Bible Figure
Witch of Endor
biblical character (First Book of Samuel)
The medium of Endor was the unnamed woman whom Saul consulted before his final battle with the Philistines, despite Saul's own prohibition of mediums.
Biography
First Samuel 28 recounts Saul seeking a medium after the Lord did not answer him by dreams, Urim, or prophets. Disguised, Saul went by night to a woman at Endor and asked her to bring up Samuel. The woman feared prosecution until Saul swore she would not be punished. Samuel appeared and announced that Saul's kingdom had been taken from him and that Saul and his sons would die in the coming battle. Seeing Saul collapse in fear and weakness, the woman prepared food for him before he departed.
Biblical Significance
The episode illustrates Saul's tragic spiritual decline: the king who had expelled mediums from the land sought forbidden guidance when God was silent. Scripture calls the woman a medium; the traditional label 'Witch of Endor' should not be allowed to obscure the text's own terminology.