Editing Christian views on magic (section)

==Biblical references==
{{Main|Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible|Witchcraft in the Middle East}}
There are several references to [[witchcraft]] in the [[Bible]] that strongly condemn such practices. For example, {{bibleref2|Deuteronomy|18:11-12|NIV}} condemns anyone who "casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you", and {{bibleref2|Exodus|22:18|NIV}} states "Do not allow a sorceress to live" (or in the [[King James Bible]] "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live").

It has sometimes been suggested that the word "witch" (Heb. מְכַשֵּׁפָ֖ה ''məḵaššêp̄āh'') might be a mistranslation of "poisoner."<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/thou-shalt-not-suffer-a-witch-to-live-a-murderous-mistranslation-1.5443682 "Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live: A Murderous Mistranslation?"] by Elizabeth Sloane, at Haaretz.com, 17 August 2017.</ref> This view was advanced the 16th century by [[Reginald Scot]], a prominent critic of the witch trials, on the basis of the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.<ref>Scot, Reginald (c. 1580) ''The Discoverie of Witchcraft'' Booke VI Ch. 1.</ref> His theory still holds some currency, but is not widely accepted, and in Daniel 2:2<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|2:2|}}</ref> {{Script/Hebrew|כָּשַׁף}} is listed alongside other magic practitioners who could interpret dreams: magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans. Suggested derivations of {{Script/Hebrew|כָּשַׁף}} include 'mutterer' (from a single root) or ''herb user'' (as a compound word formed from the roots {{Lang|he-latn|kash}}, meaning 'herb', and {{Lang|he-latn|hapaleh}}, meaning 'using'). The Greek {{Lang|grc|φαρμακεία}} literally means 'herbalist' or one who uses or administers drugs, but it was used virtually synonymously with ''[[Magic (paranormal)|mageia]]'' and ''[[Goetia|goeteia]]'' as a term for a sorcerer.{{sfnp|Dickie|2003|pp=33–35}} The Hebrew Bible provides some evidence that these commandments were enforced under the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Hebrew kings]]:
{{quote|And [[Saul]] disguised himself, and put on other [[clothing|raiment]], and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I [[prithee|pray thee]], divine unto me by the [[familiar spirit]], and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the [[Magician (paranormal)|wizards]], out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?"<ref>I Samuel 28.</ref>}}
The Hebrew verb {{lang|he|הכרית}}, translated in the [[King James Version]] as "cut off", can also be translated as "kill wholesale" or "exterminate".<ref name="StrongH3772">{{cite web |title=Strong's Hebrew Lexicon :: Strong's H3772 - kāraṯ |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3772/kjv/wlc/0-1/ |website=[[Blue Letter Bible]] |access-date=23 May 2025}}</ref>

Others point to a primitive idealist belief in a relation between bewitching and coveting, reflected in the occasional translation of the [[Tenth Commandment]] as 'Thou shalt not covet'.<ref>[http://apatheticagnostic.com/articles/reflections/ref04/ref065.html "Reflections on Ethics 65: The Tenth Commandment: The Hidden Meaning of Coveting" by Joseph Lewis (1946)], at apathetic agnostic.com, 2020.</ref> This may suggest that the prohibition related specifically to [[Maleficium (sorcery)|sorcery]] or the casting of spells to unnaturally possess something.

Some adherents of near-east religions acted as [[Mediumship|mediums]], channeling messages from the dead or from a [[familiar spirit]]. The Bible sometimes is translated as referring to "necromancer" and "[[necromancy]]" ({{bibleref|Deuteronomy|18:11|KJV}}). However, some lexicographers, including [[James Strong (theologian)|James Strong]] and Spiros Zodhiates, disagree. These scholars say that the Hebrew word ''kashaph'' (כשפ), used in Exodus 22:18 and 5 other places in the [[Tanakh]] comes from a root meaning "to whisper". Strong, therefore, concludes that the word means "to whisper a spell, ''i.e.'' to [[Incantation|incant]] or practice magic". The [[Contemporary English Version]] translates {{bibleref2|Deuteronomy|18:11|CEV}} as referring to "any kind of magic".

At the very least, older biblical prohibitions included those against '[[Magic (supernatural)|sorcery]]' to obtain something unnaturally; '[[necromancy]]' as the practice of magic or divination through demons or the dead, and any forms of malevolent '[[bewitchery]]'.