Note, crucially, that the original Hebrew is ba‘alat ’ôb, literally ‘Ghost-Mistress’, while the conversation also implies that there was more than one Ghost-Mistress in the country. Saul thus reveals himself to be a dyed-in-the-wool subscriber to necromantic consultation, convinced of its validity and taking it entirely for granted. He also knew that whatever the official position, ghost and spirit operators were still in business, and his own servants knew immediately whom to see and where to go.
