28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. 1 In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums 2 and magicians 3 from the land.
28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed 4 the mediums and magicians 5 from the land! Why are you trapping me 6 so you can put me to death?”
1 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
2 tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).
3 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
4 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
5 tn See the note at v. 3.
6 tn Heb “my life.”