Saul and the medium of Endor

E107165

Old Testament narrative biblical episode story of necromancy

"Saul and the medium of Endor" is a biblical episode in which King Saul, desperate for guidance before battle, consults a forbidden necromancer at Endor to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
the Witch of Endor	3
1 Samuel 28	1
Saul and the Witch of Endor	1
Saul and the medium of Endor canonical	1
Saul and the woman of Endor	1
The Witch of Endor	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T899396 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Saul and the medium of Endor
Context triple: [1 Samuel, containsEvent, Saul and the medium of Endor]

A. Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred gold-covered chest described in the Hebrew Bible as containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments and symbolizing God's presence with the Israelites.
B. The Wrath of God
The Wrath of God is a 1972 adventure drama film set in 1920s Central America, starring Robert Mitchum as a gun-toting priest caught up in political and religious conflict.
C. Blessing of Moses
Blessing of Moses is a biblical poetic passage in which Moses delivers final prophetic blessings to the tribes of Israel before his death.
D. The Scapegoat
The Scapegoat is a famous 1856 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt depicting a lone goat symbolically burdened with the sins of the people in a desolate landscape.
E. Saul
Saul is a surname most notably associated with Canadian philosopher and writer John Ralston Saul.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Saul and the medium of Endor
Target entity description: "Saul and the medium of Endor" is a biblical episode in which King Saul, desperate for guidance before battle, consults a forbidden necromancer at Endor to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel.

A. Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred gold-covered chest described in the Hebrew Bible as containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments and symbolizing God's presence with the Israelites.
B. The Wrath of God
The Wrath of God is a 1972 adventure drama film set in 1920s Central America, starring Robert Mitchum as a gun-toting priest caught up in political and religious conflict.
C. Blessing of Moses
Blessing of Moses is a biblical poetic passage in which Moses delivers final prophetic blessings to the tribes of Israel before his death.
D. The Scapegoat
The Scapegoat is a famous 1856 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt depicting a lone goat symbolically burdened with the sins of the people in a desolate landscape.
E. Saul
Saul is a surname most notably associated with Canadian philosopher and writer John Ralston Saul.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Old Testament narrative ⓘ biblical episode ⓘ story of necromancy ⓘ
depictedIn	Christian art ⓘ Jewish art ⓘ
featuresAction	Samuel foretells Saul’s defeat ⓘ Saul disguises himself ⓘ Saul is terrified and weakened ⓘ linked to: Saul Saul seeks guidance before battle ⓘ medium summons Samuel ⓘ
hasAlternativeName	Saul and the witch of Endor ⓘ Saul and the woman of Endor ⓘ linked to: Saul and the medium of Endor
hasBibleReference	1 Samuel 28:3–25 ⓘ
hasCanonicalStatus	part of the Deuteronomistic history ⓘ
hasChronologicalContext	reign of Saul ⓘ
hasDivineLawContext	Torah prohibitions on necromancy ⓘ
hasGenre	narrative prose ⓘ
hasKing	Saul ⓘ
hasLanguageOfComposition	Biblical Hebrew ⓘ
hasLiteraryFunction	illustration of Saul’s rejection by God ⓘ transition to Davidic kingship ⓘ
hasLocation	Endor ⓘ linked to: Yavin 4 land of Israel ⓘ linked to: Eretz HaKodesh
hasMainCharacter	Samuel ⓘ Saul ⓘ the medium of Endor ⓘ linked to: Forest moon of Endor
hasMedium	the woman of Endor ⓘ
hasMoralInterpretation	example of consequences of disobedience ⓘ warning against occult practices ⓘ
hasOpposingArmy	Philistines ⓘ
hasProphet	Samuel ⓘ
hasReception	frequent subject in Christian exegesis ⓘ frequent subject in Jewish exegesis ⓘ subject of extensive theological debate ⓘ
hasReligiousTradition	Christianity ⓘ Judaism ⓘ
hasTheme	consulting the dead ⓘ desperation before battle ⓘ disobedience to God ⓘ divine judgment ⓘ necromancy ⓘ prophetic fulfillment ⓘ
involvesProhibition	consulting mediums ⓘ spiritism ⓘ
precedesEvent	battle of Gilboa ⓘ death of Saul ⓘ
recordedIn	Christian Old Testament ⓘ linked to: Christian biblical canon First Book of Samuel ⓘ linked to: 1 Samuel Hebrew Bible ⓘ linked to: Tanakh

How these facts were elicited