Texts in Conversation
1 Samuel 28:16 shows Samuel declaring that God has become Saul’s enemy. The Greek Septuagint translation is significantly different, stating instead that God is now with Saul’s rival.
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1 Samuel 28:16
Hebrew Bible
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me anymore—not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.” 16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied! The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David!
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX 1 Samuel 28:16
Septuagint
15 And Samuel said, “Why have you disturbed me by raising me?” And Saul said, “I am very distressed, and the foreigners are fighting against me, and God has gone from me and has stopped listening to me both by hand of the prophets and in dreams. So now I have called you to reveal to me what I should do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why do you inquire of me? The Lord has gone from you and is with your neighbor. 17 And the Lord has done to you just as the Lord had said by my hand. And the Lord will tear your kingdom from your hand and will give it to your neighbor, David.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In 1 Samuel 28:16, Samuel states the reasoning for Saul’s catastrophic fate. The Masoretic text reads “God became your enemy”. In the Septuagint, we read “God is with your neighbour.” Perhaps this phrasing is not the result of translation but of inner-Hebrew correction; someone wrote ךער םע instead of ךרע. The graphical closeness does not imply automatically the lacking of consciousness. In any case, the translator of the Septuagint is not the only one who avoids the notion that God should be an enemy of human beings. Also, the Targumist reformulates this passage: “the Memra of the Lord is at the aid of the man whose enemy you are”. Josephus omits this passage ..."
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