MAGIC, DIVINATION, AND SORCERY MAGIC, DIVINATION, AND SORCERY

tion are regarded in Scripture; nevertheless we find it recorded, without any adverse comment, that Daniel was made head of the ' wise men ■ of Babylon — although these included magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and 'Chaldseans' — (Dn 2'- "); and that the wise men (Mt 2') were Tnagi. (See Grimm-Thayer's Lex. p. 385.) In explanation it may be said that reliance upon divination is a moral evil in proportion to the rehgious Ught vouchsafed to the individuals concerned; and God accommodated the methods of His teaching to the condition of those to whom He revealed Himself. General course of the history of magic and divina-tion in Israel.— Several sources can be traced from which the IsraeUtes derived their magical arts, and different periods are apparent at which these influences were felt, (a) From patriarchal times up to Israel's contact with Assyria, most of their occult arts were the outcome of the beliefs common to Semitic peoples. Although their sojourn in Egypt brought them into contact with a civiUzed nation which greatly practised divination and sorcery, we cannot trace any sign that they borrowed many magical arts from the Egyptians at that time. In this early period of IsraeUtish history we find divination by teraphim, the interpretation of dreams, and necromancy, besides the authorized means of inquiry of God. The very earliest legislation enacts that witchcraft shall be punished by death (Ex 22'8 [JE]); and we read that Saul put to death 'those that had familiar spirits and the wizards' (IS 28^).

(b) Under the influence of the Assyrian advance south-ward, the small States of Palestine were driven into closer relations with one another, owing to the necessity of united opposition to the common foe. This was prejudicial to religion, through its rendering Israel more tolerant towards the gods of their alUes (.e.g. the worship of the Phoenician Baal, fostered by Ahab), and by its favouring the introduction of methods of magic and divination in use among their neighbours (cf. Is 2', Jer 10^). This evil tendency was encouraged by Manasseh (2 K 21=), but in the reformation of Josiah, idolatry, vritchcraft, and the use of teraphim were suppressed (2 K 23") in accordance with Dt 18">-« (D).

(c) The Captivity brought Israel into contact with a much more fully developed system of magic and divina-tion than they had known before. In Babylon, not only were illicit magical practices widely indulged in, but the use of such arts was recognized by their being entrusted to a privileged class (Dn 2^). The oflScials are here denominated 'magicians' (chartummlm, scribes who were acquainted with occult arts), 'enchanters' ('ashshaphlm, prob. a Bab. word meaning 'those who used conjurations,' but its derivation is uncertain), ' sorcerers ' (mekashshepMm, in its root-meaning perhaps indicating those who mixed ingredients for magical purposes [LXX pharmakoi], but this is not certain), and 'Chaldaeans' (.kasdlm, a name which, from being a national designation, had come to mean those who were skilled in the occult lore of Babylonia and could interpret dreams). Recent discoveries have revealed that the Babylonians believed in a vast number of demons who could be compelled by proper spells; also they practised astrology (Is 47'2- "), augury from the inspection of victims (Ezk 21^'), the tying of magic knots, and the designation of fortunate and unfavourable days.

(d) Egyptian influences were strongly felt in the century before, and the one following, the Christian era. The Mishna shows the presence of a very strong tendency to occult sciences, and in the NT we find examples of Jews who practised them in Simon Magus (Ac 8') and Elymas (13*). Among the Alexandrian Jews, and later by the Alexandrian Gnostics, magic was much^sed, and the name of Jehovah in various forms en^pd into their spells and the inscriptions upon tbeirr^mulets. Books of incantations, reputed

to have been the work of Solomon, were extant, and the Babylonian Talmud is full of superstition (SchUrer, HJP II. iii. 152). Such books and charms were burnt at Ephesus when their owners became Christians (Ac 19"). So celebrated was Ephesus for its magic, that 'Ephesian letters' was a common name for amulets made of leather, wood, or metal on which a magic spell was written (Farrar, St. Paul, ii. 26).

A. Distinguishing divination, in which prominence is given to the desire to know the future, from magic, which has for its object power to do something by super-natural aid, we have now to inquire into the modes of divination and magic which appear in the Scriptures.

Forms of divination mentioned in the Bible, — (a) The casting of lots. — The casting of lots was founded on the beUef that God would so direct the result as to indicate His will (Pr 16'3). It was employed: (1) In crises in national history and in individual lives. Most scholars consider that the phrase 'enquire of God' refers to the use of TTrim and Thummim, which seems to have been of the nature of drawing lots. This occurs in the arrangements for the conquest of Canaan (Jg 1'). in the campaign against the Benjamites (20"), in David's uncertainty after the death of Saul (2 S 2'), and in war (5"- 23). The Phoenicians cast lots to discover the cause of the tempest (Jon 1'). — (2) In criminal investiga-tion. It was employed to discover the wrongdoer in the cases of Achan (Jos 7") and Jonathan (1 S 14". «). — (3) In ritual. Lots were cast in reference to the scape-goat (Lv 16*). Two goats were brought, and lots were cast; ong^goat was offered as a sin-offering, and the other was sent away into the wilderness. — (4) In dividing the land of Canaan (Nu 26" 33" 34", Jos 21'- «• »). — (5) In selecting men for special duties : the election of Saul (1 S 102»), the choice of the men to attack Gibeah (Jg 20»), the division of duties among the priests (1 Ch 24').

In moat cases the method of casting the lot is not stated. Several ways were in use among the Israelites, some of which were directly sanctioned by God as a means of Divine guidance suited to the degree of religious kno-wledge attained by the people at the time. The following methods can be distinguished: —

(i.) By Urim and Thummim. Although not certain, it is believed by most scholars that the Unm and Thtimmim were two stones which were carried in a pouch under the breastplate of the priest, and which were drawn out as lots (see Hastings' DB s.v. 'Urim and Thunamim'). In con-nexion with this the ephod is mentioned. In some passages this evidently means a priestly dress (e.g. 1 S 2^^ 22^8)^ but in other references it is considered by some to have been an image of gold representing Jehovah (Jg S'"- " 18" [see Harperj Amos and Hosea, p. 2211) or the gold sheathing of an image (Is 30^), although in this passage some understand it as being a garment. The use of the ephod in connexion with the Urim and Thummim is not known. The employment of the Urim and Thummim for consulting God disappeared before the clearer guidance received through the inspired prophets. Apparently it had ceased by the time of Israel's return from the Captivity (Ezr 2^). Inquiry respecting the future was also made of heathen deities (2K P^-), and their responses were prob-ably given by the drawing of lots.

(ii.) By belomancy and in other ways. The word Qdsam (which is specially applied to the drawing of lots as with headless arrows) is used of divination generally and fre-quently translated 'to divine.' It is generally referred to unfavourably (except Pr 16'"). Arrows are once specified as the means by which the lot was cast (Ezk 212i- ^). This practice is f otmd among the Arabs, and was also used in Babylonia. Arrows with the alternatives written upon them were shaken in a quiver at a sanctuary, and the first to fall out was taken as conveying the decision of the god. Nebuchadnezzar is represented as deciding in this manner his line of march (Ezk 21^), and, as the result of casting the lot, holding in his hand 'the divination Jerusalem,' i.e. the arrow with 'Jerusalem' written upon it (see Driver, Deut. p. 224).

Without any indication of the method of divination, operations denoted by the word qesem appear among the Aloabites (Balaam, Nu 232^, payment being made for the service, 22'), among the Philistines (18 6"), and among

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