1. 1 Samuel 28:19 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does Samuel mean when he says that both Saul and his sons will be with him tomorrow?

1 Samuel 28:19 (ESV)

19 Moreover, the LORD will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The LORD will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

With these words, Samuel communicates that Saul and his sons will die on the next day. They will be in the realm of the dead (Sheol)—a realm that was understood at the time to be the abode of both the righteous as well as the condemned.1 In this there is a sense of poetic justice. Saul tried to kill David by the hand of the Philistines (cf.1 Samuel 18:17, 1 Samuel 18:21, 1 Samuel 18:25) and now he will die by the hand of the Philistines.2 Sadly, his sons will also be included in this judgment, which will result in the end of his dynasty (cf. 1 Samuel 13:13–14).