1 Samuel 28:13

Hebrew Bible

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! But what have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen a divine being coming up from the ground!” 14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!” Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down.

Isaiah 8:19

Hebrew Bible

18 Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, who lives on Mount Zion. 19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?” 20 Then you must recall the Lord’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.

 Notes and References

"... The term elohim can refer to the divine assembly as a whole, as in Psalm 82:1, discussed above, but it has other uses as well. Specifically, Burnett argues that the term is used in Psalm 8:6 to refer to a class of divinities lower than Yahweh. Van der Toorn also notes its metaphorical use for Moses in Exodus 4:16 and 7:1 and for the king in Psalm 45:7; these would presumably reflect the “superhuman” use of the term as well. This may also be the sense in Zechariah 12:8, where the house of David is compared to an elohim, constructed in parallel with the angel of Yahweh. Elsewhere elohim can refer to the dead, most famously in 1 Samuel 28:3-25, where the ghost of Samuel appears to Saul. This is probably also the case in Isaiah 8:19, where the people consult the dead on behalf of the living. Van der Toorn has suggested that Micah 3:7 and 2 Samuel 14:16 may also refer to the dead ..."

Hamori, Esther J. When Gods Were Men: The Embodied God in Biblical and Near Eastern Literature (pp. 123-124) De Gruyter, 2008

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