A Note On the Witch of Endor and the JST

A confusing story for many readers is found in 1 Samuel 28. Saul, seeking earnestly divine communion before battle but unable to receive any aid due to his wickedness, disguises himself and approaches the witch of Endor, a woman with a familiar spirit. Even though Saul had outlawed necromancers, he asks her to summon the spirit of Samuel the prophet in hopes that he can offer some divine communion with him before facing the Philistines.

The witch complies, even after discovering it is Saul, and conjures Samuel’s spirit. This has left many readers troubled — can a necromancer really conjure the spirit of a righteous prophet? Was it another spirit – perhaps the devil – who disguised himself as Samuel instead?

The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible may offer some insight into this otherwise difficult to maneuver passage. Take, for instance, 1 Samuel 28:9–15 as it appears in the King James Version and Joseph’s New Translation:

 

KJV	JST
(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?	(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 also, who hath not a familiar spirit?
(10) And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.	(10) And Saul sware unto her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, then shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
(11) Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.	(11) Then said the woman, The words of whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up the words of Samuel.
(12) And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.	(12) And when the woman saw the words of Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
(13) And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.	(13) And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw the words of Samuel ascending out of the earth.
(14) And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.	(14) And she said, I saw Samuel also. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, I saw an old man coming up and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself.
(15) And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.	(15) And these are the words of Samuel to Saul: Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

The woman introduces herself not as a woman with a familiar spirit, as Saul’s servant said she was (see 1 Samuel 28:7), but as one who hath not a familiar spirit. The removal of this designation repeats itself again in 1 Chronicles 10:13

KJV	JST
(13) So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;	(13) So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, or against the word of the Lord, which he kept not and also for asking for a familiar spirit to inquire of it.

Two possibilities arise from these changes.

First, this frightened woman may not have been a necromancer at all, but a woman who exhibited the gift of prophecy. She doesn’t summon Samuel’s spirit, but his words – a slight variation, but an important designation, nonetheless. The visitation of Samuel is only secondary to what the message appears to have been. It is entirely possible, based on this reading, that this woman was cast out from Israel because others had misunderstood her gift. Naturally, she became apprehensive when others ask her about her gift because she knows that it could spell trouble for her if the wrong people misunderstand where her prophetic gifts come from.

However, because Saul notes how he sought help from the prophets and received no answer, this could present a challenge to this interpretation. Should this woman truly have the gift of prophecy, why would Saul have to come to her before the Lord answered? One potential answer is that the Lord waited to see how Saul would use his agency, and when Saul determined to seek for counsel from unauthorized sources, He intervened and sent Samuel to chastise the once-mighty king.

Second, the woman could simply be denying her occupation to offer plausible deniability. This was, after all, a dangerous time for those who had familiar spirits — should she be found out, she would be killed according to the law. This would offer plenty of reason to lie, and it very well could have been a deceiving spirit who appeared to the woman and Saul.

The latter interpretation, though just as likely, does have its share of challenges, however. Joseph still identifies the words and spirit as Samuel’s, and should this be the case, it would have been easy for Joseph to prophetically alter this reading to capture the true meaning of the text. We may never know if Joseph intended on returning to this passage, or if he saw this as a passage that needed correction at all even should this be a false spirit.

To further add context to these two interpretations, Latter-day Saint researcher and historian Christopher Blythe wrote on this episode of the Bible in Latter-day Saint tradition. He has found two contemporary accounts of a sermon given by Hyrum Smith that claim that the woman was a “woman of God” and that “instead of being filled with the devil was one who had power with God.”[1] Blythe has also found other sources that may link Joseph Smith to the idea as well, and other early Saints believed that the “witch” of Endor was married to the prophet Samuel.[2]

Not all Saints shared this idea, however, likely due to the rise of spiritualism in the United States. Spiritualist drew upon the witch of Endor as support for their claims, and many former Latter-day Saints drew upon spiritualist practices to condemn Church leaders. Under these circumstances, the witch of Endor remained a witch who deceived.[3]

While both of these positions are entirely possible – each can be supported by statements from past leaders of the Church, after all – and nothing more has been revealed on the episode recorded in 1 Samuel 28, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible may help readers approach this story from a new perspective.

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[1] Christopher Blythe, “Prophetess of Endor: Reception of 1 Samuel 28 in Nineteenth Century Mormon History,” Journal of the Bible and Its Reception 4, no. 1 (April 2017): 53–54. The two contemporary accounts that Blythe cites are George Laub reminiscences and journal, 1845 January–1857 April, p. 25–6, MS 9628, CHL and Samuel W. Richards, Letter to Franklin D. Richards, August 23, 1844, MS 14590, CHL.

[2] See Blythe, “Prophetess of Endor,” 52–58.

[3] See Blythe, “Prophetess of Endor,” 63–67.