Well, it's Halloween, and we haven't had any good ghost or witch questions. So, who's the witch who got Saul into trouble, and what connection does this episode have with an Ivy League university?

bop-bop

The Witch of Endor. Oct 31 06, 9:07 PM

smartie806

It is the witch of Endor, connected to a certain collection at Cornell University. I'm working on a link and more info... Oct 31 06, 9:12 PM

smartie806

Cornell has a witchcraft collection, including info on the witch of Endor: http://historical.library.cornell.edu/witchcraft/index.html Oct 31 06, 9:20 PM

lanfranco

Cornell isn't quite the Ivy School I had in mind, but I'll give bop and smartie large pieces of the silver mace for their answers. How about the correct biblical references (just for fun)? And how about a certain Ivy League motto connected with this story? Boola Boola. Oct 31 06, 9:40 PM

lauradub

Ok this has been driving me crazy! I give up! The Biblical ref is 1 Samuel 28:3-25. The college is Yale but that's all I can get. Nov 01 06, 7:36 AM

lauradub

Ok is this right?The two Hebrew words inscribed on Yale's shield are Urim v'Thummim, a method of divination which is also mentioned in Samuel 28- "..but the Lord did not answer him at all, either by the use of Urim and Thummin or by the prophets" Nov 01 06, 7:45 AM

lanfranco

Lovely, lauradub! And the rest of the silver mace to you. Yale it is (the origins of Urim and Thummin on that seal have been debated by Yalies for years). "Boola Boola" was, of course, the Yale clue. Nov 01 06, 8:47 AM

lauradub

Yay go me! Thanks for that q by the way. Nearly drove me nuts but it was fun! Keep 'em coming! Nov 01 06, 9:19 AM

Baloo55th

Am I right in thinking that no-one has the faintest idea what Urim and Thummim really are? They're plural nouns from the look of the -im ending. Nov 01 06, 12:08 PM

lanfranco

You are correct, Baloo. They are plural, and while various interpretations have been offered, no certain conclusions have been reached. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urim_and_Thummim Nov 01 06, 2:07 PM

Arpeggionist

They were marks and symbols on the breastplate of the high priest in ancient Israel. Urim - "lights" - was the lighting of the letters in the breastplate's stones. Thummim stands for completeness, the bottom line. It is suggested that when a king or another Israelite approached the high priest with a question for God, the breastplate would light up and spell out the appropriate answer. Nov 06 06, 10:21 PM

Baloo55th

ye gods! The first computer! Nov 07 06, 11:48 AM