Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible

Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible
This article discusses the Hebrew Bible. See Christian views on witchcraft for Christian interpretations.

Various forms of witchcraft and divination are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, generally with a disapproving tone. The masoretic text of the torah forbids:

  • nahash[1][2]; as a noun, nahash translates as snake, and as a verb it literally translates as hissing. The verb form can be extended to mean whispering, so it has historically been understood to refer to enchantment.
  • onan[1][2]; onan literally translates as clouds, possibly referring to nephomancy. Some translations take this as an allusion to bird flocks, and therefore translate it as augury.
  • kashaph[2][3]; kashaph is of ambiguous meaning, being either from a root meaning mutter[4], or from a compound of the words kash (herb) and hapalah (using) - hence meaning herb user[5]. The Septuagint renders the same phrase as pharmakia (poison), so it may refer to magic potions[6]
  • being a ba'al ob[7][8]; ba'al ob literally means master of spirits. The corresponding parts of the Septuagint refer to eggastrimuthos (gastromancy)[9], a form of necromantic ventriloquism, in which the voice seems to be located in the stomach.
  • being a yidde'oni[7][8]; yidde'oni literally means gainer of information from ghosts
  • being a doresh el ha-metim[8]; doresh el ha-metim literally means (one who) questions corpses
  • qasam qesem[2]; qasam qesem literally means distributes distributions, possibly referring to cleromancy
  • khabar kheber[2]; khabar kheber literally means join joinings, possibly referring to charms

The exact difference between the three forbidden forms of necromancy is a matter of uncertainty; yidde'oni is usually only mentioned together with ba'al ob, and its semantic similarity to doresh el ha-metim raises the question of why all three are mentioned in the same verse of Deuteronomy[10]. Classical Jewish sources argued that yidde'oni might be another form of ventriloquism, in which the voice is cast into at a bone which is placed into the ventriloquist's mouth. Rashi describes the doresh el ha-metim as a person who would sleep in cemeteries, after having starved themselves, in order to become possessed. The Witch of Endor was a ba'al ob[11]; the Septuagint again renders this as eggastrimuthos, thus describing her as a (necromantic) ventriloquist, although (one who has) familiar spirits is the more common English translation.

Like the law code of Hammurabi, the Torah assigns the death penalty to practitioners of certain forms of witchcraft/divination; the Holiness Code of Leviticus ascribes the death penalty for two of the three necromantic practices, namely Ba'al ob and Yidde'oni[7], while the Covenant Code of Exodus ascribes it for kashaph[3].

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Leviticus 19:26
  2. ^ a b c d e Deuteronomy 18:10-11
  3. ^ a b Exodus 22:18
  4. ^ Strong's concordance
  5. ^ Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary
  6. ^ Exodus 22:17 (LXX); note that for technical and historic reasons, verse numbering in the Septuagint doesn't correspond exactly with the masoretic text
  7. ^ a b c Leviticus 20:27
  8. ^ a b c Deuteronomy 18:11
  9. ^ Leviticus 20:27 (LXX)
  10. ^ specifically, Deuteronomy 18:11
  11. ^ Samuel 28:7

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Witchcraft — For other uses, see Witchcraft (disambiguation). Witch redirects here. For other uses, see Witch (disambiguation). The classic image of the witch astride a besom broom …   Wikipedia

  • Necromancy — This article is about the form of magic. For the film, see Necromancy (film). Necromancer redirects here. For other uses, see Necromancer (disambiguation). Illustration portraying a scene from the Bible wherein the Witch of Endor uses a… …   Wikipedia

  • Asian witchcraft — refers to any or all types of witchcraft practiced in Asia. Contents 1 Middle East 1.1 Ancient Near East 1.2 Hebrew Bible 1.3 New Testament …   Wikipedia

  • Religions of the ancient Near East — Myths of the Fertile Crescent series …   Wikipedia

  • Methods of divination — This article is about the numerous varieties of divination. For divination as a whole, see Divination. Innumerable methods of divination can be found around the world, and many cultures practice the same methods under different names. During the… …   Wikipedia

  • Magic and religion — Magical thinking in various forms is a cultural universal and an important aspect of religion. In many cases it becomes difficult or impossible to draw any meaningful line between beliefs and practices that are magical versus those that are… …   Wikipedia

  • Witch trials in the Early Modern period — Punishments for witchcraft in 16th century Germany. Woodcut from Tengler s Laienspiegel, Mainz, 1508. The Witch trials in the Early Modern period were a period of witch hunts between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries,[1] when across Early… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian views on magic — vary widely across denominational and individual barriers, and are often influenced by Biblical, theological, and historical considerations. Some Christians actively condemn any form of magic as Satanic while others simply dismiss it as… …   Wikipedia

  • \@Vampire Mythology: Bibliography —   [↑] @Vampire Mythology   Abbott, George Frederick. Macedonian Folklore. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1903. Abrahams, Roger D. The ManofWords in the West Indies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins… …   Encyclopedia of vampire mythology

  • WOMAN — This article is arranged according to the following outline: the historical perspective biblical period marriage and children women in household life economic roles educational and managerial roles religious roles women outside the household… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”