CHAP.VI.
That divers places in Scripture have been mis-translated thereby to uphold this horrid Opinion of the Devils Omnipotency, and the Power of Witches, when there is not one word that signifieth a familiar Spirit or a Witch in that sense that is vulgarly intended.
Wier.l.2.p.89.
A Candle in the dark, p. 10.
The Question of Witchcraft debated, p. 1. &c.
Concerning the words in the Hebrew and Greek, that are commonly alledged to prove these things, they have been wrested and drawn to uphold these Tenents by those Translators that had imbibed these Opinions, and so instead of following the true and genuine signification of the words, they haled them to make good a preconceived Opinion, and did not simply and plainly render them as they ought to have been. Which hath been observed by divers, especially byWierus, who got the learnedMasius(a great Hebrician) to interpret them, of which he hath given a full account, which was followed by Mr.Scot. As also Mr.Ady, who hath perfectly rendred them according to the Translation ofJuniusandTremellius, and likewise Mr.Wagstaffhath prettily opened the most of them. So that our attempt here might seem to be superfluous and unnecessary, and may be condemned of arrogance and vain confidence. To which we reply, That it is far from us to compare our selves with those Learned men that were Masters of the Hebrew and Greek Tongues, being in comparison but a Smatterer in those Languages, yet have in our younger years both studied and taught them to others, and as far as we undertake, we hope we need not fear the censure of the most rigid Critick; intending to note some things that others have omitted, and to handle them to the full, which others have but done briefly. And this we shall prosecute in this order.
Deut. 18. 10.
1. We shall take the words in the same order as they are recited inDeuteronomy, and the first mentioned is in these words:There shall not be found among you that maketh his son or his daughter topass through the fire. Now here we shall not enter upon that great Dispute, whether they really burned and sacrificed by burning their children unto Moloch, or that they only dedicated them to that Idol, by making them pass through the fire; but examine the reasons, why those that practised this kind of Idolatry are ranked amongst the Diviners or Witches, and were to have the same punishment, seeing it is no where mentioned, that these used any kind of Divination at all, and these we conceive to be the chief.
Reas. 1.
Vers. 14, 15.
1. The Lord had promised his People to raise them up a Prophet from amongst their Brethren like untoMoses, and that therefore they should hear him, and not go after other Gods or Idols. And therefore he sent them many and divers Prophets, of whom they were to inquire: so likewise they gave the Priest order to inquire byUrimandThummim, by which he gave answers, and therefore they were to hearken to his Ordinances, and not to follow after other strange Gods: For the Nations that he cast out had hearkened unto Observers of times and Diviners, but they were not to do so. And though these that caused their children to pass through the fire untoMoloch, used not Divinations, yet it was a wicked and abominable Ceremony, and the use and end of it to lead the people to Idolatry, and therefore is reckoned amongst the rest.
Reas. 2.
Prov. 16. 10.
Isa. 3. 2.
Exod. 22. 20.
2. They are solely condemned, because the end of all their Divinations and their other Feats, were only to draw and lead the people to Idolatry, and to serve other Gods. For it is manifest, that all ways and sorts of Divination were not in themselves evil and unlawful, for else Astronomy it self, that foretels the Entrance of the Sun and Moon into such Signs, and when Eclipses will happen, and the like, should be forbidden too, but they were not: so that the chief reason why they were condemned, wassub ratione finis, non medii, in regard of the end, and not of the means used, because all their Divinations, and other Arts, Crafts, or Feats, whether performed by natural or artificial means, or otherwise, had still for their chief and principal end the leading of the people unto Idolatry, and the serving of other Gods, which was above all things abominable and hateful unto God, who is a jealous God, and will not give his glory to graven Images. And therefore all Idol-Priests, or those that lead the people to Idolatry, are in the Scripture-sense Witches, Diviners, and the like. And that all Divinations were not forbidden, is most clear from that ofSolomon, asArias Montanustranslates it:Divinatio super labiis regis: and that ofIsaiah, where the Lord threateneth to take away the staff and stay ofJerusalem, that is, the mighty man, and the man of war, the Judge, the Prophet, and the prudent,Divinum, sive Sagacem. For it is the same word, and from the same rootקָסַםDivinavit: For asAvenarius,Schindler, and others say,Est verbum medium, nam modò in bonam, modò in malam partem accipitur, of whichTremelliussaith this:Sagacitas, id est, consultissima prudentia in rebus dijudicandis, præcavendis, & veluti addivinandis: nam voxHebræa media est sive anceps, quæ non tantùm in malam partem accipitur, sed etiam in bonam. Therefore was the Law so strict, that if any sacrificed unto any other God, save unto the Lord only, he was utterly to be destroyed, much more those that lead and incited the people to serve and sacrifice unto other strange Gods, were to be rooted out.
2. Is the word we have named before, to wit,קֹסֵם קְסָמִים,Kosem Kesamim, Divinans divinationes: which, as we have shewed before, was takenin bonam & malam partem, and is by the Septuagint fitly rendredμαντευόμενος μαντειανvaticinans vaticinium, and is almost with all Translators rendred in that sense and propriety: so that we need not complain, that it is one of them that is mis-translated; but concerning it, we may note these things.
1 Sam. 6. 1, 2. 3, 7, 8, 9.
Hos. 4. 12. Ezek. 21. 21.
1. That there were and are almost innumerable ways, whereby men have undertaken to Divine and foretel things to come, some of which were by lawful means and ways, as all prudent, sagacious, and experienced men have done, and may do. Some by vain, trivial, foolish, and groundless ways, as by the flying of birds, their noise and motion, and so of beasts, by casting lots, dice, and the like, which have no causality or efficiency in them at all to declare things to come, but were meerly vain and superstitious, with which the Heathen World doth still abound, and they are not yet totally eradicated from amongst Christians. The most foolish of which was this, That when the Philistins had kept the Ark of the Lord seven months, they called the Priests and the Diviners, to know what to do with it, and they advised them not to send it away empty, but to send five golden Emerods and five golden Mice, and to take a new Cart and two Milch-kine, upon which there had com’d no yoke, and to tye them to the Cart, and to bring their Calves home from them, and to lay the Ark in the Cart, and the Jewels of Gold to be put in a Coffer by, thinking that if they went up towardsBeth-shemeshthat was the Israelites Coast, that if they did so, then it was he that smote them, otherwise that it was but a chance that happened unto them. And this in respect of the Priests and Diviners was only a casual conjecture at Random, though God in his Providence did order it according to his Divine Wisdom for the best. Like unto this was that mentioned by the Prophet, aConsulter with his staff, as also that ofEzekiel:For the King of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, (Teraphim) he looked in the liver. And besides these there were others that pretended Visions and Revelations from their Gods or Idols; but how far either Idols, or Devils, or their Priests could truly foretel things to come, is very doubtful and hard to determine, of which we shall have occasion to speak hereafter.
2. We are to note, that though there were never so many ways of Divination used, and whether the means used to predict by,were natural or supernatural, lawful or unlawful, frivolous and superstitious, or taken upon sound and rational grounds, yet were they all wicked and abominable, because they were used to withdraw the people from those Ordinances that God had appointed to give answers by, and to lead the people to inquire of vain and lying Idols, and their Priests, and thereby to commit Idolatry; and so whatsoever the means were, the end was wicked and damnable.
Psal. 115. 4, &c.
Jer. 14. 14.
1 Cor. 8. 4.
Vid. Dr. Hammond. in loc.
Isa. 41. 23.
Jer. 10. 5.
3. Moreover, what answers soever the Priests forged and gave (for it is manifest, that the Idols gave none at all;for they had mouths and spake not, ears and heard not, eyes and saw not, feet and walked not, neither was there breath in their nostrils) were nothing but lyes and conjectures of their own devising, and there an Idol in the Hebrew is sometimes styledאֱלִילnihilum, and therefore saith the Prophet:The Prophets prophesie lyes in my Name, I sent them not, neither have I commanded them. They prophesie unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.Unto which the Apostle alludeth, when he saith:We know that an Idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.That is, that an Idol taken abstractively, without regard to the matter of which it was made, as gold, silver, stone, wood, or the like, which were natural substances, or respect to the figure or shape which was artificial, and the work of the Work-man, it was plainly nothing, and had no real existence as a God or Idol, but only in the Phantasies and minds of the blinded Worshippers; for it neither could truly foretel, nor act any thing of it self, but all that was done, was the lyes and inventions of the Priests that served them, and got their living by that villanous and lying trade. For God by the mouth of his Prophet doth set down the true difference of the true God, that could infallibly foretel and declare things that were to come, from the false Gods and Idols, and doth challenge them in this manner:Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are Gods: yea do good or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. From whence it is plain, that the onlyκριτήριονto distinguish betwixt the Divinations that are given forth by the Spirit of God in his Prophets or Apostles is, that they are plain, certain, and infallible, and the event never faileth to answer the Prediction, but those that are given forth by Satan and his juggling and lying Ministers, are always ambiguous, doubtful, and perplex, and evermore deceive such as trust in them, as was manifest in Ahab, when all the false Prophets bade him go up toRamoth Gilead, and prosper, yet there was he slain. And as they never truly foretel things to come, so neither can the Idols do good or evil: all that is, or ever was done, was performed only by the cunning, confederacy, and juggling of the knavish and deceitful Priests; and therefore the Prophet admonisheth Gods people not to be afraid of them;For they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Deut. 13. 1, 2, 3.
4. We are to note, that if a Sign or Wonder foretold do come to pass, we have no Warrant to ascribe the bringing of it to pass either to Devil or Witch, for the Lord telleth us this:If there arise among you a Prophet or a Dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder. And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying; Let us go after other Gods (which thou hast not known) and let us serve them: Thou shalt not hearken to the words of that Prophet or that Dreamer of dreams: For the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.So that what Divinations or Predictions soever be foretold by any, or what signs or wonders soever be brought to pass, if the persons that work or foretel them, perswade us to serve other Gods, or go to seduce us to Idolatry, we are not to follow them, but are to know that by them the Lord doth prove us, to try if we love him with all our heart, or not. And if there were no other means to distinguish a true Miracle from a false, yet were this infallibly sufficient to instruct and direct us.
5. We may note, that of all the several sorts of Divinations pretended, and of all the acceptations of this Hebrew word in all the Bible, there is nothing that doth imply any such kind of killing Witch, as is commonly imagined, nor none such as make a visible League with the Devil, nor upon whose bodies he sucketh, or hath carnal copulation with them, nor no such as are really changed into Cats, Hares, Wolves, or Dogs; which was the thing we undertook to prove.
3. The next word we are to consider, isעֹנֵן,whichAvenarius,Schindlerus,Buxtorsius, and Mr.Goodwindo derive fromעֹנֵןobnubilavit, nubem obduxit, item præstigiis usus est. From whence we may note these things.
Vid. Polyglot. in loc.
1. That the most of all the Translators do some render it by one word, and some by another, that no certainty can be gathered from them at all, as though it did signifie divers and many sorts of these kinds of Augury, Divinations, or juggling Feats, when in reason we cannot but suppose that it only comprehended some one sort, and not so many as the Translators do ascribe to it. The Septuagint render it for the most partκληδονιζόμενος, sometimesαποφθεγγόμενος, and sometimesὀρνιθοσκοπήσεθε, which are all of different derivations and significations; some others render it other ways, as,neq; auspicabimini, neq; observabitis horas, ne vaticinemini, ne ominemini, nec observet somnia & auguria, nec qui exercet Astrologiam, &c.Now from such a diversity no man is able to draw a positive certainty.
2. They do not keep to one word appropriate to the Hebrew, which if they had not forgotten themselves, they would have done, and not left it uncertain. ForArias Montanusin the 19. ofLeviticus,vers.26. renders it,neq; præstigiabamini, and in the 2. ofIsaiah,vers.6. translates it,augures sicut Philistim. InIsa.57. 3.he calleth themFilii Auguratricis. And in the 27. ofJeremiah,v.9.Et ad Augures vestros.AlsoMicah5. 11. he renders itPræstigiatores. Now what great difference there is betwixt any sort of Augury, and Juggling, or Leger-de-main, is known to any of indifferent reading. And the rest of the Translators are far more wild, and more wide. AndJuniusandTremellius, who of all others, one might have thought would have been more circumspect, yet fall into the same incertitude; for in Deut. 18. 10. he renders itPlanetarius, but in the place before-cited inLeviticus, they render it,neq; utemini præstigiis, though in the Margent they mend it, with this note,neq; ex nubibus conjicite, vel ne temporis observationi plus æquo tribuite. AndIsa.2. 6.Et præstigiatores sunt ut Polischtæi.
Vid.Jo. Wier. de mag. Jus.c.1.p.91.
Of Divin.lib.4.cap.10.p.183.
3. But if there be any certainty in adhering to the primitive signification of the Hebrew root, that plainly intendethobnubilavit, that it is without question most safe and genuine to translate it Planetarius, to which the most learnedAndreas Masius(as he is quoted byWierus) doth incline in these words:Veteres Hebræorum dicunt id verbum ad eos propriè pertinere, qui temporum momenta superstitiosè observant, atq; alia fausta rebus gerendis, alia infausta præscribunt. To which agreeth Mr.Thomas Goodwin, saying: “But of all I approve those who derive it fromעִנֵּןa Cloud, as if the Original signified properly a Planetary, or Stargazer.”
4. But however thus far there is no word found, that signifieth a Witch in the sense we have laid down, nor any such person that hath a real familiar Spirit, either in them, or attending upon them, ready visibly to appear at their beck, this is not yet to be found out.
5. The next isוּמְנַחֵשׁfrom the rootנִחֵשׁ,nichesch, auguratus est, observavit, augurium fecit, which our English Translators have erroneously rendred an Inchanter, which it no way signifieth, nor hath any relation unto, having in the next verse named a Charmer, as though Enchanter and Charmer were not all one, when the word plainly (as Mr.Goodwinand the learnedMasiusdo confess) importeth an Augur or Sooth-sayer: That is, such an one, who out of his own experience draweth observations of good or evil to come: of which we may note these things.
1. The most of all the Translations given us in thePolyglot, do render the Hebrew word byauguratus est, and so understand it to be an Augur or Sooth-sayer, a Conjecturer, or an Observer, from whatsoever it be that he taketh his observations, as from the flying noise or motion of birds or beasts, looking into their entrails, and the like, and from thence taking upon them to foretel good or evil to come, or what was hidden and secret.
2. The Hebrew word, is by the Septuagint rendredοἰώνισμα,Augurium, Auspicium, that is, an Augur, an Observer, or a Conjecturer, whichLuthertranslateth:eyn de vp Voegell geschrey achte.And in the Low Dutch Bible it is rendred agreeable thereto; and the French render itaux Oiseaux, from the wordOiseau,Avis, Volucris; and the Italians render itAuguropista, which are all to one purpose, and no difference at all, and so the gross mistake of our English Translators is most apparent, that make it to be an Inchanter or Charmer, to which it hath no relation at all.
Gen. 30. 27.
Gen. 44. 5, 15.
3. This Hebrew word is takenin bonam partem, heedfully to consider, mark, or observe, asLabansaid, when he laboured to stayJacobfrom going from him:I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. So that thoughLaban’s heart was not upright towardJacob, nor he a sincere Worshipper of the God of the Jews; yet so far had the Lord convinced him, by the faithful and industrious service ofJacobthat he had experienced, and by tryal found that the Lord had blessed him forJacob’s sake. And the same word is used, whenJosephsaid:Is not this the cup wherein my Lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth, or maketh tryal?And again:Know ye not, that such a man as I can certainly divine, or make tryal?And thoughPereriushath made a large Dispute about this matter, and reciteth the Opinions of many Authors concerning it; yet it is manifest, thatJosephknew his Brethren before, and had caused the Cup to be put intoBenjaminsSack, and that all this was but done in a just and prudent way, the better to prepare his Brethren for his revealing of himself unto them, and so had reference to no unlawful conjecturing at all, though it was plain, that he had the special gift from God of interpreting of Dreams, and foretelling of things that were to come.
4. It is too hard a task to enumerate all the several ways that the Heathens used, by observation to foretel things to come, and more difficult so declare all the subjects from whence they gathered the signs of their Predictions. The chiefest that the oldRomansused, wereAugurium quasi Avigerium dictum, vel Avigarium, ab avium scilicet garritu quem auspicantes observabant: And soAuspicium, quasi Avispecium, ab avibus spectandis. And these observations were taken, either from the feeding, flying, or noise of the birds. So they had theirHaruspices,Harioli, andHaruspicina, which was derivedab haruga, hostia, ab hara in qua concluditur & servatur.
Matth. 16. 2, 3.
Luke 12. 54.
5. But all these sorts of Observations, Guessings, and Conjectures may be considered these three ways. 1. Some of them are natural, rational, and legal; as is the Prognostick part of the Art of Medicine, Political Predictions of the change, fall, and ruine of Kingdoms, States, and Empires. Some Civil taken from the course and carriage of men, as when one seeth a rich young Heir that followeth nothing but vice, luxury, and all sorts of debauchery, it is easie to foretel that his end will be beggery and misery. Some from the due observation of beasts and fowls, which livesub dio, may easily conjecture the alteration of the weather. And so by observingthe change, or colour of the Stars and Planets, the Clouds and Elements, may easily foretel the change of weather. And we find that these predictions from the Signs gathered from natural causes, are not condemned by our Blessed Saviour, who saith:When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the skie is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather to day, for the skie is red, and lowring.And again:When ye see a cloud rise out of the West, straightway ye say, there cometh a showre, and so it is. And when ye see the South wind blow, ye say, there will be heat, and it cometh to pass.2. There are some conjectures that are false, groundless, and superstitious, as were, and are all the predictions taken from the feeding, flying or noise of Fowls, or the signs appearing in the intrails of Beasts; for in all such like, there is no connexion betwixt the cause and effect, and they therefore are false and vain, and this was one of the reasons why they were forbidden amongst the Jews. 3. There were some that in regard of their use and end were wicked and Idolatrous, and in this respect all divinations and predictions are wicked and unlawful, if they be used (as was and is yet among the Heathen) to lead the people unto, or confirm them in, the worship of Idols, and false Gods. And from all this it appeareth, that yet we can find no proper or fit word for such a kind of Witch whose existence we have denied and are disproving.
5. The next word in this place ofDeuteronomyisוּמְכַשֵּׁףUmechascheph,which our Translators render a Witch, but in what sense or propriety, I think few can conjecture, for it comes from the Hebrew root,כֹּשֵּׁףCoscheph, whichAvenariusrendreth,Fascinavit, effascinavit, butSchindlerustranslates it,Præstigias, maleficia aut magiam exercuit, mutavit aliquid naturale ad aspectum oculi, ut aliud appareat quàm est. And byBuxtorsiusit is rendred,Præstigiæ, and the derivations from it through the whole Old Testament, which is the most certain propriety of the word, as these following considerations will make manifest.
Chap. 7. 11, 22.
Chron. 2. 33. 6.
2 Kings 9. 22.
1. That the most of the Translators in rendering this word whether in this place, or in others, have been very inconstant, and one place not agreeing with another, asArias Montanusin this place gives itmaleficus, but inExodushe makes it,Præstigiatores, and in the 22 and 16 of the same Book he makes itPræstigiatricem; and in another place where the very same word is used in the Hebrew, he saith ofManásseh, & Præstigiis vacabat. And yet in another place, he rendereth the very same wordveneficia. So uncertain was this learned Man, and so inconsiderate in his versions, wherein he ought to have had a more special care. NowTremelliusin all the places named before, doth use the wordsPræstigiatorem, and the words from the same derivation in the Latine, which sheweth certainty and constancy.
2. The most of all the translations in the Polyglott, do render this word doubtful and various: Asmaleficus,magus,præstigias faciens,Incantator, and the like, which are all dubious, and various,and no certainty can be produced from them. Only those we call theSeptuagintdo keep close to words of the same signification, deducted all fromφάρμακον, which properly doth signifie no more thanvenenum, poison, though the circumstances do manifest that they were but Jugling and Imposture. And the High-Dutch, Low-Dutch, French and Italian translations do all render it with the same uncertainty, so that nothing sure can be drawn from them.
Moses and Aaronl.4.c.10.p.191.
Com. upon Exod.c.7.p.72.
3. But to leave these uncertainties, it is manifest that this word doth signifie asBuxtorsiusandSchindlerusdo render it, for they are best to be trusted, because they are not guilty of contradiction as the most of the others are; That is, a Jugler, or one that by himself, or the help of his Confederates, doth by sleight of hand, and such like conveyances perform strange things to the astonishment of the beholders. “And therefore doth Mr.Goodwyntell us this: A Witch, properly a Jugler. The original (he saith) signifieth such a kind of Sorcerer, who bewitcheth the senses and minds of men, by changing the forms of things, making them appear otherwise than indeed they are. And these Dr.Willetsaith (speaking ofPharaohsMagicians) werePræstigiatores, whom we call Juglers, which deceived mens senses. And though learnedMasius(speaking of those thatNebuchadnezzarcalled to interpret his dream) doth make this objection, that if this word be translatedPræstigiatores, he doth not see,quid illi ad explicandum somnium adferre suâ arte potuissent, quæ tota fallax & delusoria est:” Yet is this of little or no force at all, for the rest that were called, were as well Impostors as these if not more, and the King and those with him knew not certainly (as the event shewed) that they could perform any such matter, but was ignorant of the manner of their delusions and cheats, and was only led by common rumour and belief, grounded upon the vain and lying boasts that such sort of people are apt to give out of themselves, and the wonders they pretend to perform. So that from his and his Courtiers opinions of either the matter, or manner, of what they pretended to do, will no consequence be drawn, from what they truly could do, because belief and action are two different things as might be manifested by the vain credulity of the vulgar, that those kind of deceivers can do strange things, but in trial and experiment they are found to be Cheaters and Impostors.
Chap. 7. 11.
4. But that this word doth bear this signification is manifest from the things they performed, for inExodusthey are calledכַשְּׁפִים,and they in like manner cast down every man his rod and they became serpents: not that their rods were really transubstantiated into true serpents asAaronswas, for that could not be done but by an Omnipotent and Divine power, which they had not; It was only done as Juglers, do seemingly, by sleight and cunning, and so had an appearance of true serpents, but were not so indeed; or else in making a shew to throw down their rods, they secretly conveyed them away and threw down serpents in their stead, asmight easily be done by sleight of hand, as we shall shew more fully hereafter.
2 Kings 9. 22.
Chap. 21. 8. 22. 51. 9. 21. 18. 23.
Chap. 5. 20.
5. That this is the genuine meaning of this word is manifest from the circumstances of some other places duly weighed, and compared together: for one text saith as our English Translators have rendered it,And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said, Is it peace Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are so many?Now why they should translate it witchcrafts, cannot well be imagined, except it were to draw the Scriptures to speak according to their preconceived opinions, for the word used there is the same we speak of, to wit,וּכְשָׁפֶיהָ,which thoughArias Montanusrendereth,& veneficia ejus, that according to the Latine signification is but poysonings, or poyson making, which doth not intimate Witchcraft in that sense that is vulgarly understood, whichTremelliusproperly renders,& præstigæ ejus: andLutherrenders it by the wordsToeverye, and so doth the Low-Dutch: Though the proper High-Dutch word forpræstigiator, a Jugler, beBaucsler, which is asCalepintells us, thatPræstigæ sunt incantationes, delusiones, cujusmodi sunt, quæ manuum quadam dexteritate alia apparent quam reverâ sunt. Now what whoredoms or fornications hadJezebelcommitted? Spiritual whoredoms, and not Carnal ones; for she had her self gone a whoring after Idols, and strange gods, and as much as in her lay drew the people ofIsraelinto the same whoredoms, and for this it was that so fearful a judgment fell upon her. And what Witchcrafts (if they must be so called) had she practised or followed? Was it any other than in setting up, maintaining, and defending the Priests ofBaaland of the groves, who practised several sorts of divination, jugling, impostures, and delusions, whereby they were seduced and blinded to follow and worship the false god and Idols? And from this it is plain that all her Witchcrafts were only impostures and delusions whereby the people were led unto idolatry: and so the true signification of this word is a deceiver and an impostor, and intendeth no other kind of Witchcraft at all. And in the same sense must the word given by those we call the Septuagint which isτὰ φάρμακα ἀυτῆς,Pharmaca vel venena sua, her poysons, that is her deceits and delusions that she set up by the lying Divinations, Juglings, and Impostures of the Priests, by which the people were seduced, and blinded, and poysoned with the filthy Doctrine and practice of Idol-worship. And in the same sense must the words be taken in the Revelation where the wordsφαρμακεία, φαρμακεὺς, φάρμακοςare used. For the Text saith:And a mighty Angel took up a stone like a great milstone, and cast it into the sea, saying; Thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And after:For thy merchants were the great men of the earth: For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. These words are spoken mystically of spiritualBabylon, in which Antichrist ruleth, who (as the Apostlesaith)sitteth in the temple of God, and exalteth him self against all that is called god; and this is he whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders. So that it is plain that his working being by lying wonders, his Merchants must needs be lyers and deceivers, and it is these Sorceries, impostures and delusions by which all Nations are deceived, and caused to err: and so is no other Witchcraft but meer lying, delusion and imposture. And to this purpose doth Dr.HammondParaphrase it in these words; speaking of the destruction ofBabylon: “And three eminent causes (he saith) there are of this; First, Luxury which inriched so many Merchants, and made them so great. Secondly, seducing other people to their Idolatries and abominable courses by all arts of insinuation. And thirdly, the persecuting and slaying of the Apostles and other Christians.” And in the same sense must this word also be taken in theGalathians, which though translated Witchcraft, must needs mean imposture, deceit and delusion by which people are led from the true Doctrine and Worship of Christ, to vain and lying Superstition and Idolatry, and not bodily poysoning.
1 Sam. 15. 23.
6. Thus far we can find no such Hebrew word as signifieth any such kind of a Witch as Dr.Casaubon, or Mr.Glanvillintend, or labour to prove, and therefore we may proceed to the next. Only we cannot but take notice of one other text, that our English Translators have erroneously rendered, and that is this: whereSamuelis rebukingSaulfor sparingAgag and the best of the spoil, he saith,For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry: WhichTremelliusrenders thus:Quin sicut peccatum divinationis est rebellio: & sicut superstitio & Idola est repugnantia. AndArias Montanusgives it thus:Quia peccatum divinationis est rebellio, & mendacium vel Idolum, & Teraphim transgredi, which both are agreeable to the Hebrew wordקֶסֶםwhich signifieth properly Divination. So that this place noteth, not rebellion against an earthly or temporal King, but against the King of Heaven; and to disobey his command, and to follow our own wills and judgments, and to persevere therein, is as odious and detestable, as to set up lying Divinations thereby to follow Idols and false gods: for the following the fancies of our own brains, is to follow the divinations of our own counsel, and to make an Idol, and a Teraphim of our own frail, weak and blind judgments, and to forsake the pure and perfect Law of the Lord, which ought to be a lantern to our feet, and a light unto our paths, and is spiritual rebellion, even as the divinations of Idol-priests and Idol-worship were.
7. The next Word in this place ofDeuteronomyisוְחֹבֵר חָבֶרutens incantatione, vel incantans incantatione, aut jungens junctiones, from the rootחָבַרSociatus est, junctus fuit alteri, copulatus est, for soAvenariusrenders it. AndSchindlerussaith,Incantator vel qui consortium habet cum Dæmonibus, conjurator, qui incantationibusmulta animalia in unum locum consociat vel congregat, vel ne lædant associat. From whence we may note thus much:
Chap. 14. 3.
Exod. 36. 10.
1. That it primarily signifieth to joyn together, as in that ofGenesisspeaking of the Kings that went to War,All these were joyned together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. And in another place,And he coupled the five curtains together; and in the same sense in diverse other places: by all which it appeareth, that when it is used for incantation or charming, it is because of some conjunction or coupling together.
2. It is very remarkable that in all the translations in the Polyglot, there is no variance, neither doArias Montanus,Buxtorsius,orTremelliusdiffer at all, and the Greek Translators do agree with them, who render it,ἐπαείδων ἐπαοιδὴν, and the Germane, Low-dutch, French, and Italian Translators do accord herewithal, and it is likewise so rendered inIsa.47. 9, 12. and in other places. So that it is plain it signifieth such as took upon them by strange words and charms to prevent venemous beasts to hurt, bite or sting, and many other wonderful things; but what they brought to pass, or effected, besides deluding and deceiving of the people and leading of them to Idolatry, is hard to determine, of which we shall speak in another place.
3. There are divers opinions concerning this incantation or charming, why it should be accounted conjunction, or association; and some, asSchindlerusandBithner, do judge it is because they associate or bring together many Serpents or noysom Creatures into one place, and then destroy them. But this is but a conjecture, for it is by the best learned strongly disputed on both sides, whether charms and inchantments can really and truly perform any such effects, and divers instances and examples brought both ways, some for the affirmative, some for the negative, so that the matter of fact is not certainly known or granted. Others by association do understand, the league or compact made betwixt the Charmer and the Devil, by virtue of which such strange things are brought to pass by them, and of this opinion was Mr.Perkins(if that Book of Witchcraft, that goeth under his name, be truly his) who strengthening his conceit with that verse in the58 Psalmthought that he had found out an invincible argument to prove the Compact betwixt Witches and Devils, and therefore it is necessary and expedient to examine that text to the bottom to sift out the true translation, and sense of that place, which we shall do at large as followeth in these particulars.
1. Our English Translators render it thus, speaking of the deaf Adder or Asp;Which will not hearken to the voice of the charmers, charming never so wisely; and in the margent, orbe the Charmer never so cunning, where they take no notice of the conjoyning of conjunctions, and consequently none of such a league or compact.
2.Tremelliusgives it thus:Quæ non auscultat voci mussitantium,utentis incantationibus peritissimi, which piece of Latine were very difficult to put into perfect Grammatical construction, becausemussitantiumis the plural number, bututentisandperitissimiare of the singular, which we shall leave to the censure of Criticks, and give the marginal note that is there added.Surdæ id est, calidè agentis adversus incantamenta, ut sequentia exponunt, nam aurem utramq; ab ea obturari, &c. Of the deaf Adder “That is to say, that acteth craftily against the incantations, as the following words do expound: For she stoppeth both her ears, by fixing one to the earth, and covering, and stopping the other with her tail;” and thatHierome,Augustine,Cassiodorus, and others do so expound the place. Whether this be true of the Asp or not is much to be doubted, for I find no Author of credit that doth averr it of his own knowledge, and the thing is very difficult to bring to experiment, and the Psalmist might speak according to vulgar opinion, of which there was no necessity that it should be literally and certainly true. Further he goes on and saith,mussitantium“That is to say, pronouncing their incantations to charm her, whispering and very low; which study of charming, lest any should think thatDaviddoth approve of them in this place, he learnedly useth the very words of the prohibition, which God laid downDeut.18. 11. For (he saith) these fascinators in the Hebrew appellation are said to consociate society, because they apply the society of the Devil to their arts.”
3. Those we call the Septuagint do render it thus:Ἥτις οὐκ εἰσκούσεται φωνὴν επᾳδόντων, φαρμάκου τε φαρμακευομένου παρὰ σοφοῦ. And that which is ascribed toHieromein the eight Tome of his works printed atBasil1525, gives two Latine versions to this, the one answering to the Septuagint which is this:Quæ non exaudiet vocem incantantium & venefici incantantis sapienter. The other according to the Hebrew thus,Ut non audiat vocem murmurantium, nec incantatoris incantationes callidas. So that this maketh the meaning to be, that the deaf Asp is so cunning in stopping of her ear, that she doth not hear the voice of those that murmur, and mutter charms, though it be a Charmer that uttereth the most cunning and powerful charms: So that here is no regard had to conjoyning or associating either of Serpents together, or of the society of the Charmer and the Devil.
4.LuthersTranslation of this place is remarkable, which is this,Dass sie nicht hoere die stimme dess Zauberers, dess Beschwerers der wol besch weren kan.Which in English runs thus, That doth not hear the voice of the Magicians or Charmers, the Conjurors or Exorcists, that well conjure can. And agreeable to this is the translation of the Low-Dutch. So that the sense is, that the deaf Asp stoppeth her ear against the voice of the Charmers, those that have sworn together (it may be that common error and opinion had prevailed so far with learnedLuther, as doth appear by his exposition upon the third Chapter to theGalathians, that he believed thatthe Witch, and the Devil were in compact, and sworn together) and that were most cunning in that art. But this doth but in a manner beg the question, not prove it, for all will but amount to this, that the Asp cannot be charmed, no not by those that have the greatest skill in the matter of incantation.
5. The French Translators render it thus:Lequel n’écoute point la voix des enchanteurs, ni du charmeur fort expert en charmes, Which will in no point hear the voice of the inchanter, nor of the Charmer that is expert in charms. And this proveth nothing at all of joyning societies, nor of compacts. The Italian version giveth it thus,Accioche non oda la voce de glivoce incantatori, del venefico incantante incantationi di dotto. In English thus, Which doth not hear the voice of the inchanter, of the Witch (if that be the signification of the wordvenefico, a poysoner) inchanting with the incantation of the learned: And this is most near the Hebrew of all the rest, and beareth thus much, That the Asp doth not hearken to the voice of the inchanter, of the Charmer which useth the charms that were framed and conjoyned by a learned Clerk: so that if associating be comprised, it must be understood of the framing and joyning of the charms, which doubtless was the composure of those that were very learned, especially if they work by a natural operation, of which we shall discourse hereafter.
6. But now we come to the Hebrew itself, whichArias Montanusrenders thus,Quæ non audiet ad vocem mussitantium: jungentis conjunctiones docti. And in the margent thus,Quæ non obtemperabit voce incantantium, incantantis incantationes sapienter. Which we may thus English, Which hearkeneth not to the voice of the mutterers, of the learned joyner of conjunctions. And the other thus; Which obeyeth not the voice of the Charmers, of the person charming charms wisely. So that it may mean, that the Asp hearkeneth not to the voice of those that mutter or mussitate the charms of the Charmer that doth wisely use them, or of him that is a wise Charmer. But it is needless and improper to make an half period atmussitantium, for then there will be no coherence in Grammatical construction betwixt the former and latter part of the verse: and therefore according to the order of Grammar, it should be rendered thus:Quæ non audiet ad vocem mussitantium incantationes, docti incantantis. And so the meaning is plainly this, that the Asp doth not hearken to the voice of those that mutter the charms of a learned Charmer. And so there is no intimation of association or compact either one way or another, but it doth meerly imply that the Asp doth resist and frustrate the charms of the mutterers that use them, though they be wise in the using of them, which doubtless is the most genuine rendring, and the true meaning of the place: or else it may be thus aptly translated:Quæ non audiet ad vocem mussitantium conjunctiones jungentis docti; That is thus, Which hearkeneth not to the voice of those that mutter the Conjunctions of a learned Joyner. So this way the sense will be, thatshe resisteth the Charms, or Conjunctions of the learned Joyner or Framer of them, and consequently that it hath not respect, either to the associating or gathering of the Asps into one place, or an association or compact betwixt the Charmer and the Devil, which are both beg’d, and too far fetcht, and cannot be intended properly in this Metaphor. But it (if thus Translated according toArias Montanus) referreth punctually and properly to the cunning and wise composure of the letters and words used in the Charm, that if they had been never so cunningly contrived, or joyned together by those that had the greatest skill of all others in framing and composing of charms; yet were they utterly inefficacious against this kind of Serpent. And so we conclude this, having as yet found no such Hebrew word as signifieth a Witch in the vulgar sense and common acceptation.
7. Another word that followeth in this place ofDeuteronomyisוְשֹׁאֵל אוֹבrequirens Pythonem, which what it meaneth is more obscured, and erroneously translated, than any of the rest. And this our English Translators have ignorantly or wilfully, but however erroneously rendered in all the places where it is used, to be one that hath a familiar spirit. From whence note these things.