Abstract
This study shows that Saul’s communication with deceased Samuel by means of the medium is a criticism aimed against the king; at the same time, the story should warn before this kind of clairvoyant practice. The king descending into the realm of the dead illustrates the decay of the institute of the kingdom as well as the threat that the king posed for Israel: the king they had so much longed for brought Israel to a condition of inadmissible magic.
Thus, the story instructs the audience on the attitude of faith.