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(e.g., Gen. 37:35; Isa. 14:15ff.) Necromancy was so contrary to God’s commands that its
practitioners were under the death penalty (Deut. 13). Necromancers’ unusual
experiences do not prove that they truly had power to summon the dead. For example, the
medium of Endor could not snatch Samuel out of God’s hands against His wishes. But in
this particular incident, it seems that God rebuked Saul’s apostasy, either through a
revived Samuel or through a vision of Samuel. Mediums do not have power to summon
the spirits of the dead, since this is reprehensible to God and contrary to His will.
SPLENDOR
(
$
, 1935), “splendor; majesty; authority.” A possible cognate of this word
appears in Arabic. All but 4 of its 24 biblical appearances occur in poetry.
The basic significance of “splendor and majesty” with overtones of superior power
and position is attested in the application of this word to kings: “Therefore thus saith the
Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for
him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord!
or, Ah his glory!” (Jer. 22:18). This concept is equally prominent when the word is used
of God: “Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty” (Job 37:22).
In many cases
focuses on “dignity and splendor” with overtones of superior
power and position but not to the degree seen in oriental kings: “And thou shalt put some
of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be
obedient” (Num. 27:20— the first occurrence of the word). When used of the olive tree
(Hos. 14:6),
focuses on its “splendor and dignity” as the most desired and desirable
of the trees (cf. Judg. 9:9-15). The proud carriage of a war horse and seeming bravery in
the face of battle lead God to say “The glory of his nostrils is terrible” (Job 39:20). In
every use of the word the one so described evokes a sense of amazement and satisfaction
in the mind of the beholder.
TO SPREAD OUT
(
*
#
, 6566), “to spread out, scatter, display.” Found in both ancient and
modern Hebrew, this word occurs approximately 65 times in the Hebrew Old Testament.
It is found for the first time in Exod. 9:29: “… I will spread abroad my hands unto the
Lord.…” Such stretching of the hands probably reflected the characteristic posture of
prayer in the Bible (cf. Ps. 143:6; Isa. 1:15).
8
sometimes expresses the “spreading out” of a garment to its widest extent
(Judg. 8:25). It is commonly med of wings’ “being spread,” opened fully (Deut. 32:11; 1
Kings 6:27). “To spread out” a net is to set a snare or trap (Hos. 7:12). Sometimes “to
spread out” is “to display”: “… A fool layeth open his folly” (Prov. 13:16). “To spread”
may mean “to cover over” and thus to hide from vision: “And the woman took and spread
a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not
known” (2 Sam. 17:19). In some instances, “to spread” may have a more violent meaning
of “to scatter”: “… They that remain shall be scattered toward all winds …” (Ezek.
17:21).
TO SPRINKLE
%
(
, 2236), “to throw; sprinkle; strew; toss; scatter abundantly.” This word is
found in both ancient and modern Hebrew and is used in ancient Akkadian in the sense of