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Witch Of Endor

The Medium of Endor: from the frontispiece of the book Saducismus Triumphatus of Joseph Glanvill.

In the Hebrew Bible , "the" Medium or Witch of Endor (village Canaanite , probably located on the Mount Moreh ), as mentioned in the first book of Samuel , chapter 28:3-25 , is a woman "who has a talisman , "in which she called the ghost of the prophet Samuel who died recently, at the request of Saul , king of Israel.

/ / The Bible

Saul is abandoned by God. It is at the end of his reign, and no longer wants the death of David. Now it has teamed with the Philistines and Saul wants to know the intentions of God. The king knows that God has prohibited witchcraft and punished with death all those who volunteer. The lifetime of the prophet Samuel, Saul was even run all the wizards and all the necromancers.

The Philistines gathered their forces and encamped Shunem. Saul he positioned his army at Gilboa. The king is terrified at the sight of enemy troops and calls to God, but received no response by the traditional oracles, dreams, prophets and Urim and Thummim.

He then asked to meet a woman "who possesses a talisman "that would allow it to interact with the dead. He said that a witch lives in the village of Endor, and he decides to go in disguise and at night, accompanied by two servants and ask the woman to call him the person he will report. The witch sniffing a trap initially refuse to obey, knowing too well the fate of his fellows by royal decision. Assured of his immunity, so she called Samuel at the request of Saul. At the sight of Samuel, she starts screaming and accusing the king, she immediately recognizes, for having deceived. Saul soothe her fears and asks him what she saw. She saw "gods (elohim) coming (pl.) bowels of the earth", ".. an old man wrapped in a cloak." Saul bows down before the ghost does not see it. Samuel complains of having been disturbed, but Saul argues the urgency of the danger and abandonment by God. Samuel, however, refuses to give advice, but announces the imminent fall of the king and his dynasty. Saul fails to harbinger and partly because of its physical fatigue due to lack of food. The witch tries to comfort him and invites him to share his hospitality. Before the combined entreaties of women and servants, he accepts, eats, and then calmly goes back to his destiny.

He will die the next day at the Battle of Gilboa.

In the biblical text, the woman remains anonymous while the midrash rabbinical Zphanie maintains that it is called and is the mother of Abner.

The prophecy of the shadow of Samuel is largely a repetition of the words of Samuel when he was alive, in 1 Samuel 15. The only new information is the new prophecy that Saul must die "tomorrow". Yet if the events of chapters 1Sam.28-31 are in chronological order, then Saul is not dead the next day. He died after three more days to allow time for troop movements to come to David Ziklag "third day" 1Sam.30: 1. In this case, the prophecy that was added by the witch, was in fact false.

Interpretations

In the Septuagint , the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the phrase "a woman with a spirit" (28.7) leads to "a ventriloquist. "Therefore, Origen held that the voice of the ghost was indeed that of women.

In Judaism , some rabbis teach that the soul of the dead hovering around the body of the deceased for a year after his death. This allows the soul of the deceased to be truly called during this period, and confirms that the soul of supernaturally called by the witch is actually that of Samuel. Saul at that time may have thought that Samuel had been recalled from Sheol.

Based on this history, the rabbis, especially Rabbi Levi Ben Gershom , said Ralbag, developed the theory that the necromancer has seen the spirit, but was unable to hear his speech, while the person which she called the spirit, heard his voice, but was not able to see him the spectators themselves, can neither hear nor see the ghost. The woman's screams at the sight of Samuel is due to the fact that he appeared standing in an unusual way, as she expected it to appear elongated.

The Fathers of the Church , and some writers Christian modern issues discussed theological issues raised by this text. If one interprets the Bible literally, one could argue that it is or was possible for humans to bring the soul of a deceased saint by magic. The comments of the Middle Ages suggests that naturally drew the witch, was not the ghost of Samuel, but a demon who took his appearance. The modern Christian author Hank Hanegraaff argues that although it is impossible for humans to call a dead man, Samuel still appeared to Saul and the witch by a sovereign act of God. Hanegraaff interprets the passage to mean that the witch was surprised by this event.

Regardless of the real powers of the witch, history can be seen as a satire of Saul. Previously, Saul was the righteous king who defended God with his sword, who lost favor with God, he is reduced to participate in rituals forbidden. He received no advice of the ghost of Samuel, who has confirmed that his downfall.

In modern literature

The Witch of Endor is the fictitious name of a cutter of the Royal Navy in the British historical novel of the adventures of Horatio Hornblower, "Flying Colours" from the British writer CS Forester , released in 1938.
The Witch of Endor is a character in the saga Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel by Michael Scott.

In music

" Saul (HWV 53) is an oratorio composed by Georg Friedrich Handel and premiered in 1739 at King's Theatre in London. In this work, Saul died just after having visited the witch of Endor.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier : David and Jonathan musical tragedy H. 490, and Saul and Jonathae Mors, sacred history H. 403.

"The Medium of Endor" is the title of a song by American composer Moondog.

On television

In the series My Bewitched (Bewitched), the character played by Agnes Moorehead , is called "Endora". He never mentioned if it is "the" medium of Endor, although it is clear in the series, the characters with magical powers live very long.