Imamat 19:26

Blood, Hair, and Body

19:26 “‘You must not eat anything with the blood still in it. ¹  You must not practice either divination or soothsaying. ² 

Imamat 19:31

19:31 Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits ³  to become unclean by them. I am the Lord your God.

Imamat 20:6

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums ⁴ 

20:6 “‘The person who turns to the spirits of the dead and familiar spirits ⁵  to commit prostitution by going after them, I will set my face ⁶  against that person and cut him off from the midst of his people.

Imamat 20:27

Prohibition against Spiritists and Mediums

20:27 “‘A man or woman who ⁷  has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit ⁸  must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; ⁹  their blood guilt is on themselves.’”

Ulangan 18:10-11

18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, ¹⁰  anyone who practices divination, ¹¹  an omen reader, ¹²  a soothsayer, ¹³  a sorcerer, ¹⁴  18:11 one who casts spells, ¹⁵  one who conjures up spirits, ¹⁶  a practitioner of the occult, ¹⁷  or a necromancer. ¹⁸ 

Ulangan 18:1

Provision for Priests and Levites

18:1 The Levitical priests ¹⁹  – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. ²⁰ 

1 Samuel 28:3

28:3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown. ²¹  In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums ²²  and magicians ²³  from the land.

1 Samuel 28:9

28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed ²⁴  the mediums and magicians ²⁵  from the land! Why are you trapping me ²⁶  so you can put me to death?”

Yesaya 19:3

19:3 The Egyptians will panic, ²⁷ 

and I will confuse their strategy. ²⁸ 

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ²⁹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 8:9-11

8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic ³⁰  and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, ³¹  from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” ³²  8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.

Kisah Para Rasul 16:16-19

Paul and Silas Are Thrown Into Prison

16:16 Now ³³  as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. ³⁴  She ³⁵  brought her owners ³⁶  a great profit by fortune-telling. ³⁷  16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, ³⁸  “These men are servants ³⁹  of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way ⁴⁰  of salvation.” ⁴¹  16:18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, ⁴²  and turned ⁴³  and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ ⁴⁴  to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. ⁴⁵  16:19 But when her owners ⁴⁶  saw their hope of profit ⁴⁷  was gone, they seized ⁴⁸  Paul and Silas and dragged ⁴⁹  them into the marketplace before the authorities.

Kisah Para Rasul 19:19

19:19 Large numbers ⁵⁰  of those who had practiced magic ⁵¹  collected their books ⁵²  and burned them up in the presence of everyone. ⁵³  When ⁵⁴  the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins. ⁵⁵ 

Galatia 5:20

5:20 idolatry, sorcery, ⁵⁶  hostilities, ⁵⁷  strife, ⁵⁸  jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, ⁵⁹  factions,

Wahyu 22:15

22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers ⁶⁰  and the sexually immoral, and the murderers, and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood! ⁶¹ 

[19:26]  ¹ tn Heb “You shall not eat on the blood.” See the extensive remarks in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 319-20, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 132-33. The LXX has “on the mountains,” suggesting that this is a prohibition against illegitimate places and occasions of worship, not the eating of blood.

[19:26]  ² tn Heb “You shall not practice divination and you shall not practice soothsaying”; cf. NRSV “practice augury or witchcraft.” For suggestions regarding the practices involved see B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 133, and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 320.

[19:31]  ³ sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.

[20:6]  ⁴ sn For structure and coherence in Lev 20:6-27 see the note on v. 27 below.

[20:6]  ⁵ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirits” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “I will give my faces.”

[20:27]  ⁷ tc Smr, LXX, Syriac, and some Targum mss have the relative pronoun אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who, which”), rather than the MT’s כִּי (ki, “for, because, that”).

[20:27]  ⁸ tn See the note on the phrase “familiar spirit” in Lev 19:31 above.

[20:27]  ⁹ tn This is not the most frequently-used Hebrew verb for stoning, but a word that refers to the action of throwing, slinging, or pelting someone with stones (see the note on v. 2 above). Smr and LXX have “you [plural] shall pelt them with stones.”

[20:27]  sn At first glance Lev 20:27 appears to be out of place but, on closer examination, one could argue that it constitutes the back side of an envelope around the case laws in 20:9-21, with Lev 20:6 forming the front of the envelope (note also that execution of mediums and spiritists by stoning in v. 27 is not explicitly stated in v. 6). This creates a chiastic structure: prohibition against mediums and spiritists (vv. 6 and 27), variations of the holiness formula (vv. 7 and 25-26), and exhortations to obey the Lord’s statutes (and judgments; vv. 8 and 22-24). Again, in the middle are the case laws (vv. 9-21).

[18:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.

[18:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.

[18:10]  ¹² tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).

[18:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).

[18:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.

[18:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a binder of binding” (חֹבֵר חָבֶר, khover khaver). The connotation is that of immobilizing (“binding”) someone or something by the use of magical words (cf. Ps 58:6; Isa 47:9, 12).

[18:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “asker of a [dead] spirit” (שֹׁאֵל אוֹב, sho’el ’ov). This is a form of necromancy (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).

[18:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a knowing [or “familiar”] [spirit]” (יִדְּעֹנִי, yiddÿ’oniy), i.e., one who is expert in mantic arts (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3).

[18:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).

[18:1]  ¹⁹ tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.

[18:1]  ²⁰ sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.

[28:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”

[28:3]  ²² tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).

[28:3]  ²³ sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.

[28:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “how he has cut off.”

[28:9]  ²⁵ tn See the note at v. 3.

[28:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my life.”

[19:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”

[19:3]  ²⁸ tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.

[19:3]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.

[8:9]  ³⁰ tn On the idiom προϋπῆρχεν μαγεύων (prouphrcen mageuwn) meaning “had been practicing magic” see BDAG 889 s.v. προϋπάρχω.

[8:10]  ³¹ tn Grk “all of them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ³² tn Or “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” The translation “what is called the Great Power of God” is given by BDAG 263 s.v. δύναμις 5, but the repetition of the article before καλουμένη μεγάλη (kaloumenh megalh) suggests the translation “the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”

[16:16]  ³³ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[16:16]  ³⁴ tn Or “who had a spirit of divination”; Grk “who had a spirit of Python.” According to BDAG 896-97 s.v. πύθων, originally Πύθων (Puqwn) was the name of the serpent or dragon that guarded the Delphic oracle. According to Greek mythology, it lived at the foot of Mount Parnassus and was killed by Apollo. From this, the word came to designate a person who was thought to have a spirit of divination. Pagan generals, for example, might consult someone like this. So her presence here suggests a supernatural encounter involving Paul and her “spirit.” W. Foerster, TDNT 6:920, connects the term with ventriloquism but states: “We must assume, however, that for this girl, as for those mentioned by Origen…, the art of ventriloquism was inseparably connected with a (supposed or authentic) gift of soothsaying.” It should also be noted that if the girl in question here were only a ventriloquist, the exorcism performed by Paul in v. 18 would not have been effective.

[16:16]  ³⁵ tn Grk “who.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who had a spirit…who brought her owners a great profit”) the relative pronoun here (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“she”) and a new sentence begun in the translation.

[16:16]  ³⁶ tn Or “masters.”

[16:16]  ³⁷ tn On this term see BDAG 616 s.v. μαντεύομαι. It was used of those who gave oracles.

[16:17]  ³⁸ tn Grk “crying out, saying”; the participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant in English and has not been translated. The imperfect verb ἔκραζεν (ekrazen) has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[16:17]  ³⁹ tn Grk “slaves.” See the note on the word “servants” in 2:18. The translation “servants” was used here because in this context there appears to be more emphasis on the activity of Paul and his companions (“proclaiming to you the way of salvation”) than on their status as “slaves of the Most High God.”

[16:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “a way.” The grammar of this phrase is a bit ambiguous. The phrase in Greek is ὁδὸν σωτηρίας (Jodon swthria"). Neither the head noun nor the genitive noun has the article; this is in keeping with Apollonius’ Canon (see ExSyn 239-40). Since both nouns are anarthrous, this construction also fits Apollonius’ Corollary (see ExSyn 250-54); since the genitive noun is abstract it is most naturally qualitative, so the head noun could either be definite or indefinite without being unusual as far as the grammar is concerned. Luke’s usage of ὁδός elsewhere is indecisive as far as this passage is concerned. However, when one looks at the historical background it is clear that (1) the woman is shut up (via exorcism) not because her testimony is false but because of its source (analogous to Jesus’ treatment of demons perhaps), and (b) “the way” is a par excellence description of the new faith throughout Acts. It thus seems that at least in Luke’s presentation “the way of salvation” is the preferred translation.

[16:17]  ⁴¹ sn Proclaiming to you the way of salvation. The remarks were an ironic recognition of Paul’s authority, but he did not desire such a witness, possibly for fear of confusion. Her expression the Most High God might have been understood as Zeus by the audience.

[16:18]  ⁴² tn Grk “becoming greatly annoyed.” The participle διαπονηθείς (diaponhqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. The aorist has been translated as an ingressive aorist (entry into a state or condition). See BDAG 235 s.v. διαπονέομαι.

[16:18]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and turning.” The participle ἐπιστρέψας (epistreya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[16:18]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 1102-3 s.v. ὥρα 2.c has “at that very time, at once, instantly” for the usage in this verse.

[16:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “masters.”

[16:19]  ⁴⁷ tn On this use of ἐργασία (ergasia), see BDAG 390 s.v. 4. It is often the case that destructive practices and commerce are closely tied together.

[16:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “was gone, seizing.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[16:19]  ⁴⁹ tn On the term ἕλκω ({elkw) see BDAG 318 s.v. 1.

[19:19]  ⁵⁰ tn BDAG 472 s.v. ἱκανός 4.a has “many, quite a few” for ἱκανοί (Jikanoi) in this verse.

[19:19]  ⁵¹ tn On this term see BDAG 800 s.v. περίεργος 2.

[19:19]  ⁵² tn Or “scrolls.”

[19:19]  ⁵³ tn Or “burned them up publicly.” L&N 14.66 has “‘they brought their books together and burned them up in the presence of everyone’ Ac 19:19.”

[19:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “and when.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[19:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “fifty thousand silver drachmas” (about $10,000 US dollars). BDAG 128 s.v. ἀργύριον 2.c states, “ἀργυρίου μυριάδας πέντε 50,000 (Attic silver) drachmas Ac 19:19.” Another way to express the value would be in sheep: One drachma could buy one sheep. So this many drachmas could purchase a huge flock of sheep. A drachma also equals a denarius, or a day’s wage for the average worker. So this amount would be equal to 50,000 work days or in excess of 8,300 weeks of labor (the weeks are calculated at six working days because of the Jewish cultural context). The impact of Christianity on the Ephesian economy was considerable (note in regard to this the concerns expressed in 19:26-27).

[5:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[22:15]  ⁶⁰ tn On the term φάρμακοι (farmakoi) see L&N 53.101.

[22:15]  ⁶¹ tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”