1 Samuel 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.

Ex 22:18; Le 19:31; Le 20:6,27; De 18:10,11; 1Sa 25:1; 1Sa 28:9; Isa 57:1,2; Ac 16:16-19

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.