This article, however, mainly hops on one leg and focuses on praxis 1, which acknowledges that witchcraft¹ is indeed a problem issue, hence the formulation of the basis theory. The basic principles are not only intended to form the foundation for further study and for improved integration between the biblical principles and the meta-theory, but also to set guidelines that may be utilised to shed light on the biblical (Old Testament and New Testament) approach to witchcraft.

Girdlestone (1998:297) argues that witchcraft was adopted in the very early days as a method of trading upon the religious instincts and superstitions of mankind and that it was largely conducted by the female sex, although not confined to it. A few texts in the OT that make reference to witchcraft are Exodus 22:18 and Chronicles 33:6.

The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible mentions that the American version translates the Greek word pharmakeia in two cases as ‘sorcery’ and in another case as ‘witchcraft’. In the Greek context pharmakeia also relates to the administering of drugs, poisoning and sorcery or magical arts often linked to idolatry and fostered by it. Metaphorically it refers to the deception and seduction of idolatry. In support of the aforesaid statement the New Testament (NT) in Galatians 5:20b–21 and Revelations 21:8, strongly denounces this as one of the sinful works of the flesh.

Hayes (1995:339) describes witchcraft as the supposed power of a person to inflict harm on others through occult or by supernatural means. In the contemporary traditional South African context, Kgatla (1995:21–22) differentiates between two types of witches: night witches and day witches. The authors would like to state that because witchcraft remains a problem in society to this day, an updated view and definition of the African perspective on witchcraft was required and duly formulated in a previous article on the subject. Comparatively, the authors’ definition correlates with Scripture’s view on witchcraft, as defined under the heading ‘The biblical definition of witchcraft’².

Correspondingly, Mbiti (1991:166) further argues that the aforesaid belief about witchcraft is found in all African societies and is no trifling matter in Africa. The challenge that thus arises is how the African should interpret God’s role in terms of witchcraft. Does God allow witchcraft or does he oppose such acts? If yes, does he allow it to happen to all people or only Christians? Should Christians live in fear of been bewitched? The stance of many African Christians on witchcraft has been clearly indicated from observation and research that the authors have already conducted in another article on the meta-theoretical assumption on witchcraft. In that article it is indicated that even some church members in times of difficulties would visit witchdoctors for protection or revenge, depending on the information they received with regard to their misery. This article mainly reviews how God addresses the topic of witchcraft in his Word and how those who believe in him should address questions regarding witchcraft.

In the same way, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown (1997:369) add that these laws are not a collection of pedantic rules, but are collectively a case study of God’s principles in action. God took potential situations and demonstrated the practical application of His laws in the Israelites’ everyday lives. Moreover, the laws that follow from verse 18 of Chapter 20 onwards differ both in form and in subject matter (Richards 1991). They make demands, however, on Israel on the grounds of its election as the holy nation of Jehovah. The transition from the former series to the present one is made by the command in verse 18 that stipulates, ‘Do not allow a witch to live’. Witchcraft is depicted here as the vilest way of harming a neighbour and their property.

‘Thou shall not allow or suffer a witch to live’ is a strong expression, adopted apparently to prevent the interposition of any false sympathy or misplaced tenderness towards a person of such character. In fact, such individuals were to be rooted out from amongst the Israelites because witchcraft was considered a capital offence and an act of rebellion against God and his authority; in essence, it was siding with Satan in opposition to God (The Interpreter Bible 1995:1006; The Life Application Bible 1999:141). Clements (1972:145) adds that any form of witchcraft practice was strongly opposed in Israel, on religious grounds, because it implied a use of the supernatural outside of and hostile to the power of God. As such, the religion of Yahweh demanded absolute loyalty. A few principles can be deduced from this exegesis.

As can be seen from the above, witchcraft always features some sort of evil act intended to bring harm to others. As a result God highlights the various practices in these verses that the children of Israel were to avoid to ensure a righteous relationship with God and each other.

The next point in this argument centres on how God was actively involved in the lives of the Israelites by ordaining leaders (in addition to the local elders, priests and legal experts) comprising the Supreme Court and the king (Walvoord & Zuck 1985). These included ordinary priests and Levites, who served brief shifts at the central sanctuary (Deut 18:1–8). Most notable amongst these were prophets who acted as God’s contemporary spokesmen to his people. Israel was thus to refrain from seeking supernatural guidance from an occult source (Deut 18:9–13) because God provided the necessary guidance beyond that already contained in Scripture through his prophets (Deut 18:14–22). A true prophet of God could be recognised in three ways: he would be a Jew (Deut 18:15), he would speak in the name of the Lord (Deut 20) and his prediction(s) would surely come to pass (Deut 18:22). Israel was to have nothing to do with witchcraft practitioners (Deut 18:14).

This verse makes it once again clear how all forms of witchcraft, sorcery, divination or pretence were considered to be blatant professions and practices of idolatry (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown 1997:369). Witches feigned the knowledge and power to commit supernatural acts by virtue of supernatural powers bestowed by the deities with whom they supposedly had direct and intimate contact and which the Hebrew government regarded as high treason. They openly denied Jehovah to be the one true God. Their evil acts claimed the power of idols and with such acts they intended to depose Jehovah as the King of Israel by asserting the authority of ‘other gods’ before him.

Every form of divination, whether from occult or natural objects, as well as the communion with the dead and all forms of magic were to be utterly rooted out (cf. Phillips 1973:125). In fact, the third commandment prohibits resorting to magic as a means of divination. The following can thus be deducted from this passage:

Hazael and Jehu were the designated instruments of God’s justice in punishing and destroying the house of Ahab. Elijah was told to appoint them to this service, but upon Ahab’s humiliation a reprieve was granted and it was left to Elisha to appoint them (Keil & Delitzsch 2002). The preceding verses relate the anointing of Jehu as king. Jehu speedily fulfilled his duties (2 Ki 21:1–10), specifically by confronting Joram over her mother’s whoredoms and witchcraft practices, as well as explicitly telling him that there would be no peace as long such practices continued in that land (Henry 1996).

Likewise, in 2 Kings 21:1–10, verses 1, 6 and 9 particularly recount the history of Manasseh who followed the example of his grandfather, Ahaz, instead of his father (most probably motivated by the desire for stature and power as well as to instil fear in his followers) thereby angering God with occult practices, including sorcery and divination as well as consulting mediums and spiritists.

It is important to mention that personal gain was often the motive behind these leaders’ allowance of or participation in witchcraft. It could also be suggested that in allowing witchcraft in their kingdoms, they in fact promoted it and consequently their conduct prevented harmony with God.

Saul had, however, driven all mediums out of the central part of his realm, upholding the OT laws that stringently opposed necromancy (consulting the dead) (cf. Lv 19:31; Deut 18:9–14). The fact that Saul resorted to such measures reflected his desperation and entailed him travelling as far north as Endor, at the far side of the Philistine camp.

The account of this history is intended to emphasise Saul’s hopelessness and to show how low he had sunk in turning to a criminal for comfort – the woman concerned was after all considered a criminal by Saul’s own laws. The chapter does, however, not endorse the practices of mediums and is in no way a source from which to seek God’s guidance.

This section presents what another writer considered to be perhaps the darkest moment in Saul’s life: his deliberate violation of one of the most serious prohibitions in the Torah (cf. 1 Chr 10:13–14). Saul had, by turning to a medium for guidance, committed a capital offence (cf. Lv 20:6) and less than 24 hours later, he died - a sobering reminder of the swiftness and surety of the Lord’s punishment for anyone who violates the divine Word (Carson 1994:80).

After all, occult practices (divination, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, spiritists or consulting with the dead such as a witch of Endor) make Satan and his demons the source of information (The Life Application Bible 1999:485). Thus, in order to keep from committing evil before the Lord, Saul outlawed the sinful deeds of spirits, mediums and witchcraft. In desperation, however, he eventually turned to one for counsel. He may have removed the sin of witchcraft from the land, but he did not remove it from his heart.

Thus, Letšosa (2005:230) rightly states that the dead are not truly communicating with the living in these cases, but that it is simply a number of evil spirits feigning to be the real deceased. God does not use the departed to proclaim his message, but makes use of the living. The idea that God requires the aid of the dead, referred to as ‘god’, actually despises God and refutes his power to act alone.

It could be concluded that verses 10–14 embody a prophecy because it begins with ‘I will destroy …’ (Mi 5:10–13) and is God’s answer to the prayer in verse 9. The Hebrew verb translated as ‘destroy’ frequently refers to the removal of those who violated Israel’s holiness (e.g. ‘cut off’ in Lv 17:10; 20:3–6). This involved taking steps to preserve Israel in the face of God’s wrath against the unholy. These objects, the works of their own hands, consigned to annihilation from amongst them (Mi 5:10, 13, 14) threatened Israel’s faith in God, namely, military might (Mi 5:10–11; cf. Deut 17:161–7), sorcery (Mi 5:12; cf. Deut 18:9–13) and idolatry (Mi 5:13–14; cf. Deut 7:5). Isaiah (Is 2:6–8) accused Israel of placing their confidence in these very things. Military hardware included the offensive horse-drawn chariots (Micah 5:10), the defensive cities and all the strongholds (Mi 5:11). The New International Version (NIV) Bible omits the phrase ‘from your hand’ after the word ‘witchcraft’ from verse 12, a phrase that emphasises that they are human fabrications. Verse 13 makes the same point in reference to carved images and sacred stones, the stylised representations of the male deity Baal.

May your money perish with you because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry because your heart is not right before God. (Nyirongo 1997:189)

Many traditions relate to Simon the Sorcerer and a variety of allegations have been levelled at him, namely, that he was the founder of Gnostic heresies; that he went to Rome to pervert the Christian doctrine; and that he lost a miracle contest against Peter. At any rate, this Simon of Samaria did indeed practice sorcery in the city of Samaria, to the amazement of its citizens, which explains why they referred to him as the great power from God (Wiersbe 1996).

It is evident in Scripture that wherever God sows his true believers, Satan will inevitably sow his counterfeits (Mt 13:24–30, 36–43; Vincent 2002). This was true of the ministry of John the Baptist (Mt 3:7ff) and Jesus (Mt 23:15, 33; Jn 8:44) as well as that of Paul (Ac 13:6ff; 2 Cor 11:1–4, 13–15). The enemy comes like a lion to devour and when that approach fails, he comes as a serpent to deceive. Satan’s tool in this case was a sorcerer named Simon. Simon’s sorcery was driven by Satan, whilst Philip’s miracles were empowered by God and to the glory of Christ.

Both Philip and Simon performed miracles: Simon by demonic power and Philip by divine power. Simon boasted and welcomed acclaim, whereas Philip proclaimed Christ and although Simon’s magic evoked amazement, Philip’s ministry converted people to Christ (Wiersbe 1996).

Luke does not clearly indicate whether Simon was eventually saved and it is difficult to be dogmatic about such an issue. Yet seven facts suggest that Simon was probably not born again. The verb ‘believe’ [pisteuo] does not always refer to converted faith and Simon’s faith could have been like that of the demons, referred to in James 2:19, merely a form of intellectual assent. Furthermore, faith based on signs is not a trustworthy faith (cf. Jn 2:23–25; 4:48) and Luke makes no mention of Simon receiving the Holy Spirit (Ac 8:17–18). Simon continued to have a self-centred interest in the display of miraculous power, as is evident from verses 18–19. The verb ‘repent’ [metanoia], used in verse 22, normally relates to lost people. Furthermore, the word ‘perish’ [apollumi], used in verse 20, is strong and relates to the use of ‘perish’ in John 3:16. The description of Simon in Acts 8:23 is more the description of a lost man than of one who is saved (cf. Deut 29:18). However, one cannot be dogmatic on this point and besides; the Lord knows who his children are (Wiersbe 1996).

During his first missionary journey to Cyrup, Paul met a Jewish magician by the name of Elymas who opposed the faith and attempted to turn the proconsul against it. The Greek word used here is Elumas [Magos] or Elymas the magician. According to Louw and Nida (1989:545) [magos] is someone who practices magic and witchcraft.

Wiersbe (1996) explains that the interpretation of the name Elymas is somewhat problematic, but that it is probably a Semitic word meaning sorcerer and was given to or adopted by him as a nickname. Elymas comes from the Arabic root alim, which means to sage or is derived from the Aramaic haloma which means interpreter of dreams (Keener 1993).

Irrespective of the meaning of the name, Elymas or Elymas made the mistake of attempting to compete with the Gospel through his own mystical and ridiculous pretensions to supernatural power, in order to turn the proconsul from the faith (Scott 1968:58). Verses 10–12 explain how the sorcerer was punished because witchcraft practices were forbidden even in the early church. Paul’s response to Elymas is another clear illustration of how a Christian should perceive witchcraft. Paul said to Elymas:

You are a child of a devil, an enemy of everything that is right, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you not stop preventing the right ways of the Lord? (Ac 13:10–12)

The phrase ‘you are the enemy of everything that is right’ may refer to Elymas’s general moral opposition to all that was good and just (Keener 1993). The phrase ‘enemy of all righteousness’ may imply that Elymas had set himself up as an enemy of God and that he was filled with deceit [dolos] and trickery [panourgia]. The original meaning of the word dolos was ‘bait’, by which something or someone was lured into a trap and this was exactly what Elymas did to Sergius Paulus - he deceived him with his false claims. He then added to his evil ways by not only tricking the proconsul, but also perverting the straight path of the Lord with his attempt to divert the official from the Gospel.

Despite the popularity of Jewish magicians, people recognised that Paul’s Jesus could not be manipulated in the way that lower spirits could, which led them to faith and repentance of their sins. Many also brought their magical papyri to be burned. Magical papyri were magical incantations, rolled up in small cylinders or lockets and worn as amulets around the neck. They were so common in Ephesus that rolls of these formulas were referred to as Ephesia grammata or Ephesian writings (Keener 1993).

These magical papyri consisted of various spells that often invoked the names of foreign gods and employed several kinds of gibberish (Polhill 2001). These ancient magicians were syncretistic and would borrow terms from any religion that sounded sufficiently strange to be deemed effective. The attempt to lure people to their magical tricks was unsuccessful. People believed God’s Gospel and burnt all that was associated with magical practices.

These sins are the crimes of the anti-Christ and his agent and although God has revealed his wrath from heaven against them they remain obstinate, hardened, impenitent - and judicially so - for they must be destroyed (Henry 1996:2475). The sixth trumpet teaches that when God’s judgement is on earth, he expects its inhabitants to repent of sin and enter into righteousness. The sins that are cited in verse 21, including the sin of witchcraft, have no place in the worship of our Lord (The Interpreters Bible 1995:437) and whoever persists in active opposition to God will meet with his judgement (Beasley-Murray 1974:314). The list of those who will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone are the fearful, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars. None of these evildoers have any place in the great consummation and will be punished with the second death (i.e. the death following their physical death).

In Chapter 22 sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood are said to be outside the city of the New Jerusalem (Beasley-Murray 1974:341). This particular chapter gives a description of the heavenly state of the church (Rv 22:1–5), a confirmation of this and all the other visions of this book (Rv 22:6–19), and then concludes in Revelation 22:20–21. Verse 15 is often cited as proof that these evil practitioners are just outside the city gate vainly seeking admission (The Interpreters Bible 1995:547).

The most compelling truth, derived from the principles identified in the Word of God, is that witchcraft is in no way part of the Christian faith and may in no way be practised. Witchcraft is in direct opposition to the triune God and thus challenges his sovereignty. Whoever challenges God shall be destroyed, together with his or her activities.

Current believers do, however, have the assurance that victory is only in the name of Christ, because he overcame the powers of darkness on the Cross (Koch 1976:85). Paul also confirms this in Col 2:15, when he says, ‘Christ has disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in his cross’. God gave his church the necessary tools to triumph over darkness. Ephesians 6:10–20 contains the leading elements of the classic mode of spiritual warfare. The essential issue in combating evil is the consistent and repeated turning from darkness to light in the midst of assailing darkness (Powlison 1995:36).

Beasley-Murray, G.R., 1974, New century Bible, Nelson Press, London.

Carson, D.A., 1994, New Bible commentary: 21st century edition, revised edition of: the new Bible commentary, 3rd edn., Intervarsity Press, Leicester, Downers Grove, IL.

Clements, R.E., 1972, The Cambridge Bible commentary, University Press, Cambridge. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/144078337200800120

De Vries, B.A., 2010, Study guide for systematic theology 1 DST 111, Mukhanyo Theological College, South Africa.

Easton, M., 1996, Easton’s Bible dictionary, Logos Research Systems Inc., Oak Harbor, WA.

Girdlestone, R.B., 1998, Synonyms of the Old Testament: their bearing on Christian doctrine, Logos Research Systems Inc., Oak Harbor, WA.

Hayes, S., 1995, ‘Christian response to witchcraft and sorcery’, Missionalia 3, 339–354.

Henry, M., 1996, Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume, Hendrickson, Peabody, MA.

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A.R. & Brown, D., 1997, A commentary, critical and explanatory on the OT and NT on spine: critical and explanatory, Logos Research Systems Inc., Oak Harbour, WA.

Keener, C.S., 1993, CD-ROM, The IVP Bible background commentary: NT, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.

Keil, C.F. & Delitzsch, F., 2002, Commentary on the OT, CD-ROM, Hendrickson, Peabody, MA.

Kgatla, S.T., 1995, ‘Remaining prophetic in a time of reconstruction and development’, Report delivered during the Annual General Meeting of the Institute for Contextual Theology in 1995, pp. 1−45, Braamfontein.

Khunou, M., 2001, ‘Break the demonic chain through Jesus’, Sowetan, viewed 04 February 2004, from http://www.citypress.co.za

Koch, K.E., 1976, Occult bondage and deliverance, Kregel, Grand Rapids, MI.

Kotze, Z., 2007, ‘The evil eyes as witchcraft technique in the Hebrew Bible’, Journal for Semetics 16(1), 141–149.

Kotze, Z., 2008, ‘The witch in Psalm 59’, OTE 21(2), 383–390.

Letšosa, R.S., 2005, A relevant liturgy for the reformed churches in synod Midlands, PU for CHE, Potchefstroom.

Louw, J.P. & Nida, E.A., 1989, Greek-English lexicon of the NT based on Semitic domains, 2 vols, United Bible Societies, New York.

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Nyirongo, L., 1997, The gods of Africa or the God of the Bible: the snares of African traditional religion in Biblical perspective, PU for CHE, Potchefstroom.

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2. Africans view witchcraft as something evil and potentially harmful to others. It is thus unsurprising that anyone suspected of practising witchcraft within the community is either killed or harassed in different ways by members of the community. This is evident in many parts of the countries that make up the African continent, including South Africa. Khunou (2001) defines witchcraft as a satanic spiritual power practised by thousands of people, knowingly or otherwise, in order to advance the kingdom of Satan. It includes verbal abuse and magical spells in which the result is always the same: devastation, poverty, divorce, mental derangement and mental slavery. Witchcraft is the supposed power of a person to harm others by occult or by supernatural means (Hayes 1995:339). Trapido (2010), however, reports that self-proclaimed witches have rejected such definitions, as pointed out by Khunou and Hayes, on the grounds that these types of definitions stereotype witchcraft as harmful and portray witches as a danger to the communities within which they live and work. Nevertheless, Basotho culture maintains that witchcraft is a detrimental practice that can bring evil, bad luck and poverty into their lives, which is why they respond with violence towards those suspected of practising witchcraft (Hayes 1995).