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 also 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>

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]]'.