Magic in Ancient Israel & the Hebrew Bible - Divination Necromancy Amulets and the Witch of Endor 

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"The Bible is like a library" is a great comparison and an excellent way to describe it for someone who is just getting into biblical scholarship.

If I call myself a witch my grandmother has a fit if I say I'm a Kabbalist she's okay with it (I'm Jewish) and I had a young new age rabbi talk about how there was indeed magic in the Jewish people...he made it clear that it's not through witch craft but harnessing what God has put on earth...more natural. I find all this fascinating.

Thank you so much. I have been studying and practicing Kabbalah and Hermeticism for 30 years now, and your talks are brilliant and concise! I'll be referring my students to your videos

Just finished reading the Torah and I was surprised at how wide of the mark popular representation is to the actual content and spirit of the work. It ranges from early science, philosophy, law and the history of the Israelites to census records and instructions for the priestly caste like art and sculpture. In other words, it is so obviously the product of many hands over the course of centuries that a single broad interpretation seems an opportunistic generalisation. The theme of "no gods before me" does however run through everything, resistance to assimilation after Egypt being a kind of prime directive. It makes our ability to understand underground arcane Jewish practices like drawing blood from a stone it seems

"Hold my beer!" Lol. I always wondered why the Bible always seemed anti magic, yet full of magic. This video makes so much sense.

It is interesting to hear about the forbidden practises, or dark arts - and even more amusing that noone seem to know the real meaning of the actual words. This is a very fine lecture, thank you for sharing.

This content is out of this world dude.... the information you are sharing in an articulate fashion.... this is nothing less than a paradigm shift channel. Bravo.

You just don't prohibit what people aren't doing That's a good one and a quotable quote

I was also intrigued that the witch on En Dor was such a hospitable woman and not painted a villain like someone such as baalam In that way she reminded of Circe in the sense of having powerful knowledge and could be dangerous and though in HB there’s no confrontation such as in the Oddessey I was intrigued how hospitable both Circe and the witch of en dor were

Ive never wanted a big screen tv until now. I could listen to this all day. Alternating with massage & body work videos, solitare, & many Halloween diy & movies!

This may be the one person on RU-vid I legitimately consider supporting. Great content!

Dude, you current delivery style is so much better today than it was at this time. Information is great now and then, but delivery is better. I love the way you use inflection and delay when you are sarcastically disagreeing with some concept in your newer videos. I'ma ... steal? ... that from you.

Very informative and on one of my all time favorite subjects. Please, keep up the good work!

Can you expound on the spiritual ans esoterical concepts of idol worship or idolatry and what is the hidden power behind idols and why it is so forbidden in the ancient Israelite religion?

FINALLY. i'm so glad i found your channel. have been studying this on my own and i have some questions as well. when i read Lv 20:27, the word for *witch* is "H178 --> אוֹב ʼôwb, obe; from the same as H1 (apparently through the idea of prattling a father's name); properly, a mumble, i.e. a water-skin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar):-bottle, familiar spirit." So it seems to me, one who has zero knowledge of ancient (or modern!) jewish customs etc, that a witch was someone who had a jar with a familiar spirit that mumbled. just going linguistically here. like maybe a witch had a special jar with a "spirit" trapped inside that talked? how curious. this ~looking at clouds~ thing makes me think of banning meteorology! so you can`t look at the clouds to see if it will be cold? hmmm. what is always condemned is necromancy, talking to the ~dead~, since the Bible clearly states in lots of places that death (the 1st death) is like a sleep and you have no knowledge and no way of communicating. also, what about that other infamous verse about tattooing and cutting your hair for a dead person? seems like the connection is doing something in favor of a dead person (who you can't do anything for anymore). other words for magic people used in the OT were H3049 (wizard, one who conjures ghosts), H2266, H2267, H328 (all conjurers)/ H7592 (consulter)/ H1875, H4191 (necromancer)/ H3784 (whispering witch). AND THEN in the New Testament, Galatians 5:20, magic is again condemned, but the Greek word used is pharmakeia, which is where we get pharmacy etc. SOoooo does this also mean that all commercial drugs are equally banned? now here we have a different take on witch/magic - the use of potions. would love to hear your take on this!!!

I have said it before, and I will no doubt say it again, but Dr. J - I am so grateful to have found your magical channel. Thank you!❤🇨🇦🌞👍⚡🦄

Thank you for dispelling ignorance instead of fostering hate speech 💬 Amen.

You had me at "hold my beer". I'm glad that you bring this scholarship to light.

Makes me wonder if the "belly-talking" or "ventriloquist" reference in the Greek may be what we would now refer to as "channelling", the ritual possession by the spirits of a deity or dead person.

This was awesome 🤩 Thank you for your hard work and research

Pagans would use a "speaking rune" and place it under the tongue of a corpse so that it may be able to speak. The corpse was unable to speak during a necromancy ritual if it did not have a speaking rune. Arith Harger has a youtube channel and he was speaking of this. He goes into detail on necromancy in northern pagan beliefs

I've heard it said that the famous Exodus passage is better translated as, "...suffer not a poisoner to live." Is there any truth to that?

Wow this channel is one of the Very Best.

Weren't the prophets constantly berating the Israelites for worshipping other gods?

Pretty much anything that turns you away from the Almighty is banned. This is the main reason Idolatry was forbidden

Thanks Dr Sledge for another fascinating video lecture! I was pleasantly surprised you discussed the witch of En Dor. In my history of interpretation class, we discussed several texts among the church fathers on “the Belly Myther at En Dor,” beginning with Origen, that attempt to interpret this text. It’s very interesting, though I don’t know if it’s directly beneficial for your research. The question I had while reading these texts is why did 1 Sam 28 garner so much attention among the church fathers. I think the answer I would give is because the text was so troubling to Christians reading their Bible (the LXX) in that they were catechized to rid themselves of all magic and be baptized unto Christ, but here, smack dab in the middle of their Bible, is this text that seems to condone those magical and occultic practices.

Also about Tel Arad (yes, it's one of THOSE days xD): Herzog, the archeologist who finalized and organized all the finds and reports from all excavations at the site has come to the conclusion that the temple was sealed somewhere during the 7th century BCE. Based on the nature of the sealing, as well as the fact that nothing was broken or disrespected like it was at a gate temple at Lachish, he came to the conclusion that it was done possibly by the soldiers stationed at the fort. Based on the margine of error in the dating, he also concludes it was possibly sealed during the first half of the 7th century, placing it during the time of Hesekhia (how do you spell חזקיהו in englisg I have no idea). Other archeologists (whom I forgot the name of but that notion is aggreed in both Tel Aviv and HUJI) have also came to the agreement that josiah most likely hasnt done any major religious reforms, and just like the kings of the northern Levant he was affiliating himself with the acts of his grandfather Hasi (yeah I'll name hesekiah hasi from now on xD)

Wonderful piece, as always. Thank you.

The Witch of Endor summoning an Eloheim makes me curios as that sounds similar to a Shikigami, or a ritual god summoned by Onmyojo diviners in japan. They were a familiar of sorts created from the ritual and given life from the summoners magical power, but were dangerous and could kil their master. But the conception of a Kami is very different to western gods so I'm not sure on it. It's possible this was written when YWHW was replacing El Eloheim and so Eloheim was being in a way demonized as a servant of sorcerers and necromancers.

Holy! LOL...I thought of Endor myself from Empire Strikes Back, I think, just turned 49 Dec. 28th 2023...loved those movies as a kid, Ewak's and the Redwoods, flying cycles, that I used to dream about flying then turned to any stick, and later I would have to jump off the roof the catch the air or whatever, everything had to be just right to fly, later in adult life I've been able to soar like an eagle but not much flying in the last 20 years or so....I used to love it so much...I loved flying in planes too, especially take off and landing's...so fun as a kid...

Also about the act of Linkov (לנקוב): From what I could find in the archeological record of the levant, during the middle and late bronze age (ca 2100-1200 BCE) there was a practice of stabbing clay bricks of figurines which had a name or a collection of names on them. Sometimes these clay clums had nothing scribled on them. The names listed on these artifacts are of locations or individuals, but as far as I could tell there were no gods or divine powers mentioned, of any kind. So perphaps this ban is more so a specification on a practice that was remembered from the past, and less of a ban on a practice that was done by others. In other words, it's possible the original practice was banned against all gods of the Canaabite pantheon, and the writer of the text just specified the biblical god since the rest were irrelevant

I loved this video. One thing that kinda bugged me is how Endor is combined into one word even though it really should be "En" or "Ein" Dor. Its like a town in Israel Ein Gedi. Its not Engedi, but two separate words meaning "Spring of Gedi" or the "Spring of the Goat". Kind of pedantic but I think its an important distinction since there are a decent amount of place names with "En" in the beginning. Also, any recs for a good academic study bible of both the Torah and the New Testament?

What is weather forecasting if not looking at clouds to predict the future. Quite possibly the Bible bans meteorology...

I could listen to you're knowledge all day❤

Great stuff Justin! As a Magician I find this stuff fascinating!

In a somewhat amusing parallel, there are a number of lines in the Ancient Greek comedies of Aristophanes that no Greek scholar today can understand. They are thought to be obscene jokes, but the point is lost

Berytus or Beruit Lebanon was where they practiced the law, solitude, fasting and thankfulness to attain higher degrees of inner and outer powers. Sozomen studied there.

Well spoken Dr. you are also a wonderful wordsmith...

I love the lessons and at least as dumb as I am still always get so much of your vidz.Thk You

Thank you Very much. Now I can explain to my grandson about Aaron😊

From your description of ov, I thought that meant a medium, because in a sense, they communicate like how a ventriloquist communicates thru their props. Yide oni brought to mind asking ancestors, maybe?

Great content Dr Sledge. Wait so Baalat-ob saw elohim rising from the earth, so plural.... maybe demons/aliens manifested and scared the bejasus out of old Baalat-ob. Then samuel turned up wit the bad news for saul who sounds a bit of a nob to be fair.

Jonathan Kleck says our souls r trapped in a quilipot, as seen at the feet of the statue of liberty. Others say were prisoners trapped and recycled in avatars via frequencies, now defeated.

Thnx for beautiful knowledge the divine wisdom god bless you all Amen

Shalom!

Another fantastic video by my man, The Hammer.

Thanks

Great video as always 👍

I couldn’t find the episode where you discuss the permitted Israelite magical practices such as the use of the Urim and Thumim. I first learned about it from Latter Day Saint Theologian Hugh Nibley

"None can sit on the sanhedrin unless he has knowledge of magic "

Thank you for the video. Really enjoyed watching it!

What do you mean "pass them through the fire as a type of baptism". How would the kid survive that

Absolutely brilliant, thank you for such an informative and well articulated look into this most fascinating subject!

Me: Huh, dark clouds. Looks like it's gonna rain today. The law: NO CLOUD DIVINATION

I have heard that a m’khasheifah is supposed to mean specifically a type of a woman mage, that does evil spells like you know, curses to put on cheaters for the wife’s or evil eyes. And honestly these specific types of women exist to this day because female nature gives you a lot more opportunity to use shamanic powers + women prefer to stay away from straight confrontations and physical violence. So that makes witches mostly female. I’m not saying that there was no mysoginy, but bible also has verses specifically for males who use demons for magic so I can accept this.

Interesting.

Very good.!!!

where can I buy an egyptian amulet?

I also imagined a bunch of Ewoks with the witch of endor.

"Hold my beer" lmao

Is that why folks had to travel to Temple's far.away? And worshipped at the hearth? Wiccans don't have "devils". So Ive read.

At one point you claim: "if it wasn't happening, it wouldn't be prohibited". This makes perfect sense. So, why then, does the prohibition of "Fire baptism" get a pass? Essentially- what is it about this case that makes you think they were prohibiting something that you believe wasn't happening so much at the time?

Woohoo been waiting for this! TyTy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't elohim mean a disembodied being? Like, it can be any being as long as it doesn't have a body? Not sure if I'm correct there, so I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks!

So there was no verses speaking against astrology as well??

probably the bone of a cat, gained through boiling it alive in a pot assuming that this is related to arthurian magic

So the jews did practice magic or witchcraft?

Very interesting.

Nachash as serpent seems strange the consanants particularly Thus term is used when Moses staff becomes a snake at the burning bush But I thought Tanim was used in the later story between the magicians of Egypt and Aaron It’s been a while but I got the impression Nachash is a serpent power (possibly linked to Asherah, there’s a Ugarit text referring to divination from a wizard of Asherah) It’s been a while since I looked at all this but it triggered some memories

I think ophiomancy is snake divination. Opiomancy would be getting high and making claims :D

Can we revive dead persons with magic?

I’d be so very, very dead if I’d live in any other time than this. I had a little revelation a few years ago, that the Pharisees who were observing Yeshua.. aka Jesus.. absolutely thought that he was practicing witchcraft. So that gets rocks thrown in my direction from both the Christian and the traditional religious perspective to start. But when I add in my own experiences from early childhood, including seeing the Holy Spirit as my 1st sentient awareness when I was around 21&1/2 months old, followed by far too many other supernatural things beyond that point up and through this morning.. I’d be stoned outside the city gates, thrown from Mt. Herman, or burned at the stake, undoubtedly, again and again. Just yesterday, 3/1/2022, around the hour before and after sunset, I was watching the clouds “talking”, and the thought occurred to me that it is entirely Natural for me to be supernatural.. or conversely.. perhaps I am Supernaturally simply natural. I’m sure there are numerous others, such as myself, who feel both Welcome by the Creation & Creator.. but shunned by the “Learned” ones who only see things from their own perspectives and their books and traditions. I never knew the term Aeromancy before today, but I looked it up.. and this is apparently what happens to me frequently. Sometimes I just ask an open ended question, but sometimes I just watch. The clouds seem to have a lot to say lately, particularly since 2014. Still have no clue how to “do” any of this, but it’s not about the “how” apparently. Anyway, I just want to thank you again.. and again.. for detoxifying the mystical aspects of our historical faiths and practices, whether within the Formal Monotheistic Houses or the ones within the last 1000 years or so. It’s such a blessing to hear from a mature, yet youthful and hopeful individual, things that have been lost.. stolen or misunderstood for the purposes of “purification” based often more on the perceptions of holiness.. than the Practice thereof. Much Love. Many blessings.

You have a Hebrew mistake at around minute 15. Nokev, of the root Nakav, also means to Name something. In case you read Hebrew, example sentence: בשיעור התבקשתי לנקוב בשמות ראשי הממשלה.

How relevant is all this at this current political turbulence?

To be recognized as a Rabi were you required to be Literate after the Greek occupation?

Virtual Tour In Canaanite Hall (Israel Museum): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-orvXpnKVS7I.html

"Hold my beer.." haha

I have question ..can you help me ?

Very interesting. So Jewish people have lost the connotations as well. What about astrology?

I thought that magicians can simply create illusions or do forbidden summoning but any human can perform miracles [if he is truly believing in G-d] as it said: ויאמר אלהים נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו וירדו בדגת הים ובעוף השמים ובבהמה ובכל הארץ ובכל הרמש הרמש על הארץ׃ נפשי ישובב ינחני במעגלי צדק למען שמו׃ אחת שאלתי מאת אדני אותה אבקש שבתי בבית אדני כל ימי חיי לחזות בנעם אדני ולבקר בהיכלו׃ אדני אורי וישעי ממי אירא אדני מעוז חיי ממי אפחד׃ כי אלך בגיא צלמות לא אירא רע כי אתה עמדי שבטך ומשענתך המה ינחמני׃ באו נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה לפני אדני עשנו׃ ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד אמן ואמן

Could a "yadua" be a black cat?

Ah yes, meggido. A temple complext turn city which was destroyed oh so many times by oh so many ways and reasons. Currently it destroys crime, as it's now known as one of 32 imprisonment facilities in the country

There's every chance that I've no idea whatsoever of what I'm talking about, but is there not good reason to suppose that various, if not all forms of divination might be prohibited because of their potential to do harm by misleading those for whom the operations are carried out? Any moron who's spent enough time in front of a reflective surface practising looking spooky and grave might look at the clouds and depress an entire community of already desperate people by prophecising drought in a well-practised doomsday voice. The future might be guessed at intelligently, but it's immoral to make the claim that such a guess represents absolute truth. On the other hand, creating a golem of clay with a scroll inscribed with the name of god baked into it to protect your people is arguably a noble pursuit. Does that logic stand up to scrutiny and sit fairly well with the information provided in this presentation? Maybe I'm stating the obvious? I'm not sure. I'll give it another watch after sunrise.

You don’t usually talk this fast

Does that mean the study of AI and Robotics is fine, but Meteorology is forbidden? Sheesh, had Medieval Rabbis even read Dune?

Haha those fluffy buggers

10:10 "You don't ban something people aren't doing." *looks at those overtly simple "Animals have more rights than women in these US States" memes and cite bestiality laws*

I worked in a library for seven years and studied in a religious school for nine years. Your comparison of the Bible to a library is so accurate. It gave me flashbacks of the religious section in the social sciences room. So many books, so many opinions, so few hours to absorb them all!

What abt the Tobit story in the apocrypha? Also, the Archangel Raphael also told someone how to get rid of a demon that was killing the men a woman was marrying.

The whole current bible is full of magic- there’s hoodoo in them psalms! But yet they don’t reveal the Dead Sea scrolls... now there’s the real answers...

“And with that said, hold my beard.” 😆 Lovely. Thank you so much for an understandable interpretation of these texts.

The serpent or nakash represents the enemy who came from the sky. It was common knowledge back then that the plumed serpent & the fallen ones of Genesis 6 (whom taught their human wives this type of magick along with melting metals for war etc) The Rapha or Raphaim aka the dead are the children of fallen angels that walked the earth as their fathers were the fallen ones, they were also Demi gods

I would love one episode about the different names of God, Notarikon, etc.

oh man the Ewok thing had me cracking up

I hope you don't mind my asking: why do you wear a kippah? Are you Jewish?

The algorithm dropped me here and the content doesn't disappoint. One of the things that I learned so far is that Magic or Esoterism isn't necessarily illogical but seems to be a human need to develop semi rigorous methods to wrench agency for humans from all powerful god(s) ;) I might be wrong with this first impression so I wil watch some more!

I wonder if the "passing through the fire" is in reference to "Kabbalistic" fire baptism ritual

Only recently came across your channel. Thank you so much for letting out this knowledge. I love your sense of humour. We would be mates in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 …😊

thank you very much ..excellent pace and style...Superior presentation ...not a single ah or ummm or ya know...you set the standard...and not crazy like ancient aliens...I have yet and please don't refer all this to aliens....you Dr...or Prof..or Sage. are purely academic ..you present the information without and agenda pronounced....