Text -- 1 Samuel 28:18-25 (NET)

28:18 Since you did not obey the Lord and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 28:19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!” 28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, not having eaten anything all that day and night. 28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. 28:22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.” 28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged him to eat, so he gave in. He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman had a well-fed calf at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. 28:25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:18

¹ tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:19

¹ tn Heb “And the Lord will give also Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines.”

² tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”

³ tn Heb “camp.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:20

¹ tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”

² tn Heb “food.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:21

¹ tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

² tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:23

¹ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַיִּפְצְרוּ (vayyiftseru, “and they pressed”; from the root פצר, psr) rather than the MT’s וַיִּפְרְצוּ (vayyifretsu, “and they broke forth”; from the root פרצ, prs).

² tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”

NET Notes: 1Sa 28:24

¹ sn Masoretic mss of the Hebrew Bible mark this word as the half-way point in the book of Samuel, treating 1 and 2 Samuel as a single book. Similar notations are found at the midway point for all of the books of the Hebrew Bible.

² tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”