Magic in the Bible

Catalog description

The Bible prohibits magic and divination on several occasions. At the same time, however, modern commentators have repeatedly argued that many of the cultic regulations in the Bible could qualify as magical. Likewise, certain characters in the Bible, as for instance, Jacob, Josef, Moses, Elijah and Elisha carry out activities which may also fall under the rubric of magic. How can we reconcile the biblical prohibitions against magic with the scholarly view that certain regulations and narratives of the Bible seem to condone and even prescribe magical practices? In this course we will explore the manner in which the Bible differentiates between magic and religion. Various definitions of magic will be discussed and applied to the biblical text. In this context, we will take into account the cultural and historical diversity of the world described in the Bible. After having established that the understanding of magic and its relation to religion depends on the setting and genre of the biblical text, we will evaluate how biblical regulations concerning magic were received and implemented. This will be done by examining both extra-biblical writings and archaeological artifacts that correlate with the composition and canonization of the Bible. The critical interpretation and contextualization of amulets, spells and incantations in