1 Samuel — Chapter 28

Saul asks for a woman who hath a divining spirit, that he may consult her. Lapide: Saul's final apostasy — having expelled all diviners and soothsayers by law, he himself seeks them out in extremity. The greater the eminence, the greater the fall when pride and disobedience have destroyed the soul's foundation.

The shade of Samuel appears and reproaches Saul: \"Why hast thou disturbed my rest by raising me up?\" Lapide: after lengthy discussion, judges it was truly Samuel's soul raised by divine permission — not demonic illusion — as held by Origen, Augustine, Gregory, Jerome, Ecclesiasticus 46:23 (\"Even after his death he prophesied\").