The Witch of Endor Debate about this biblical story raises key
theological issues. Reprinted from The Jewish Religion: A
Companion, published by Oxford University Press. The witch of
Endor was the woman who was consulted by King Saul and who
brought up the prophet Samuel from the dead, as told in I Samuel
28. Interpretations from the Geonim The problems connected with
the story were discussed in the period of the Geonim. Samuel ben
Hophni, Gaon of Sura (d.1013), father-in-law of Hai Gaon, was
asked whether the story was to be taken literally, and whether
the witch actually succeeded in raising Samuel from the dead.
Samuel ben Hophni replies that he finds it impossible to believe
that God would have made a witch the instrument of raising
Samuel. The true meaning of the story is that the witch, by
trickery, persuaded Saul that she had succeeded in bringing up
Samuel. The words attributed to Samuel in the narrative are the
words the witch put into Samuel's mouth in order to convince
Saul that she had succeeded.