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Tackling Tradition 90: The Witch‘s Familiar

Yes, you’re right, people don’t pay attention to the text, & if you truly think this is Samuel himself, then you are sorely mistaken.   The text is very clear that *Saul* believed the spirit to be Samuel, but it doesn’t state that the spirit she saw was Samuel.  The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. (1 Samuel 28:13–14, ESV). The witch summons a familiar spirit that she herself calls a god & looks like a man in a robe.     Saul himself doesn’t see the apparition.     When the text says that he knew it was Samuel, he simply drew a conclusion about who it was based on the witch’s testimony.  Samuel himself was not located under the ear...
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Tish’a B’av Reading: Day 5

Psalm 81 [ a ] For the director of music. According to  gittith. [ b ]  Of Asaph. 1  Sing for joy to God our strength;      shout aloud to the God of Jacob! 2  Begin the music, strike the timbrel,      play the melodious harp and lyre. 3  Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,      and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; 4  this is a decree for Israel,      an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5  When God went out against Egypt,      he established it as a statute for Joseph. I heard an unknown voice say: 6  “I removed the burden from their shoulders;      their hands were set free from the basket. 7  In your distress you called and I rescued you,      I answered you out of a thundercloud;      I tested you at the waters of Meribah. [ c ] 8  Hea...
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Tish’a B’av Reading: Day 4

  Water Flowing from the Temple 47  Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2  Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. 3  Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, [ a ]  and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.   4  Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.   5  Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water h...
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Tish’a B’av Reading: Day 3

  The Priesthood Restored 44  Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut.   2  The  Lord  said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the  Lord , the God of Israel, has entered through it.   3  The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the  Lord . He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.” 4  Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the  Lord  filling the temple of the  Lord , and I fell facedown. 5  The  Lord  said to me, “Son of man, look carefully, listen closely and give attention to everything I tell you concerning all the regulations and instructions regarding the temple of the  Lord ...
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