9. All occult, superstitions, divination, sorcery, spiritualism, etc.

, were
abominations (9, 12) to Yahweh and invited his judgment (cf. 7:1ff.). The practice
of consulting unseen powers by these devices was tantamount to acknowledging a
power other than Yahweh, and this was rebellion.
10, 11. The first prohibited practice was that of making children walk through the
fire. The exact nature of this practice is not known. It may have been merely a kind
of trial by ordeal, or a magical test. While this was of no value for divination, its
magical value might explain its presence in the list (cf. Lev. 18:21; 20:25). In some
other passages in the Old Testament also the practice is connected with [Page 232]
the god Molech94 (2 Kgs 23:10; Jer. 32:35 and perhaps 7:31). How old the practice
was is not known, but even though it was common in the days of the monarchy it
may have been much older among Israels neighbours, so that Moses could have
referred to it.
Next in this list are three terms which describe various practitioners of the art of
divination. The first is one who practises divination. The expression includes a
participle and a noun both derived from the root q-s-m. A variety of devices was in
use in various lands but all were designed to discern the will of the gods. The same
word in Ezekiel 21:21 refers to the practice of whirling arrows in a quiver and
deciding the answer to the question by the first arrow thrown out. The second term
(mnn), translated soothsayer in RSV, is derived either from the root -n-n, in
which case it seems to refer to divination by reading clouds, or from a root which
occurs in Arabic meaning to make unusual noises, croon, hum, in which case it
may refer to some kind of incantation. The third term, RSV an augur, derives from
the root n--. In Genesis 44:5, 15 the term refers to Josephs divination by means
of a cup, and may point to a kind of hydromancy in which reflections on the water
in a cup are observed. The same root in Syriac occurs in a verb meaning divine by
watching birds, fire, rain, etc., i.e. by observing natural phenomena.
Two terms follow which seem to denote different forms of magic. The first, RSV
sorcerer (mkap), derived from the root k--p to cut up, may denote one who
cuts up herbs and brews them for magical purposes (cf. LXX pharmaka, drug). The
term is used in Micah 5:12 for some such material as drugs or herbs used
94

See W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968), pp. 205f., 210.

r SV American Revised Standard Version, 1952.

l XX The Septuagint (pre-Christian Greek version of the Old Testament).
2

superstitiously to produce magical effects. The noun, therefore, means enchanter or

sorcerer (cf. Exod. 7:11; 22:18; 2 Chr. 33:6; Dan. 2:2; Mal. 3:5). The second term
means literally one who ties knots (root -b-r), i.e. one who binds another by
magic knots or magic spells, hence a charmer.
The last three terms relate to various forms of consulting the spirit world. The
first two refer to those who consult or inquire of the spirits, while the third may be a
summarizing term. The three terms [Page 233] occur together quite often but
remain somewhat obscure.95 The first is the Hebrew b, translated medium in RSV.
The b spoke from within a person (Lev. 20:27) with a twittering voice (Isa.
29:4).96 Those who practised this art called up the departed from the realm of the
dead, or rather, professed to do so. Greek versions translate the term by
engastrimuthoi, i.e. ventriloquists, while Syriac has zakkuro, ghost. The second
term (yidden), wizard, is related to the verb yda, know. Possibly this was
some kind of familiar spirit. The difference between the two may have been that
those who divine by the former, call up any spirit (1 Sam. 28:11), while those who
divine by the latter consult only a familiar spirit.
The third term denotes one who enquires of the dead. In Isaiah 8:19 the term
seems to be synonymous with the first two terms in the present passage, so that it
may be a typical summing up phrase so characteristic of Deuteronomy. Otherwise it
seems to denote a necromancer.1

95 Lev. 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam. 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs. 21:6; 23:24; 2 Chr. 33:6; Isa. 8:19; 19:3.
96 Originally the b was a ritual pit for communicating with the netherworld. See H. A. Hoffner,
Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew B, JBL, LXXXVI, 1967, pp. 385401.
1 J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament
Commentaries, vol. 5, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pp. 231-233.
2