Exodus 22:18

"Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live."

A novel view of this verse was advocated by Esses who did not believe that the death penalty was assigned to witches in this place, but that, "The prohibition is against patronizing a witch and thus enabling her to support herself by her nefarious profession!"[12] He based that on the fact of other expressions being used in this chapter for the death penalty. We cannot accept such a view, because Leviticus 20:27 not only orders the death penalty for both witches (women) and warlocks (men), but also specifies the manner of death as stoning.

We fully agree with Johnson who mentioned the fact that this verse is widely quoted and used as a "proof of superstitious ignorance in the Scriptures."[13] However, the ignorance is not in the O.T., it is in the vain and shallow thoughts of those seeking occasion against the Word of God. A sorceress in the purview of this Divine order, was an open rebel against God. We should remember, "The tremendous power of magic in the ancient world and among the heathen races today, and its deadly nature as a negation of all true religion."[14] "Sorcery, or the pretended holding of communications with evil spirits, is a form of idolatry or rebellion against Jehovah, and punished as such."[15] There is no way that intelligent men can question the wisdom of God in this commandment making such a terrible crime a capital offense. In bringing Israel out of the gross superstitions and pagan idolatry of the times, it was the height of wisdom and concern for His people that lay back of God's edict.

Of course, there is nothing in this verse that gives Christians the right to accuse people of witchcraft, try them, and condemn them to death as was done in Colonial times in America. That entire fiasco of the "Witch Burnings" in New England in the eighteenth century was due to the gross ignorance of the most learned pastors and divines on earth of the central fact of the whole Judaic-Christian religion, that fact being that there are revealed in the Bible TWO COVENANTS, the TWO big ones, the OLD COVENANT and the NEW COVENANT. Many of the instructions in the O.T. have utterly nothing to do with Christianity, and this commandment regarding witches is surely one of them. This division between the two covenants is even dramatized in the arrangement of the Holy Bible itself, which is divided into the OLD TESTAMENT and the NEW TESTAMENT. (See a dissertation on The Covenants at the end of the commentary on Exodus 24.)

Back to the subject of witches. The Hebrew word for "witch" in Exodus 22:18 is feminine.[16] This accounts for the rendition "sorceress," but it does not mean that only women committed this sin, despite the fact of most witches of that era being feminine. We find no fault whatever with God's order to put such centers and sources of evil to death. It was absolutely necessary if Israel was ever to be brought into true fellowship with God. To be sure, Israel disobeyed this commandment just like they did every other commandment God ever gave. This is proved by one of their kings (Saul) consulting the Witch of Endor at a time long after this.

One other word about what witches did. "The Greek translation of the Hebrew word for witch is [@pharmakeus], a close relative of our word "pharmacy," meaning one who deals in drugs and poisons, a poisoner!"[17] One of the principal reasons for consulting witches of course was to arrange help in getting rid of an enemy, and the witches certainly knew how to help!

Regarding the people today who make their living dealing with what they call "the occult arts," they are likewise sinners, though probably not on the same scale as those envisioned in this verse. Deception is their stock in trade, and this writer has never heard of one who was a true believer in Christ. They cannot reveal the future. In 1964, the arrest of several of the most notorious of them at Coney Island in New York revealed that not a single one of them could prophesy his own arrest, several of them pretending to tell the arresting officers why they had come to visit! One police lieutenant was greeted with this remark, "I'm glad you have come. I know why you are here, and I can solve all your problems!" Such people cannot tell fortunes, read cards, tea leaves, crystal balls, or trace the future in the patterns of oil poured on water. As regards the entire conception of witches, one word describes it all - fraud!