--- title: 1 Samuel 28:13 url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-samuel-28-13/ markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-samuel-28-13.md type: verse perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching reference: 1 Samuel 28:13 testament: OT section: History index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt --- # 1 Samuel 28:13 ## Text (Berean Standard Bible) > “Do not be afraid,” the king replied. “What do you see?” “I see a god coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered. ## JW Usage 1 Samuel 28:13 is rarely highlighted in Watchtower Christology discussions, but the verse is a useful index of the elohim category. The medium at En-dor, seeing Samuel brought up from the ground, says "I see an elohim coming up out of the earth" — using the same Hebrew word the Watchtower reads as "a god" when it appears for Jesus in John 1:1. The Insight on the Scriptures entry on "gods" tacitly acknowledges that elohim can refer to several kinds of spirit-realm beings, but the broader argument the Watchtower builds from Psalm 82 treats "a god" as a safely generic category. ## Protestant Usage 1 Samuel 28:13 is a small but telling data point in the elohim- category conversation. The word elohim in the Old Testament is not restricted to Jehovah: it is used for loyal divine council beings (Psalm 82:1), for rebel divine beings judged for receiving worship (Psalm 82:6-7), for angels, for the spirits of the dead (1 Samuel 28:13), and for Jehovah himself. That semantic range means "a god" in John 1:1's NWT rendering does not settle the question — it only opens the question, "which kind?" Every elohim other than Jehovah either refuses worship (loyal angels, Revelation 22:8-9) or is judged for accepting it (Psalm 82:7). Jesus accepts commanded worship (Hebrews 1:6, quoting Deuteronomy 32:43 LXX, a passage about worshipping Yahweh). Use 1 Samuel 28:13 to widen the category Jesus is being placed in: if he is "a god" who is neither a loyal angel refusing worship nor a rebel elohim judged for accepting it, then the only remaining slot is Yahweh himself. That is the elohim-category closure. ## Arguments Using This Verse - [The Elohim Category Trap](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/elohim-category.md) — Psalm 82 — If Jesus Is 'a God,' Which Kind? [Deity of Christ]