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1 Samuel 28; 31

The Last Night of Saul

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The Last Night of Saul

1 Samuel 28; 31

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The Last Night of Saul

1 Samuel 28; 31

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About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the 1 Samuel collection. 8 recordings are available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
1 Samuel
Collection
1 Samuel
[Nocturne Verse] Philistine fires burned red in the vale, Saul saw the host and his courage turned pale. No dream gave answer, no prophet replied, No Urim opened what heaven denied. The king who had banished familiar spirits Disguised himself deep in the dark of the night. [Refrain] The last night of Saul Had no music in the hall, No prophet at the doorway, No answer to his call. The crown sought forbidden counsel Where obedience once had failed; The last night of Saul Moved toward the field of Gilboa. [Verse 2] At Endor a woman was frightened to see Samuel appear with a word of decree. "Tomorrow thy sons shall be with me in death; The kingdom is given, the battle bereft." Saul fell full length, with no strength from the day; The woman set food, and he rose toward the fray. [Final Movement] Jonathan fell and his brothers beside him. Arrows found Saul; the Philistines pressed. He called to his armor-bearer to strike him; Refused, Saul fell on his sword at the crest. Bodies were hung on Bethshan's city wall; Jabesh marched nightly and rescued them all. The last night of Saul ended crown, sons, and breath; Disobedience ripened on Gilboa in death.

Named in this songSaulGilboaSamuel

About the passage

1 Samuel 28: Saul seeks a different route to the word he has rejected

The Philistine campaign forces both David and Saul into the consequences of earlier choices. Achish expects the man he trusts to march against Israel, while Saul faces the same enemy army without Samuel and without an answer from dreams, Urim, or prophets. He then seeks guidance through a practice he himself outlawed, travelling in disguise to a woman at Endor and swearing in the LORD's name that she will not be punished for helping him violate his own prohibition. The appearance identified throughout the chapter as Samuel does not give Saul a new tactic. It gives him the old judgment again, now with a date close enough to terrify him: the kingdom is gone, the Amalekite disobedience still matters, Israel will fall, and Saul and his sons will die. The final scene is unexpectedly domestic. Saul collapses, exhausted and afraid, and the woman whose life was endangered by his law prepares a substantial meal. He leaves strengthened enough to walk, but with no restored oracle, no changed military outcome, and no escape from the word he had already resisted.

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