The Meaning of 1 Samuel 28:16 Explained

1 Samuel 28:16

KJV: Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

YLT: And Samuel saith, 'And why dost thou ask me, and Jehovah hath turned aside from thee, and is thine enemy?

Darby: And Samuel said, Why then dost thou inquire of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

ASV: And Samuel said, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing Jehovah is departed from thee, and is become thine adversary?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then said  Samuel,  Wherefore then dost thou ask  of me, seeing the LORD  is departed  from thee, and is become thine enemy? 

What does 1 Samuel 28:16 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 28:15-25 - Listening To His Own Doom
That there should be an apparition of Samuel occasions no difficulty, for as Moses and Elijah were permitted to speak with our Lord of the "decease" to be accomplished at Jerusalem, so God may have specially permitted the prophet to speak with Saul. We may believe that these sentences passed between them, without any aid on the part of the medium. From the lips of the prophet came no words of comfort nor hope. Nothing could avert the descending avalanche of destruction. As Saul had sown, so must he reap; as he had fallen, so must he lie.
While the king sat on that divan, what memories must have passed through his mind! The first happy days of his reign, Jabesh-gilead, the loyalty of his people. Then he saw how, step by step, that cursed jealousy of David had dragged him down into the turbid current that was now bearing him to a suicide's end. It is one of the most pitiful spectacles in history. But let us be warned; let us watch and pray; let us guard against the first tiny rift within the lute of life! [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 28

1  Achish puts confidence in David
3  Saul having destroyed the witches
4  and now in his fear forsaken of God
7  has recourse to a witch
8  who, encouraged by Saul, raises up Samuel
15  Saul hearing his ruin, faints
21  The woman and his servants refresh him with meat

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 28:16 mean?

And said Samuel then why do you ask me Yahweh seeing has departed from you and has become your enemy
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל וְלָ֖מָּה תִּשְׁאָלֵ֑נִי וַיהוָ֛ה סָ֥ר מֵעָלֶ֖יךָ וַיְהִ֥י ؟ עָרֶֽךָ

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל  Samuel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁמוּאֵל  
Sense: son of Elkanah by his wife Hannah and judge or prophet of Israel during the days of Saul and David.
וְלָ֖מָּה  then  why 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
תִּשְׁאָלֵ֑נִי  do  you  ask  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: שָׁאַל 
Sense: to ask, enquire, borrow, beg.
וַיהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
סָ֥ר  seeing  has  departed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
מֵעָלֶ֖יךָ  from  you 
Parse: Preposition-m, second person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וַיְהִ֥י  and  has  become 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
؟ עָרֶֽךָ  your  enemy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עָר  
Sense: enemy, adversary, foe.