Text:EBD:Witchcraft

In the popular sense of the word no mention is made either of witches or of witchcraft in Scripture. The "witch of Endor" (1 Samuel 28) was a necromancer, i.e., one who feigned to hold converse with the dead. The damsel with "a spirit of divination" (Acts 16:16) was possessed by an evil spirit, or, as the words are literally rendered, "having a spirit, a pithon." The reference is to the heathen god Apollo, who was regarded as the god of prophecy.

Bible passages

1 Samuel 15:23

1 Samuel 28

2 Kings 9:22

Micah 5:12

Nahum 3:4

Acts 16:16

Galatians 5:20

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