuned herself to her client, is then able, as a psychic, to tell from the situation (e.g. the auras of the client and the apparition) what the truth is concerning this duo and the meaning of their polarity.' (1986:606). 25 Similarly the balotsi are mediums who communicate through little dolls. Other magic practitioners are selaoli (bone-thrower) and lethuela (somebody who acquired knowledge of 44 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 1 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR medicine and divination), ngaka (doctor who gained his knowledge from the balimo), baloi (witches and sorcerers who use their knowledge and powers for harm). See Ashton (1943:2-10). There is not any more a clear distinction between these functions. As sangoma they can have more than one of these functions at the same time. The ngaka can be a diviner, a medicine man, and a bone-thrower. He can heal and release people from their pain, who belief to have been bewitched. He may use bones, stones and shells to reveal the past or to predict future events, find lost articles, and discover thieves. This is the same term as the Sesotho balotsi, showing the genuine relationship between them. Saul consulted Samuel because Yahweh did not speak to him (28:6) anymore. Thus I find it unlikely that Saul tried to drive a wedge between Samuel and Yahweh (Brueggemann 1990:194). A person lives on in the descendants or in their remembrance (cf 1 Macc 6:44). Ecclesiastes polemised against this position (Ec 2:16; 6:3). The bones of a dead person can have magical power (2 Ki 13:20-21). The welfare of the living depends on the proper honour given to the dead. As the bones of Saul and his sons had not found a proper grave the land suffered (2 Sm 21:12-14). Contrary, critical wisdom literature, like Ec 9:4-6, 10, denied that dead people have any knowledge of or influence on the living. Eaton fails to understand this, he interprets Saul's message positively: 'In many ways this is a statement of great mercy . . . It was mercy for Saul to be told he and his sons would be with Samuel . . . Using New Testament language, all of them were about to go to heaven.' (1995:113). Texts from Ugarit show that necromancers where visited to change one's fate, e g to change barrenness or to receive a blessing (Niehr 1998:66). Also in the African context ancestors are called upon to manipulate (Salala 1998:134). Probably, 'it provides a scenario for the contrast of Saul's perfidious complicity with David's later faithful integrity in an analogous situation' (Reis 1997:4). 'Visions of ancestors are always followed by a sacrificial rite in honour of the dead whereas people do not feel obliged to offer sacrifices to the semi-living, semi-dead person "Lithotsela".' (Manyeli 1995:136). This also makes it clear that Samuel was not a semi-dead being but an ancestor. If the meal is accepted as a sacrifice to the ancestors, the question may be asked why the woman slaughtered a calf and not another animal. In the narrative no hint is given. But it is known from African ancestor sacrifices that the animals offered differ according to the ancestor and the purpose of the sacrifice. The Basotho (Manyeli 1995:123-126) and the Zulu distinguish between different ones. E g Ukubuyisa - a goat and an ox for a married man, so that he may be integrated 'with the rest of the body of ancestral spirits' (Ngubane 1977:59). OLD TESTAMENT ESSAYS 14/1 (2001) 26-46 45 BIBLIOGRAPHY Aquinas, T 1998. Summa Theologica, in The Master Christian Library, AGES Digital Lihrary, AGES Software: Albany, OR. Ashton, E H 1943. Medicine, magic and sorcery among the Southern Sotho. Cape Town: University of Cape Town. (Communications from the School of African Studies.) Beuken, W A M 1978. The prophet as ‫־‬Hammer of Witches'. JSOT6, 3-17. Birch, BC 1998. The first and second books of Samuel. Nashville: Abingdon Press. (NIB 2.) Brueggemann, W 1990. First and Second Samuel. Louisville: John Knox. (Interpretation.) CrafFert, P F 1999. Meeting the living among the dead. Burials, tombs and the afterlife. Pretoria: Biblia Publishers. Craig, K M 1994. Rhetorical aspects of questions answered with silence in I Samuel 14:37 and 28:6. CBQ 56, 221-239. Davies, T W (1898) 1969. Magic divination and demonology among the Hebrews and their neighbours. New York: Ktav Publishing House. Eaton, M 1995. Preaching through the Bible. 1 Samuel. Kent: Sovereign World. Fabian, D N 1998. The socio-religious role of witchcraft in the Old Testament culture: An African insight. OTE 11/2, 215-239. Farber, G 1997. The Song of the Hoe, in Hallo, William W (ed), The context of Scripture. Vol I, Canonical compositions from the Biblical world, 511-515. Leiden / New York / Koln: Brill. Folckelman, J P 1986. Narrative art and poetry in the books of Samuel: A full interpretation based on stylistic and structural analysis. Vol II, The crossing fates. Assen: Van Gorcum. (Studia Semitica Neerlandica 23.) Gehman, R J 1999. Who are the living-dead? Nairobi: Evangel Publishing House. Guma.SM !1971] 1995. An outline structure of Southern Sotho. 10th ed. Pietermaritzburg / Cape Town / Johannesburg: Shuter & Shooter. Hertzberg, W 1964. 1 A. 2 Samuel. A commentary. London: SCM Press. (OTL.) Hoffner, H A 1974. ‫ א ו ב‬, in Botterweck, G J & Ringgren, H (eds), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 1, 130-134. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Josephus, F [1934| 1958. Jewish antiquities with an English translation, Volume V, ed & transl by H St J Thackeray. London: William Heinemann I Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. (The Loeb Classical Library.) Justin the Martyr 1998. Dialogue of Justin, philosopher and martyr, with Tryphon, a Jew, in The Master Christian Library. AGES Digital Library. AGES Software: Albany, OR. Keil, C F 1956. Biblical commentary on the books of Samuel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. (BCOT.) 46 SAMUEL 28: THE WOMAN OF ENDOR Klein, R W 1983. / Samuel. Waco: Word Books. (WBC 10.) Klement, H H 2000. // Samuel 21-24. Context, structure and meaning in the Samuel conclusion. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. (European University Studies. Series 23, Theology; vol 682.) Kyle McCarter, P 1980. 1 Samuel. A new translation with introduction, notes A commentary. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. (AB 8.) Lewis, T J 1992a. 'Ancestor worship', in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol /, 240-242. New York: Doubleday. 1992b. 'Banquettinq Hall/House', in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol I, 581-582. New York: Doubleday. Lust, J 1974. On wizards and prophets, in Lys, Daniel (ed), Studies in prophecy: A collection of twelve papers, 133-142. Leiden: Brill. (VTSuppl26.) Manyeli, TL 1995. Phenomenological perspective of Basotho religion. Mazenod: Mazenod Institute. Ngewa, S, Shaw, M & Tienou, T (eds). Issues in African Christian theology. Nairobi / Kampala / Dar es Salaam: East African Educational Publishers. Ngubane, H 1977. Body and mind in Zulu medicine. An ethnography of health and disease in Nyuswa-Zulu thought and practice. London: Academic Press. Niehr, H 1998. Religionen in Israels Umwelt. Einflihrung in die nordwestsemitischen Religionen Syrien-Palttstinas. Wiirzburg: Echter. (Die neue Echter Bibel: Erganzungshand zum Alten Testament 5.) Oleka, A 1998. The living God. Some reflections on Acts 17 and African traditional religion, in Ngewa ei al 1998:126-132. Pedersen, J 1940. Israel. Its life and culture 1II-JV. London: Oxford University Press / Copenhagen: Branner og Korch. Pigott, S M 1998. I Samuel 28 - Saul and the not so wicked witch of Endor. Review and Expositor 95, 435-444. Reis, P T 1997. Eating the blood: Saul and the witch of Endor. JSOT73, 3-23. Robinson, G 1993. Let us be like the nations: A commentary on the books of Samuel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Edinburgh: Handsel. (ITC.) Salala, C 1998. The world of the spirits: Basukuma traditional religion and Biblical Christianity, in Ngewa et al 1998:133-139. Setiloane, G M 1986. African theology. An introduction. Johannesburg: Skottaville Publishers. S Fischer, P O Box 109, CH-4126 Bettingen / Basel, Switzerland. E-mail: dr. stefan.fischer@bluemail. ch