| |
|
I grabbed some stuff off the net on this a few weeks back, but never had time to do further research on it. It relates specifically to the original Hebrew words used in Deuteronomy 18 - apparently, there is some debate over the correct translation of the terms (surprise surprise). Apologies in advance for this: I know it's considered really bad form to rip stuff off other people's sites without claiming credit - I didn't copy down the URL at the time, as it was purley for my personal use. Also apologies are due for ripping stuff off and posting it with no commentary - I don't have time right now to engage in the thread properly, but I will come back to this. Thought it would be invaluable to the current discussion, which is why I've just slapped it up:
Clearly, translators have had a great deal of difficulty selecting unique English words or short phrases to match the 8 original Hebrew words:
yid'oni: Making contact with spirits (not of God).
sho'el 'ov: Making contact with the dead.
qosem q'samim: Foretelling the future by using lots or a similar system.
m'onen: Predicting the future by interpreting signs in nature.
m'nachesh: Enchanting (perhaps related to nachash, a snake).
chover chavar: Casting spells by magical knot tying.
m'khaseph: evil sorcery; using spoken spells to harm other people.
doresh 'el hametim: "One who asks the dead", probably via another method than sho'el 'ov
The reference to passing children through the fire has historically been interpreted as the ritual killing of the first born child in each family. Tribes surrounding the Israelites were believed to engage in this practice. In reality, it probably refers to a painful coming-of-age challenge that children had to endure. They would pass through the fire and (hopefully) emerge without much injury. In other traditions, they would run between two fires. This phrase has caused many people to believe that Pagans in ancient times engaged in child sacrifice. This appears to be the source of the belief among some Christians that modern day Pagans do the same thing. While we do not know what ancient Pagans did, we can be certain that modern-day Pagans do not murder children. This phrase (and many similar ones throughout the Bible) has probably contributed greatly to the public's widely held fear of ritual abuse and satanic ritual abuse.
Interpreting Deuteronomy 18 in terms of modern-day practice, it is apparent that the following are prohibited:
yid'oni: The New Age practice of channeling in which a person attempts to contact a spirit in order to gain knowledge.
sho'el 'ov: Spiritualism, in which a medium contacts the dead.
qosem q'samim: Casting stones or sticks and predicting the future by their position (e.g. I Ching, and perhaps runes, or Tarot cards).
m'onen: Foretelling the future by looking for signs in nature (e.g. predicting the harshness of a winter by looking at moss on trees, or fur thickness on animals in the wild, or whether the groundhog sees his shadow on FEB-2.)
m'nachesh: Snake charming.
chover chavar: Casting (presumably evil) spells while tying knots.
m'khaseph: Reciting evil spoken spells to injure others .
doresh 'el hametim: Any other method of contacting the dead. |
|
|
