1 Samuel 28:6

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And when Saul went for directions to the Lord, the Lord gave him no answer, by a dream or by the Urim or by the prophets.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל שָׁאוּל֙ בַּֽיהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א עָנָ֖הוּ יְהוָ֑ה גַּ֧ם בַּחֲלֹמ֛וֹת גַּ֥ם בָּאוּרִ֖ים גַּ֥ם בַּנְּבִיאִֽם׃

Transliteration

And wayyišʾal šāʾûl in YHWH, and not ʿānāhû YHWH, neither in the ḥălōmôt neither in the ʾûrîm neither in the nəḇîʾîm.

Grammar Details

• *wayyišʾal*: consecutive imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - and he inquired
• *šāʾûl*: proper noun - Saul
• *YHWH*: divine name
• *ʿānāhû*: perfect, 3rd masculine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - he answered him
• *ḥălōmôt*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the dreams
• *ʾûrîm*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the Urim (divination device)
• *nəḇîʾîm*: masculine plural noun with definite article - the prophets

Word Meanings

• *wayyišʾal*: and he inquired/consulted/sought guidance
• *ʿānāhû*: answered him/responded to him
• *ḥălōmôt*: dreams/visions in sleep
• *ʾûrîm*: Urim (divination objects used by priests)
• *nəḇîʾîm*: prophets/seers/those who speak for God

Referenced Verses

• Num 12:6 : 6 And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream.
• Num 27:21 : 21 He will take his place before Eleazar the priest, so that he may get directions from the Lord for him, with the Urim: at his word they will go out, and at his word they will come in, he and all the children of Israel.
• 1 Sam 14:37 : 37 And Saul, desiring directions from God, said, Am I to go down after the Philistines? will you give them up into the hands of Israel? But he gave him no answer that day.
• Lam 2:9 : 9 Her doors have gone down into the earth; he has sent destruction on her locks: her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not; even her prophets have had no vision from the Lord.
• Exod 28:30 : 30 And in the bag you are to put the Urim and Thummim, so that they may be on Aaron's heart whenever he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron may have the power of making decisions for the children of Israel before the Lord at all times.
• Deut 33:8 : 8 And of Levi he said, Give your Thummim to Levi and let the Urim be with your loved one, whom you put to the test at Massah, with whom you were angry at the waters of Meribah;
• Gen 28:12-15 : 12 And he had a dream, and in his dream he saw steps stretching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on them. 13 And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping. 14 Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth. 15 And truly, I will be with you, and will keep you wherever you go, guiding you back again to this land; and I will not give you up till I have done what I have said to you.
• Gen 46:2-4 : 2 And God said to Israel in a night-vision, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. 3 And he said, I am God, the God of your father: go down to Egypt without fear, for I will make a great nation of you there: 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will see that you come back again, and at your death Joseph will put his hands on your eyes.
• Exod 28:20 : 20 The fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold.
• 1 Chr 10:13-14 : 13 So death came to Saul because of the sin which he did against the Lord, that is, because of the word of the Lord which he kept not; and because he went for directions to one who had an evil spirit, 14 And not to the Lord: for this reason, he put him to death and gave the kingdom to David, the son of Jesse.
• Job 33:14-16 : 14 For God gives his word in one way, even in two, and man is not conscious of it: 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep comes on men, while they take their rest on their beds; 16 Then he makes his secrets clear to men, so that they are full of fear at what they see;
• Ps 74:9 : 9 We do not see our signs: there is no longer any prophet, or anyone among us to say how long.
• Prov 1:1-9 : 1 The wise sayings of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. 2 To have knowledge of wise teaching; to be clear about the words of reason: 3 To be trained in the ways of wisdom, in righteousness and judging truly and straight behaviour: 4 To make the simple-minded sharp, and to give the young man knowledge, and serious purpose: 5 (The wise man, hearing, will get greater learning, and the acts of the man of good sense will be wisely guided:) 6 To get the sense of wise sayings and secrets, and of the words of the wise and their dark sayings. 7 The fear of the Lord is the start of knowledge: but the foolish have no use for wisdom and teaching. 8 My son, give ear to the training of your father, and do not give up the teaching of your mother: 9 For they will be a crown of grace for your head, and chain-ornaments about your neck. 10 My son, if sinners would take you out of the right way, do not go with them. 11 If they say, Come with us; let us make designs against the good, waiting secretly for the upright, without cause; 12 Let us overcome them living, like the underworld, and in their strength, as those who go down to death; 13 Goods of great price will be ours, our houses will be full of wealth; 14 Take your chance with us, and we will all have one money-bag: 15 My son, do not go with them; keep your feet from their ways: 16 For their feet are running after evil, and they are quick to take a man's life. 17 Truly, to no purpose is the net stretched out before the eyes of the bird: 18 And they are secretly waiting for their blood and making ready destruction for themselves. 19 Such is the fate of everyone who goes in search of profit; it takes away the life of its owners. 20 Wisdom is crying out in the street; her voice is loud in the open places; 21 Her words are sounding in the meeting-places, and in the doorways of the town: 22 How long, you simple ones, will foolish things be dear to you? and pride a delight to the haters of authority? how long will the foolish go on hating knowledge? 23 Be turned again by my sharp words: see, I will send the flow of my spirit on you, and make my words clear to you. 24 Because your ears were shut to my voice; no one gave attention to my out-stretched hand; 25 You were not controlled by my guiding, and would have nothing to do with my sharp words: 26 So in the day of your trouble I will be laughing; I will make sport of your fear; 27 When your fear comes on you like a storm, and your trouble like a rushing wind; when pain and sorrow come on you. 28 Then I will give no answer to their cries; searching for me early, they will not see me: 29 For they were haters of knowledge, and did not give their hearts to the fear of the Lord: 30 They had no desire for my teaching, and my words of protest were as nothing to them. 31 So the fruit of their way will be their food, and with the designs of their hearts they will be made full. 32 For the turning back of the simple from teaching will be the cause of their death, and the peace of the foolish will be their destruction. 33 But whoever gives ear to me will take his rest safely, living in peace without fear of evil.
• Prov 27:1-28:28 : 1 Do not make a noise about tomorrow, for you are not certain what a day's outcome may be. 2 Let another man give you praise, and not your mouth; one who is strange to you, and not your lips. 3 A stone has great weight, and sand is crushing; but the wrath of the foolish is of greater weight than these. 4 Wrath is cruel, and angry feeling an overflowing stream; but who does not give way before envy? 5 Better is open protest than love kept secret. 6 The wounds of a friend are given in good faith, but the kisses of a hater are false. 7 The full man has no use for honey, but to the man in need of food every bitter thing is sweet. 8 Like a bird wandering from the place of her eggs is a man wandering from his station. 9 Oil and perfume make glad the heart, and the wise suggestion of a friend is sweet to the soul. 10 Do not give up your friend and your father's friend; and do not go into your brother's house in the day of your trouble: better is a neighbour who is near than a brother far off. 11 My son, be wise and make my heart glad, so that I may give back an answer to him who puts me to shame. 12 The sharp man sees the evil and takes cover: the simple go straight on and get into trouble. 13 Take a man's clothing if he makes himself responsible for a strange man, and get an undertaking from him who gives his word for strange men. 14 He who gives a blessing to his friend with a loud voice, getting up early in the morning, will have it put to his account as a curse. 15 Like an unending dropping on a day of rain is a bitter-tongued woman. 16 He who keeps secret the secret of his friend, will get himself a name for good faith. 17 Iron makes iron sharp; so a man makes sharp his friend. 18 Whoever keeps a fig-tree will have its fruit; and the servant waiting on his master will be honoured. 19 Like face looking at face in water, so are the hearts of men to one another. 20 The underworld and Abaddon are never full, and the eyes of man have never enough. 21 The heating-pot is for silver and the oven-fire for gold, and a man is measured by what he is praised for. 22 Even if a foolish man is crushed with a hammer in a vessel among crushed grain, still his foolish ways will not go from him. 23 Take care to have knowledge about the condition of your flocks, looking well after your herds; 24 For wealth is not for ever, and money does not go on for all generations. 25 The grass comes up and the young grass is seen, and the mountain plants are got in. 26 The lambs are for your clothing, and the he-goats make the value of a field: 27 There will be goats' milk enough for your food, and for the support of your servant-girls. 1 The evil man goes running away when no man is after him, but the upright are without fear, like the lion. 2 Because of the sin of the land, its troubles are increased; but by a man of wisdom and knowledge they will be put out like a fire. 3 A man of wealth who is cruel to the poor is like a violent rain causing destruction of food. 4 Those who have no respect for the law give praise to the evil-doer; but such as keep the law are against him. 5 Evil men have no knowledge of what is right; but those who go after the Lord have knowledge of all things. 6 Better is the poor man whose ways are upright, than the man of wealth whose ways are not straight. 7 He who keeps the law is a wise son, but he who keeps company with feasters puts shame on his father. 8 He who makes his wealth greater by taking interest, only gets it together for him who has pity on the poor. 9 As for the man whose ear is turned away from hearing the law, even his prayer is disgusting. 10 Anyone causing the upright to go wandering in an evil way, will himself go down into the hole he has made; but the upright will have good things for their heritage. 11 The man of wealth seems to himself to be wise, but the poor man who has sense has a low opinion of him. 12 When the upright do well, there is great glory; but when evil-doers are lifted up, men do not let themselves be seen. 13 He who keeps his sins secret will not do well; but one who is open about them, and gives them up, will get mercy. 14 Happy is the man in whom is the fear of the Lord at all times; but he whose heart is hard will come into trouble. 15 Like a loud-voiced lion and a wandering bear, is an evil ruler over a poor people. 16 The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life. 17 One who has been the cause of a man's death will go in flight to the underworld: let no man give him help. 18 He whose ways are upright will be safe, but sudden will be the fall of him whose ways are twisted. 19 By ploughing his land a man will have bread in full measure; but he who goes after good-for-nothing persons will be poor enough. 20 A man of good faith will have great blessing, but one attempting to get wealth quickly will not go free from punishment. 21 It is not good to have respect for a man's position: for a man will do wrong for a bit of bread. 22 He who is ever desiring wealth goes running after money, and does not see that need will come on him. 23 He who says words of protest to a man will later have more approval than one who says smooth words with his tongue. 24 He who takes from his father or his mother what is theirs by right, and says, It is no sin; is the same as a taker of life. 25 He who is ever desiring profit is a cause of fighting; but he who puts his faith in the Lord will be made fat. 26 He whose faith is in himself is foolish; but everyone walking wisely will be kept safe. 27 He who gives to the poor will never be in need, but great curses will be on him who gives no attention to them. 28 When evil-doers are lifted up, men take cover; but when destruction overtakes them, the upright are increased.
• Jer 23:28 : 28 If a prophet has a dream, let him give out his dream; and he who has my word, let him give out my word in good faith. What has the dry stem to do with the grain? says the Lord.
• Ezek 20:1-3 : 1 Now it came about in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the responsible men of Israel came to get directions from the Lord and were seated before me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 Son of man, say to the responsible men of Israel, This is what the Lord has said: Have you come to get directions from me? By my life, says the Lord, you will get no directions from me.
• Matt 1:20 : 20 But when he was giving thought to these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, have no fear of taking Mary as your wife; because that which is in her body is of the Holy Spirit.
• John 9:31 : 31 We have knowledge that God does not give ear to sinners, but if any man is a worshipper of God and does his pleasure, to him God's ears are open.
• Jas 4:3 : 3 You make your request but you do not get it, because your request has been wrongly made, desiring the thing only so that you may make use of it for your pleasure.