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173-547: A witch hunt , or a witch purge , is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft . Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East . In medieval Europe , witch-hunts often arose in connection to charges of heresy from Christianity. An intensive period of witch-hunts occurring in Early Modern Europe and to

346-502: A sorcerer , or one that casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord"; and Exodus  22:18 prescribes: "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". Tales like that of 1 Samuel 28, reporting how Saul "hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land", suggest that in practice sorcery could at least lead to exile. In

519-435: A 1791 pamphlet by Gottfried Christian Voigt . Witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic . A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to Encyclopedia Britannica , "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in

692-599: A battle against the Philistines, he does not wait for Samuel to arrive before he offers sacrifices. Meanwhile, it turns out that the Philistines have been killing and capturing blacksmiths in order to ensure the Israelites do not have weapons, and so the Israelites go to war essentially with sharpened farm instruments. Saul's son Jonathan launches a secret attack by climbing a pass into the Philistine camp and kills twenty people in

865-769: A battle follows and David wins. During the Benjaminites' retreat, Joab's brother Asahel chases Abner and Abner kills him, shocking everyone. Joab and Abishai continue Asahel's pursuit. A truce is declared when they reach a hill to avoid further bloodshed, and Abner and his men are able to cross the Jordan . The war continues as David builds a family. Meanwhile, the House of Saul is getting weaker. When Ish-bosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with Saul's concubine Rizpah , Abner offers to join David, which David accepts as long as he brings Michal with him. At

1038-528: A benevolent pagan religion that had survived the Christianization of Europe. This has been discredited by further historical research. From the 1930s, occult neopagan groups began to emerge who called their religion a kind of 'witchcraft'. They were initiatory secret societies inspired by Murray's 'witch cult' theory, ceremonial magic , Aleister Crowley 's Thelema , and historical paganism. The biggest religious movement to emerge from this

1211-406: A cabinet. David asks if anyone from the House of Saul is still alive so that he can show kindness to them in memory of Jonathan. Ziba , one of Saul's servants, tells him about Mephibosheth. David informs Mephibosheth that he will live in his household and eat at his table, and Mephibosheth moves to Jerusalem. Nahash, king of Ammon dies and his son Hanun succeeds him. David sends condolences, but

1384-445: A case was brought to trial, the prosecutors hunted for accomplices. The use of magic was considered wrong, not because it failed, but because it worked effectively for the wrong reasons. Witchcraft was a normal part of everyday life. Witches were often called for, along with religious ministers, to help the ill or deliver a baby. They held positions of spiritual power in their communities. When something went wrong, no one questioned either

1557-402: A conspicuous part. The Code of Hammurabi (18th century BC short chronology ) prescribes that If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not yet justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river ; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcomes him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If

1730-601: A decisive victory at Helam . The Arameans realise they cannot win, make peace with Israel and refuse to help the Ammonites again. The following spring, Joab destroys the Ammonites. While Joab is off at war, David remains in Jerusalem. One morning, he is standing on the roof of his palace when he sees a naked woman performing ablutions after her period. David learns her name is Bathsheba , and they have sex. She becomes pregnant. Seeking to hide his sin, David recalls her husband, Uriah

1903-560: A feast, where he gives him the best piece of meat, and they talk through the night on the roof of Samuel's house. Samuel tells Saul to return home, telling him the donkeys have been found and his father is now worrying about him, as well as describing a series of signs Saul will see on the way home. Saul begins to prophesy when he meets some prophets, confusing his neighbours. Eventually, Samuel publicly announces Saul as king, although not without controversy. Shortly after, Nahash of Ammon lays siege to Jabesh Gilead and demands that everyone in

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2076-425: A form of Satanic influence and its classification as a heresy. As Renaissance occultism gained traction among the educated classes, the belief in witchcraft, which in the medieval period had been part of the folk religion of the uneducated rural population at best, was incorporated into an increasingly comprehensive theology of Satan as the ultimate source of all maleficium . These doctrinal shifts were completed in

2249-439: A great-grandson of Eli. Pretending he is on a mission from the king and is going to meet his men, he asks for supplies. He is given the showbread and Goliath's sword. He then flees to Gath and seeks refuge at the court of King Achish , but feigns insanity since he is afraid of what the Philistines might do to him. David travels to the cave of Adullam near his home, where his family visit him, until he finds refuge for them at

2422-517: A human cultural universal. One study finds that witchcraft beliefs are associated with antisocial attitudes: lower levels of trust, charitable giving and group participation. Another study finds that income shocks (caused by extreme rainfall) lead to a large increase in the murder of "witches" in Tanzania. Punishment for malevolent magic is addressed in the earliest law codes which were preserved, in both ancient Egypt and Babylonia , where it played

2595-483: A large amount of supplies to David herself. This turns out to be at exactly the right moment, since David had just threatened to kill everyone in Nabal's home. Abigail begs for mercy, and David agrees, praising her wisdom. That night Nabal has a feast, so Abigail waits until morning to tell him what she has done. He has a heart attack and dies ten days later. David marries Abigail and a woman from Jezreel named Ahinoam , but in

2768-545: A leper, someone disabled or someone hungry. He then holds a funeral for Abner. By this point, the only other surviving member of Ish-bosheth's family is Mephibosheth , Jonathan's disabled son, who was dropped by his nurse as she attempted to escape the palace after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Ish-bosheth is murdered by Rechab and Baanah , two of his captains who hope for a reward from David, who stab him and cut off his head. They bring his head to David, but David has them killed for killing an innocent man. They are hanged by

2941-414: A man named Jesse , with God promising Samuel can anoint one of his sons as king. However, while inspecting Jesse's sons, God tells Samuel that none of them are to be king. God tells Samuel to anoint David , the youngest brother, as king. Saul becomes ill and David comes to play the harp to him. Saul takes a liking to David and David enters Saul's court as his armor-bearer and harpist . A new war against

3114-533: A minority of the accused in any area studied". Likewise, Davies says "relatively few cunning-folk were prosecuted under secular statutes for witchcraft" and were dealt with more leniently than alleged witches. The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532) of the Holy Roman Empire , and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617, stated that workers of folk magic should be dealt with differently from witches. It

3287-638: A minority of those accused. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment . Many indigenous belief systems that include the concept of witchcraft likewise define witches as malevolent, and seek healers (such as medicine people and witch doctors ) to ward-off and undo bewitchment. Some African and Melanesian peoples believe witches are driven by an evil spirit or substance inside them. Modern witch-hunting takes place in parts of Africa and Asia. Today, followers of certain types of modern paganism identify as witches and use

3460-800: A multi-phase journey influenced by culture , spirituality , and societal norms. Ancient witchcraft in the Near East intertwined mysticism with nature through rituals and incantations aligned with local beliefs. In ancient Judaism , magic had a complex relationship, with some forms accepted due to mysticism while others were considered heretical . The medieval Middle East experienced shifting perceptions of witchcraft under Islamic and Christian influences, sometimes revered for healing and other times condemned as heresy . Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with idolatry and necromancy , and some rabbis even practiced certain forms of magic themselves. References to witchcraft in

3633-418: A pact with the devil and using witchcraft. In 1615, she was called a witch by a female neighbor in the duchy of Württemberg following a dispute with her of having given her a bitter drink that had made her ill. She was held captive for over a year and threatened with torture, but was finally acquitted thanks to her son's efforts. Modern scholarly estimates place the total number of executions for witchcraft in

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3806-404: A page to find them. If he tells the page the arrows are on his side of the stone, David can come to him, but if he tells them they are beyond the stone, he must run away. When Jonathan puts the plan into action, Saul attempts to kill him with his spear. Jonathan relays this to David using his code and the two weep as they are separated. David arrives at Nob , where he meets Ahimelech the priest,

3979-546: A persecution and expulsion of witches among the Goths in a mythical account of the origin of the Huns . The ancient fabled King Filimer is said to have found among his people certain witches, whom he called in his native tongue Haliurunnae . Suspecting these women, he expelled them from the midst of his race and compelled them to wander in solitary exile afar from his army. There the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through

4152-483: A reward to the people of Jabesh Gilead for performing Saul's funerary rites. Meanwhile, in the north, Saul's son Ish-bosheth , supported by Abner, has taken control of the northern tribes. David and Ish-bosheth's armies meet at the Pool of Gibeon , and Abner and Joab , another son of Zeruiah and David's general, agree to have soldiers fight in one-on-one combat. All this achieves is twelve men on each side killing each other, but

4325-647: A smaller extent Colonial America , took place from about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years' War , resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia , contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea , and official legislation against witchcraft

4498-530: A tent before. Secondly, God is still working to build David and his house up and establish the Israelites in the Promised Land . Thirdly, God will establish one of David's sons as king. He will build the temple, and his house will never be out of power. When Nathan reports this to David, David prays to God, thanking him for these revelations. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites , Edomites , Syrians, and Arameans . He then appoints

4671-461: A test: he is to dine with the king the following day for the New Moon festival . However, he will hide in a field and Jonathan will tell Saul that David has returned to Bethlehem for a sacrifice. If the king accepts this, he is not trying to kill him, but if he becomes angry, he is. Jonathan devises a code to relay this information to David: he will come to the stone Ezel, shoot three arrows at it and tell

4844-613: A wax or clay image (a poppet ) of a person to affect them magically; or using herbs , animal parts and other substances to make potions or poisons. Witchcraft has been blamed for many kinds of misfortune. In Europe, by far the most common kind of harm attributed to witchcraft was illness or death suffered by adults, their children, or their animals. "Certain ailments, like impotence in men, infertility in women, and lack of milk in cows, were particularly associated with witchcraft". Illnesses that were poorly understood were more likely to be blamed on witchcraft. Edward Bever writes: "Witchcraft

5017-406: A wide range of practices, with belief in black magic and the evil eye coexisting alongside strict prohibitions against its practice. The Quran acknowledges the existence of magic and seeks protection from its harm. Islam's stance is against the practice of magic, considering it forbidden, and emphasizes divine miracles rather than magic or witchcraft. The historical continuity of witchcraft in

5190-584: A widely circulated pamphlet, "Newes from Scotland," James VI personally presided over the torture and execution of Doctor Fian. Indeed, James published a witch-hunting manual, Daemonologie , which contains the famous dictum: "Experience daily proves how loath they are to confess without torture." Later, the Pendle witch trials of 1612 joined the ranks of the most famous witch trials in English history. In England, witch-hunting would reach its apex in 1644 to 1647 due to

5363-413: A window by Michal, who then takes an idol, covers it in clothes and places goat's hair on its head to cover David's escape. David visits Samuel. When Saul finds this out, he sends men to capture David, but when they see Samuel they begin prophesying, as does Saul when he tries to capture David himself. David then visits Jonathan, and they argue about whether Saul actually wants to kill David. David proposes

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5536-499: A witch (m. kaššāpu , f. kaššāptu , from kašāpu ['to bewitch'] ) was "usually regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ašipu , an exorcist or incantation-priest". These ašipu were predominantly male representatives of the state religion, whose main role was to work magic against harmful supernatural forces such as demons . The stereotypical witch mentioned in

5709-806: A witch, for it is not possible, nor ought to be believed by Christian minds. This conforms to the teachings of the Canon Episcopi of circa 900 AD (alleged to date from 314 AD), which, stated that witchcraft did not exist and that to teach that it was a reality was, itself, false and heterodox teaching. Other examples include an Irish synod in 800 AD, and a sermon by Agobard of Lyons (810 AD). King Kálmán (Coloman) of Hungary , in Decree 57 of his First Legislative Book (published in 1100), banned witch-hunting because he said, "witches do not exist". The "Decretum" of Burchard, Bishop of Worms (about 1020), and especially its 19th book, often known separately as

5882-537: A witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it. It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible. Islamic perspectives on magic encompass

6055-519: A witch-hunter, the methods used to extract confessions, and the tests he employed to test the accused: stripping them naked to find the Witches' mark , the "swimming" test , and pricking the skin . The swimming test, which included throwing a witch, who was strapped to a chair, into a bucket of water to see if she floated, was discontinued in 1645 due to a legal challenge. The 1647 book, The Discovery of Witches , soon became an influential legal text. The book

6228-486: Is Wicca . Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as "witches" and use the term "witchcraft" for their magico-religious beliefs and practices, primarily in Western anglophone countries . 1 Samuel According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Samuel , with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan , who together are three prophets who had appeared within 1 Chronicles during

6401-462: Is a crime punishable by death and the country has executed people for this crime as recently as 2014. Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of violence against women . In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. Children who live in some regions of

6574-450: Is annoyed, but David says it was for the Lord, and thus it was not undignified. Michal never has any children. David wishes to build a temple, arguing that he should not be living in a palace while God lives in a tent. Nathan , a prophet, agrees. However, that night Nathan has a dream in which God informs him that David should not build him a temple for three reasons. Firstly, God has not commanded it, and has never complained about living in

6747-465: Is calling him three times, he rushes to Eli. Eli informs him that God wishes to speak to him, and God informs Samuel that the earlier prophecy about Eli's family is correct. He is at first afraid to inform Eli of this, but Eli tells him not to be, and that God will do what is good in His sight. Over time, Samuel grows up and is recognised as a prophet. The Philistines , despite their initial worries when hearing

6920-412: Is clear from his much-quoted sermon of 1427, in which he says: One of them told and confessed, without any pressure, that she had killed thirty children by bleeding them ... [and] she confessed more, saying she had killed her own son ... Answer me: does it really seem to you that someone who has killed twenty or thirty little children in such a way has done so well that when finally they are accused before

7093-452: Is drunk, but when he realises she is praying, he blesses her. A child named Samuel is born, and Samuel is dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite  – the only one besides Samson to be identified in the Bible. Hannah sings a song of praise upon the fulfilment of her vow. Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas , sin against God's laws and the people, specifically by demanding raw rather than boiled meat for sacrifice and having sex with

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7266-426: Is forgiven and will not die, his son with Bathsheba will. The child becomes ill, and David spends his time fasting and praying, but to no avail, because the child dies. David's attendants are scared to tell him the news, worried about what he may do. He surprises everyone by ending his fasting, saying that he was fasting and praying was an attempt to persuade God to save his child, whereas fasting now isn't going to bring

7439-405: Is growing increasingly anxious about the upcoming battle, but cannot get advice from God. He decides to attempt to contact Samuel from beyond the grave. While he has expelled all the witches and spiritists, he learns that one remains at Endor . After Saul assures her she will not be punished, she agrees to summon Samuel. Samuel is not happy to be disturbed, and reveals that the Philistines will win

7612-561: Is king, but God allows David to defeat them in two battles, first in Baal Perizim and next in the Valley of Rephaim . The Ark is currently still in Baalah (another name for Kiriath Jearim), but David wants to bring it to Jerusalem. He puts it on a cart and employs the priests Uzzah and Ahio , both sons of Abinadab and brothers of Eleazar, to accompany it. A grand procession with musical instruments

7785-585: Is married off to the nobleman Adriel . However, David is in love with Michal , another of Saul's daughters. Although David is still unsure about becoming son-in-law to the king, Saul requires only 100 Philistine foreskins as dowry. Although this is a plan to have David captured by the Philistines, David kills 200 Philistines and brings their foreskins back to Saul. Saul then plots David's death, but Jonathan talks him out of it. Once again Saul tries to kill David with his spear, and so David decides to escape, lowered out of

7958-502: Is organised, but comes to a sudden halt when the oxen stumble, causing Uzzah to touch the Ark and die. David is afraid to take it any further and stores it in the house of a man named Obed-Edom . When, after three months, Obed-Edom and his family have received nothing but blessings, David takes the Ark to Jerusalem. As part of the ceremony bringing the Ark into the city, David dances in front of it wearing nothing but an ephod . Michal sees this and

8131-549: Is particularly used for women. A male practitioner of magic or witchcraft is more commonly called a ' wizard ', or sometimes, 'warlock'. When the word witch is used to refer to a member of a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as Wicca ), it can refer to a person of any gender. Witches are commonly believed to cast curses ; a spell or set of magical words and gestures intended to inflict supernatural harm. Cursing could also involve inscribing runes or sigils on an object to give that object magical powers; burning or binding

8304-508: Is passed to the city of Kiriath Jearim , where a new priest, Eleazar, son of Abinadab , is appointed to guard the ark for the twenty years it is there. The Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to God, the Philistines are decisively beaten, and the Israelites reclaim their lost territory. Samuel sets up the Eben-Ezer (the stone of help) in remembrance of

8477-531: Is recorded in 1563 in a pamphlet called "True and Horrifying Deeds of 63 Witches". Witchcraft persecution spread to all areas of Europe. Learned European ideas about witchcraft and demonological ideas, strongly influenced the hunt for witches in the North. These witch-hunts were at least partly driven by economic factors since a significant relationship between economic pressure and witch hunting activity can be found for regions such as Bavaria and Scotland. In Denmark,

8650-461: Is still found in Saudi Arabia , Cameroon and South Africa today. In current language, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, and so on, but with the real purpose of harming opponents. It can also involve elements of moral panic , as well as mass hysteria . The wide distribution of

8823-654: Is that witches cause harm by introducing cursed magical objects into their victim's body; such as small bones or ashes. James George Frazer described this kind of magic as imitative . In some cultures, witches are believed to use human body parts in magic, and they are commonly believed to murder children for this purpose. In Europe, "cases in which women did undoubtedly kill their children, because of what today would be called postpartum psychosis , were often interpreted as yielding to diabolical temptation". Witches are believed to work in secret, sometimes alone and sometimes with other witches. Hutton writes: "Across most of

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8996-414: Is the usual name, some are also known as 'blessers' or 'wizards', but might also be known as 'white', 'good', or 'unbinding witches'. Historian Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century. Ronald Hutton uses the general term "service magicians". Often these people were involved in identifying alleged witches. Such helpful magic-workers "were normally contrasted with

9169-411: Is to use protective magic or counter-magic , often with the help of magical healers such as cunning folk or witch-doctors . This includes performing rituals , reciting charms , or the use of talismans , amulets , anti- witch marks , witch bottles , witch balls , and burying objects such as horse skulls inside the walls of buildings. Another believed cure for bewitchment is to persuade or force

9342-446: Is tolerated or accepted by the population, even if the orthodox establishment opposes it. In these societies, practitioners of helpful magic provide (or provided) services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing , divination , finding lost or stolen goods, and love magic . In Britain, and some other parts of Europe, they were commonly known as ' cunning folk ' or 'wise people'. Alan McFarlane wrote that while cunning folk

9515-490: The Age of Colonialism , many cultures were exposed to the Western world via colonialism , usually accompanied by intensive Christian missionary activity (see Christianization ). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time. In Christianity , sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and

9688-461: The Indo-European root from which it may have derived. Another Old English word for 'witch' was hægtes or hægtesse , which became the modern English word " hag " and is linked to the word " hex ". In most other Germanic languages, their word for 'witch' comes from the same root as these; for example German Hexe and Dutch heks . In colloquial modern English , the word witch

9861-874: The Moabites , the Ammonites , the Edomites , the Zobahites , the Philistines and the Amalekites , winning victory over them all. His kingdom is in a constant state of war, and he constantly recruits new heroes to his army. However, he disobeys God's instruction to destroy Amalek: Saul spares Agag , the Amalekite ruler, and the best portion of the Amalekite flocks to present them as sacrifices. Samuel rebukes Saul and tells him that God has now chosen another man to be king of Israel. Samuel then kills Agag himself. Samuel travels to Bethlehem to visit

10034-565: The Tanakh , or Hebrew Bible, highlighted strong condemnations rooted in the "abomination" of magical belief. Christianity similarly condemned witchcraft, considering it an abomination and even citing specific verses to justify witch-hunting during the early modern period. Historically, the Christian concept of witchcraft derives from Old Testament laws against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to

10207-454: The Twelve Tables laid down penalties for uttering harmful incantations and for stealing the fruitfulness of someone else's crops by magic. The only recorded trial involving this law was that of Gaius Furius Cresimus . The Classical Latin word veneficium meant both poisoning and causing harm by magic (such as magic potions), although ancient people would not have distinguished between

10380-454: The accuser's estate was handed over instead. The Maqlû ("burning") is an ancient Akkadian text, written early in the first millennium BCE , which sets out a Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft ritual. This lengthy ritual includes invoking various gods , burning an effigy of the witch, then dousing and disposing of the remains. Witchcraft's historical evolution in the Middle East reveals

10553-456: The devil ; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he arises from death." Most societies that have believed in harmful or black magic have also believed in helpful magic. Some have called it white magic , at least in more recent times. Where belief in harmful magic is common, it is typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while helpful or apotropaic (protective) magic

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10726-434: The secular leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale witch-hunts . The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions

10899-402: The "Corrector", is another work of great importance. Burchard was writing against the superstitious belief in magical potions , for instance, that may produce impotence or abortion. These were also condemned by several Church Fathers. But he altogether rejected the possibility of many of the alleged powers with which witches were popularly credited. Such, for example, were nocturnal riding through

11072-416: The 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again and peaking in the 17th century; particularly during the Thirty Years' War . What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people), now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and

11245-512: The 300-year period of European witch-hunts in the five digits, mostly at roughly between 35,000 and 60,000 (see table below for details), The majority of those accused were from the lower economic classes in European society, although in rarer cases high-ranking individuals were accused as well. On the basis of this evidence, Scarre and Callow asserted that the "typical witch was the wife or widow of an agricultural labourer or small tenant farmer, and she

11418-623: The 3rd century AD, the Lex Cornelia had begun to be used more broadly against other kinds of magic deemed harmful. The magicians were to be burnt at the stake. Persecution of witches continued in the Roman Empire until the late 4th century AD and abated only after the introduction of Christianity as the Roman state religion in the 390s. The German author Wilhelm Gottlieb Soldan argued in History of

11591-659: The Amalekites, and David's wives taken captive. After seeking God's advice, David decides to pursue the raiding Amalekites, finding the Egyptian slave of one, abandoned when he became ill, who can show them the band. When they are located and found to be feasting, David fights all day, with only 400 escaping on camels. David recovers everything and returns to the Besor Valley , where 200 men who were too exhausted to come with him have been guarding supplies. David announces all are to share in

11764-435: The Ammonites suspect his ambassadors are spies and humiliate them before sending them back to David. When they realise their mistake, they fear retaliation from David and amass an army from the surrounding tribes. When David hears that they are doing this, he sends Joab to lead his own army to their city gates, where the Ammonites are in battle formation. Joab decides to split the army in two: he will lead an elite force to attack

11937-505: The Aramean faction, while the rest of the army, led by Abisai, will focus on the Ammonites. If either enemy force turns out to be too strong, the other Israelite force will come to help their comrades. The Arameans flee from Joab, causing the Ammonites to also flee from Abishai. The Israelite army returns to Jerusalem. The Arameans regroup and cross the Euphrates, and this time David himself wins

12110-605: The British Isles. Historian Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in this concept: the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of

12283-535: The Christian conversion of Norway by luring pagan magicians to his hall under false pretenses, barring the doors and burning them alive. Some who escaped were later captured and drowned. The manuals of the Roman Catholic Inquisition remained highly skeptical of witch accusations, although there was sometimes an overlap between accusations of heresy and of witchcraft, particularly when, in the 13th century,

12456-662: The Devil , though anthropologist Jean La Fontaine notes that such accusations were mainly made against perceived "enemies of the Church". It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by white magic , provided by ' cunning folk ' or 'wise people'. Suspected witches were often prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. While magical healers and midwives were sometimes accused of witchcraft themselves, they made up

12629-453: The Hittite , from battle, David encourages him to go home and see his wife, but Uriah declines in case David might need him, and sleeps in the doorway to the palace that night. David, in spite of inviting Uriah to feasts, continues to be unable to persuade him to go home. David then deliberately sends Uriah on a suicide mission. David loses some of his best warriors in this mission, so Joab tells

12802-553: The Inquisition to prosecute sorcerers in 1320, inquisitorial courts rarely dealt with witchcraft save incidentally when investigating heterodoxy. In the case of the Madonna Oriente , the Inquisition of Milan was not sure what to do with two women who, in 1384, confessed to have participated in the society around Signora Oriente or Diana . Through their confessions, both of them conveyed the traditional folk beliefs of white magic. The women were accused again in 1390, and condemned by

12975-629: The Israelite ritual of the entrance of the Ark of the Covenant , defeat the Israelites at the Battle of Aphek , capturing the Ark and killing Hophni and Phinehas, thus fulfilling the earlier prophecy. When Eli hears of these two events, particularly the capture of the Ark, he falls off his chair and dies. His daughter-in-law, in turn, goes into labour at this, and names her son Ichabod ('without glory') in commemoration of

13148-466: The Israelites make up a song about how much more successful David is than Saul. One day, Saul decides to kill David with a spear, but David avoids him. Saul realises that God is now with David and no longer with him, making him scared of David. He therefore seeks other ways to pacify David. First, he sends him on military campaigns, but this only makes him more successful. Next, he tries to marry him off to his daughter Merab, but David refuses, and so Merab

13321-530: The Judaean Second Temple period , Rabbi Simeon ben Shetach in the 1st century BC is reported to have sentenced to death eighty women who had been charged with witchcraft on a single day in Ascalon . Later the women's relatives took revenge by bringing false witnesses against Simeon's son and causing him to be executed in turn. No laws concerning magic survive from Classical Athens. However, cases concerning

13494-460: The Middle East underlines the complex interaction between spiritual beliefs and societal norms across different cultures and epochs . During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft rose in English-speaking and European countries. From the 1920s, Margaret Murray popularized the ' witch-cult hypothesis ': the idea that those persecuted as 'witches' in early modern Europe were followers of

13667-407: The Philistines begins, and a Philistine champion named Goliath emerges, challenging any Israelite to one-on-one combat, with the loser's people becoming subject to the winner. David goes to take food to his brothers in the Israelite camp, learns of the situation and the reward Saul is willing to give to the person who kills him great wealth, his daughter's hand in marriage and exemption from taxes for

13840-658: The Philistines out of fear of Saul, taking his wives with him and brutally destroying his enemies, largely the Geshurites , the Girzites and the Amalekites, but makes the Philistines believe he is attacking the Israelites, the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites instead. King Achish is pleased with him, and supposes he will continue to serve him. Eventually, the Philistines go to war with the Israelites, and David goes with them. Meanwhile, Saul

14013-463: The Signoria you should go to their aid and beg mercy for them? Perhaps the most notorious witch trial in history was the trial of Joan of Arc . Although the trial was politically motivated, and the verdict later overturned, the position of Joan as a woman and an accused witch became significant factors in her execution. Joan's punishment of being burned alive (victims were usually strangled before burning)

14186-570: The Witchcraft Trials that the philosopher and mathematician Hypatia , murdered by a mob in 415 AD for threatening the influence of Cyril of Alexandria , may have been, in effect, the first famous "witch" to be punished by Christian authorities. Cyril's alleged role in her murder, however, was already controversial among contemporary sources, and the surviving primary account by Socrates Scholasticus makes no mention of religious motivations. The 6th century AD Getica of Jordanes records

14359-468: The Würzburg trials of 1629, children made up 60% of those accused, although this had declined to 17% by the end of the year. Rapley (1998) claims that "75 to 80 percent" of a total of "40,000 to 50,000" victims were women. The claim that "millions of witches" (often: " nine million witches ") were killed in Europe is spurious, even though it is occasionally found in popular literature, and it is ultimately due to

14532-608: The account of David's reign. Modern scholarly thinking posits that the entire Deuteronomistic history was composed circa 630–540 BCE by combining a number of independent texts of various ages. The book begins with Samuel's birth and Yahweh 's call to him as a boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant follows. It tells of Israel's oppression by the Philistines , which brought about Samuel's anointing of Saul as Israel 's first king. But Saul proved unworthy, and God's choice turned to David , who defeated Israel's enemies, purchased

14705-444: The accused, which was important for the success of the witch trials. In practice, appeals were made to other witnesses to the crimes, so that the first informer was followed by others. In the event of a conviction, the informer sometimes received a third of the accused's assets, but at least 2 guilders . A well-known and well-documented example is the case of Katharina Kepler , the mother of the astronomer Johannes Kepler , for being in

14878-477: The age of kings is about to begin, and speaks to the Israelites, demonstrating his innocence and recapping the history of Israel. He calls on the Lord to send thunder and rain, and rebukes the people for their desire for a king. Nonetheless, he tells them that as long as they refrain from idol worship, they will not perish – but if they do, calamity will befall the kingdom. Despite his numerous military victories, Saul disobeys Yahweh's instructions. First of all, after

15051-733: The air, the changing of a person's disposition from love to hate, the control of thunder, rain, and sunshine, the transformation of a man into an animal, the intercourse of incubi and succubi with human beings, and other such superstitions. Not only the attempt to practice such things, but the very belief in their possibility, is treated by Burchard as false and superstitious. Pope Gregory VII , in 1080, wrote to King Harald III of Denmark forbidding witches to be put to death upon being suspected of having caused storms or failure of crops or pestilence. There were many such efforts to prevent unjust treatment of innocent people. On many occasions, ecclesiastics who spoke with authority did their best to disabuse

15224-401: The alleged witch to lift their spell. Often, people have attempted to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty. Throughout

15397-457: The alleged witch. It is commonly believed that witches use objects, words, and gestures to cause supernatural harm, or that they simply have an innate power to do so. Hutton notes that both kinds of practitioners are often believed to exist in the same culture and that the two often overlap, in that someone with an inborn power could wield that power through material objects. One of the most influential works on witchcraft and concepts of magic

15570-556: The armor-bearer refuses. When they see the battle going badly, the Israelites flee their towns, allowing the Philistines to occupy them. The next day, the Philistines find Saul, behead him, and take his armour to the temple of Astarte and his body to Beth Shan . When they hear what has happened, the citizens of Jabesh Gilead take his body and perform funerary rites in their city. Back in Ziklag, three days after Saul's death, David receives news that Saul and his sons are dead. It transpires that

15743-433: The battle, and takes his place as judge of Israel. In Samuel's old age, he appoints his sons Joel and Abijah as judges but, because of their corruption, the people ask for a king to rule over them. God directs Samuel to grant the people their wish despite his concerns: God gives them Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, whom Samuel anoints during an attempt by Saul to locate his father's lost donkeys. He then invites Saul to

15916-508: The battle, with Saul and his sons dying in the process. Saul is shocked and, although at first reluctant, eats some food and leaves. Back in the Philistine camp, several of the rulers are not happy with the idea of fighting alongside David, suspecting he may defect during the battle. Achish therefore reluctantly sends David back instead of bringing him to Jezreel with the Philistine army. When David and his men arrive in Ziklag , they find it sacked by

16089-486: The belief that humans could enter pacts with demons, which became the basis of future witch hunts. Ironically, many clerics of the Middle Ages openly or covertly practiced goetia , believing that as Christ granted his disciples power to command demons, to summon and control demons was not, therefore, a sin. Whatever the position of individual clerics, witch-hunting seems to have persisted as a cultural phenomenon. Throughout

16262-414: The blood. To counteract this, Saul sets up an altar so the proper laws can be observed. When a priest suggests asking God before launching another attack, God is silent, leading Saul to set up a pseudo-legal procedure to ascertain whose fault it is that God has abandoned them. The lot falls on Jonathan, but the men refuse to let him be executed since he is the reason for their victory. Over time, Saul fights

16435-427: The body are believed to grant supernatural powers, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral. Hutton draws a distinction between those who unwittingly cast the evil eye and those who deliberately do so, describing only the latter as witches. The universal or cross-cultural validity of the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" are debated. Hutton states: [Malevolent magic] is, however, only one current usage of

16608-423: The breath" meant slashing across a woman's forehead in order to remove the power of her magic. This was seen as a kind of emergency procedure which could be performed in absence of judicial authorities. Another important element of the persecution of witches were denunciations . "In England, most of the accusers and those making written complaints against witches were women." Informers did not have to be revealed to

16781-402: The burning of witches increased following the reformation of 1536. Christian IV of Denmark , in particular, encouraged this practice, and hundreds of people were convicted of witchcraft and burnt. In the district of Finnmark, northern Norway, severe witchcraft trials took place during the period 1600–1692. A memorial of international format, Steilneset Memorial , has been built to commemorate

16954-440: The capture of the Ark. Meanwhile, the Philistines take the Ark to the temple of their god Dagon , who recognizes the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues, are unable to take the Ark into any city on account of the fear of the populations of those cities, and return the ark to the Israelites, but to the territory of the tribe of Benjamin , to the city of Beth Shemesh , rather than to Shiloh, from where it

17127-399: The child back. After they have mourned, David and Bathsheba have another child, who they name Solomon (also called Jedediah). Back on the front line, in the city of Rabbah , Joab has gained control of the water supply. Joab invites David to finish capturing the city so that it may be named after himself. David gathers an army and travels up himself. He wins a victory, crowns himself king of

17300-400: The city have their right eye gouged out as part of the peace treaty. The Jabeshites send out messengers, looking for a saviour. When Saul hears of the situation, he gathers a 330,000-strong army and launches a surprise attack at night, leading Israel to victory and saving Jabesh, thus proving those who doubted him wrong. Saul's kingship is renewed. Samuel is aware he is the final judge and that

17473-409: The city of Ramathaim-Zophim , has two wives, Peninnah and Hannah , the latter of whom is his favourite wife, and a rivalry between the two develops based on the fact that Peninnah has children and Hannah does not. The childless Hannah vows to Yahweh lord of hosts that, if she has a son, he will be dedicated to God. Eli , the priest of Shiloh , where the Ark of the Covenant is located, thinks she

17646-562: The concept of "witchcraft" as one of the ways humans have tried to explain strange misfortune. Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they tend to have other explanations for strange misfortune. For example, the Gaels of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands historically held a strong belief in fairy folk , who could cause supernatural harm, and witch-hunting was very rare in these regions compared to other regions of

17819-509: The court of the king of Moab in Mizpah . One of Saul's servants, Doeg the Edomite , saw David at Nob, and informs Saul that he was there. Saul arrives at the town, concludes that the priests are supporting David and has Doeg kill them all. One priest gets away: Abiathar , son of Ahimelech , who goes to join David. David accepts him, since he feels somewhat responsible for the massacre. David liberates

17992-480: The death had been arranged by his stepmother. The most detailed account of a trial for witchcraft in Classical Greece is the story of Theoris of Lemnos , who was executed along with her children some time before 338 BC, supposedly for casting incantations and using harmful drugs. During the pagan era of ancient Rome , there were laws against harmful magic. According to Pliny , the 5th century BC laws of

18165-505: The death penalty. This law banned the trading and possession of harmful drugs and poisons, possession of magical books and other occult paraphernalia. Emperor Augustus strengthened laws to curb these practices, for instance in 31 BC, by burning over 2,000 magical books in Rome, except for certain portions of the hallowed Sibylline Books . While Tiberius Claudius was emperor, 85 women and 45 men accused of sorcery were executed. By

18338-476: The devil. To justify the killings, some Christians of the time and their proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was naked dancing and cannibalistic infanticide . It was also seen as heresy for going against the first of the Ten Commandments ("You shall have no other gods before me") or as violating majesty , in this case referring to

18511-458: The divine majesty, not the worldly. Further scripture was also frequently cited, especially the Exodus decree that "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), which many supported. Witch-hunts were seen across early modern Europe, but the most significant area of witch-hunting in modern Europe is often considered to be central and southern Germany. Germany was a late starter in terms of

18684-399: The early medieval period, notable rulers prohibited both witchcraft and pagan religions, often on pain of death. Under Charlemagne, for example, Christians who practiced witchcraft were enslaved by the Church, while those who worshiped the Devil (Germanic gods) were killed outright. Witch-hunting also appears in period literature. According to Snorri Sturluson , King Olaf Trygvasson furthered

18857-481: The efforts of Puritan Matthew Hopkins . Although operating without an official Parliament commission, Hopkins (calling himself Witchfinder General) and his accomplices charged hefty fees to towns during the English Civil War . Hopkins' witch-hunting spree was brief but significant: 300 convictions and deaths are attributed to his work. Hopkins wrote a book on his methods, describing his fortuitous beginnings as

19030-712: The employment (or presumed employment) of some occult means of doing harm to other people in a way which was generally disapproved of. In this sense the belief in witchcraft can be defined as the attribution of misfortune to occult human agency". Emma Wilby says folk magicians in Europe were viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing, which could lead to their being accused as malevolent witches. She suggests some English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed fairy familiars had been demonised . Hutton says that magical healers "were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up

19203-406: The fourth added by Christina Larner : Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the shunning or murder of suspected witches still occurs. Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic. Apart from extrajudicial violence , state-sanctioned execution also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia practicing witchcraft and sorcery

19376-435: The general public in at least four ways. Neopagan writer Isaac Bonewits proposed dividing witches into even more distinct types including, but not limited to: Neopagan, Feminist, Neogothic, Neoclassical, Classical, Family Traditions, Immigrant Traditions, and Ethnic. The word is over a thousand years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and cræft ('craft'). The masculine form

19549-438: The ground. Abishai advocates killing him, but David once again resists, content with taking a spear and water jug lying by Saul's head. The next morning, David advises Abner , Saul's captain, to put the soldiers to death for not protecting Saul, citing the absence of the spear and water jug as evidence. Saul interrupts, and once again repents of his hunt. He blesses David, David returns his spear and Saul returns home. David joins

19722-475: The harmful effects of pharmaka – an ambiguous term that might mean "poison", "medicine", or "magical drug" – do survive, especially those where the drug caused injury or death. Antiphon 's speech " Against the Stepmother for Poisoning " tells of the case of a woman accused of plotting to murder her husband with a pharmakon ; a slave had previously been executed for the crime, but the son of the victim claimed that

19895-584: The helpful magic of the cunning folk , witchcraft was seen as evil and associated with Satan and Devil worship . This often resulted in deaths, torture and scapegoating (casting blame for misfortune), and many years of large scale witch-trials and witch hunts , especially in Protestant Europe, before largely ending during the Age of Enlightenment . Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by Christian fundamentalists ) to non-belief. During

20068-430: The holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him. The Hebrew Bible condemns sorcery. Deuteronomy  18:10–12 states: "No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur , or

20241-404: The imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witchcraft has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use

20414-426: The inquisitor. They were eventually executed by the secular arm. In a notorious case in 1425, Hermann II, Count of Celje accused his daughter-in-law Veronika of Desenice of witchcraft – and, though she was acquitted by the court, he had her murdered by drowning. The accusations of witchcraft are, in this case, considered to have been a pretext for Hermann to get rid of an "unsuitable match," Veronika being born into

20587-426: The invasion, Saul learns David is now living in the desert of En Gedi and resumes his search for him. At one point, he enters a cave to relieve himself. David and his men are further back in the cave. They discuss the possibility of killing Saul, but David opts to merely cut a corner off his robe and use this as proof that he does not in fact wish to kill Saul. Saul repents of how he has treated David, recognises him as

20760-479: The killer's family and tells Saul he will kill Goliath. Saul wants him to wear his armour, but David finds he cannot because he is not used to it. Seeing David's youth, Goliath begins to curse him. David slings a stone into Goliath's forehead, and Goliath dies. David cuts off Goliath's head with Goliath's sword. Jonathan befriends David. Saul begins to send David on military missions and quickly promotes him given his successes, but begins to become jealous of David after

20933-564: The king 120 shillings, and pay the wer to his kindred, and enter into borh for him, that he evermore desist from the like. In some prosecutions for witchcraft, torture (permitted by the Roman civil law ) apparently took place. However, Pope Nicholas I (866 AD), prohibited the use of torture altogether, and a similar decree may be found in the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals . Condemnations of witchcraft are nevertheless found in

21106-686: The largest and most notable of these trials were the Trier witch trials (1581–1593), the Fulda witch trials (1603–1606), the Würzburg witch trial (1626–1631) and the Bamberg witch trials (1626–1631). In addition to known witch trials, witch hunts were often conducted by vigilantes, who may or may not have executed their victims. In Scotland, for example, cattle murrains were blamed on witches, usually peasant women, who were duly punished. A popular method called "scoring above

21279-541: The law codes also prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft. According to Tzvi Abusch, ancient Mesopotamian ideas about witches and witchcraft shifted over time, and the early stages were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft". In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took 'white' and 'black' forms, could help others using magic and medical knowledge, generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior. In ancient Mesopotamia,

21452-484: The lower nobility and thus "unworthy" of his son. A Catholic figure who preached against witchcraft was popular Franciscan preacher Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444). Bernardino's sermons reveal both a phenomenon of superstitious practices and an over-reaction against them by the common people. However, it is clear that Bernardino had in mind not merely the use of spells and enchantments and such like fooleries but much more serious crimes, chiefly murder and infanticide. This

21625-444: The majority were men. In Scots , the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females). The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants for several hundred years, outlining how to identify

21798-499: The masses did not accept this and continued to make use of their services. The English MP and skeptic Reginald Scot sought to disprove magic and witchcraft altogether, writing in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), "At this day, it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'". Historian Keith Thomas adds "Nevertheless, it is possible to isolate that kind of 'witchcraft' which involved

21971-505: The meantime Saul has married David's first wife, Michal, off to a nobleman named Palti, son of Laish . Saul decides to return to pursuing David, and the Ziphites alert him as to David's whereabouts. Saul returns to the desert of Ziph and sets up camp. One night, David and two companions, Achimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah (his nephew), go to Saul's camp and find him asleep on

22144-447: The messenger is an Amalekite who, at Saul's insistence, had killed Saul to speed his death along, and brought his crown to David. David orders his death for having killed God's anointed. At this point, David offers a majestic eulogy, where he praises the bravery and magnificence of both his friend Jonathan and King Saul. David returns to Hebron at God's instruction. The elders of Judah anoint David as king, and as his first act he offers

22317-405: The messenger reporting back to tell David that Uriah is dead. David instructs Joab to continue the attack of the city. After Bathsheba has finished mourning Uriah, David marries her and she gives birth. Nathan comes to David and tells him a parable. In a town, there are a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has much livestock, but the poor man has only one lamb whom he loves like a child. One day,

22490-589: The mid-15th century, specifically in the wake of the Council of Basel and centered on the Duchy of Savoy in the western Alps, leading to an early series of witch trials by both secular and ecclesiastical courts in the second half of the 15th century. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued Summis desiderantes affectibus , a Papal bull authorizing the "correcting, imprisoning, punishing and chastising" of devil-worshippers who have "slain infants", among other crimes. He did so at

22663-672: The ministers or the power of the witchcraft. Instead, they questioned whether the witch intended to inflict harm or not. Current scholarly estimates of the number of people who were executed for witchcraft vary from about 35,000 to 60,000. The total number of witch trials in Europe which are known to have ended in executions is around 12,000. Prominent contemporaneous critics of witch-hunts included Gianfrancesco Ponzinibio (fl. 1520), Johannes Wier (1515–1588), Reginald Scot (1538–1599), Cornelius Loos (1546–1595), Anton Praetorius (1560–1613), Alonso Salazar y Frías (1564–1636), Friedrich Spee (1591–1635), and Balthasar Bekker (1634–1698). Among

22836-776: The newly formed Inquisition was commissioned to deal with the Cathars of Southern France, whose teachings were charged with including witchcraft and magic. Although it has been proposed that the witch-hunt developed in Europe from the early 14th century, after the Cathars and the Knights Templar were suppressed, this hypothesis has been rejected independently by virtually all academic historians (Cohn 1975; Kieckhefer 1976). In 1258, Pope Alexander IV declared that Inquisition would not deal with cases of witchcraft unless they were related to heresy. Although Pope John XXII had later authorized

23009-503: The newly invented printing presses, enjoyed a wide readership. It was reprinted in 14 editions by 1520 and became unduly influential in the secular courts. In Europe, the witch-hunt craze was negligible in Spain, Poland, and Eastern Europe; conversely, it was intense in Germany, Switzerland, and France. The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in

23182-466: The next king and makes him promise not to kill off his descendants. Samuel dies, and, after mourning him, David moves on to the Desert of Paran . Here he meets the shepherds of a Calebite named Nabal , and his men help protect them. At sheep-shearing time, he sends some of his men to ask for food. Nabal refuses, preferring to keep his food for his household. When his wife, Abigail , hears of this, she takes

23355-410: The numbers of trials, compared to other regions of Europe. Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670. The first major persecution in Europe, when witches were caught, tried, convicted, and burned in the imperial lordship of Wiesensteig in southwestern Germany,

23528-551: The particular societies with which they are concerned". While most cultures believe witchcraft to be something willful, some Indigenous peoples in Africa and Melanesia believe witches have a substance or an evil spirit in their bodies that drives them to do harm. Such substances may be believed to act on their own while the witch is sleeping or unaware. The Dobu people believe women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake. Further, in cultures where substances within

23701-769: The people of their superstitious belief in witchcraft. A comparable situation in Russia is suggested in a sermon by Serapion of Vladimir (written in 1274~1275), where the popular superstition of witches causing crop failures is denounced. Early secular laws against witchcraft include those promulgated by King Athelstan (924–939): And we have ordained respecting witch-crafts, and lybacs [read lyblac "sorcery"] , and morthdaeds ["murder, mortal sin"] : if any one should be thereby killed, and he could not deny it, that he be liable in his life. But if he will deny it, and at threefold ordeal shall be guilty; that he be 120 days in prison: and after that let kindred take him out, and give to

23874-515: The pool of Hebron and Ish-bosheth's head is buried in Abner's tomb. David is anointed king of all Israel. Against all odds, David captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites . He takes over the fortress of Zion and builds up the area around it. Hiram I , king of Tyre sends craftsmen to build David a palace. Meanwhile, David's family continues to grow. The Philistines decide to attack Israel now that David

24047-457: The practice of witch hunts in geographically and culturally separated societies (Europe, Africa, New Guinea) since the 1960s has triggered interest in the anthropological background of this behaviour. The belief in magic and divination , and attempts to use magic to influence personal well-being (to increase life, win love, etc.) are universal across human cultures. Belief in witchcraft has been shown to have similarities in societies throughout

24220-518: The present. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions there is "difficulty of defining 'witches' and 'witchcraft' across cultures—terms that, quite apart from their connotations in popular culture, may include an array of traditional or faith healing practices". Anthropologist Fiona Bowie notes that the terms "witchcraft" and "witch" are used differently by scholars and

24393-409: The process. The panic this creates leads to a victory for the Israelites. Jonathan finds some honey and eats it, despite a royal decree not to eat until evening. Jonathan begins to doubt his father, reasoning an even greater victory could have been achieved if the men had eaten. The royal decree has other unintended knock-on effects, namely that the men start killing and eating animals without draining

24566-467: The request of inquisitor Heinrich Kramer , who had been refused permission by the local bishops in Germany to investigate. However, historians such as Ludwig von Pastor insist that the bull neither allowed anything new, nor was necessarily binding on Catholic consciences. Three years later in 1487, Kramer published the notorious Malleus Maleficarum (lit., 'Hammer against the Evildoers') which, because of

24739-467: The rich man has a guest for dinner, and instead of slaughtering one of his own livestock, took the poor man's lamb and cooked it. David angrily insists the rich man be put to death, but Nathan tells him he is the man, saying he has committed a sin to get something he already had plenty of (wives), and prophesies that his family will be gripped by violence, and someone will have affairs with his wives publicly. David repents, and Nathan tells him that while he

24912-446: The same time, David sends a petition to Ish-bosheth for the return of Michal, which Ish-bosheth agrees to. Patiel follows her crying until he is told to return home. Following the return of Michal, Abner agrees to get the elders of Israel to agree to make David king. Joab believes Abner was lying in his purpose of coming to David and, after recalling him to Hebron, kills him in revenge for Asahel. David curses Joab's family to always contain

25085-415: The sources tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers. The Law Code of Hammurabi ( 18th century BCE ) allowed someone accused of witchcraft (harmful magic) to undergo trial by ordeal , by jumping into a holy river. If they drowned, they were deemed guilty and the accuser inherited the guilty person's estate. If they survived,

25258-441: The tabernacle's serving women. But the child Samuel grows up "in the presence of the Lord": his family visits him each year, bringing a new coat for him, and Hannah has five more children. Eli tries to persuade his sons to stop their wickedness, but fails. As punishment for this, a holy man arrives, prophesying that Eli's family will be cut off and none of his descendants will see old age. One night, God calls Samuel and, thinking Eli

25431-664: The term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from ancient Mesopotamia , and in Europe , belief in witches traces back to classical antiquity . In medieval and early modern Europe , accused witches were usually women who were believed to have secretly used black magic ( maleficium ) against their own community. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by their neighbors and followed from social tensions. Witches were sometimes said to have communed with demons or with

25604-459: The term "witchcraft" for the actions of those who inflict harm by their inborn power and used "sorcery" for those who needed tools to do so. Historians found these definitions difficult to apply to European witchcraft, where witches were believed to use physical techniques, as well as some who were believed to cause harm by thought alone. The distinction "has now largely been abandoned, although some anthropologists still sometimes find it relevant to

25777-684: The term "witchcraft" or " pagan witchcraft " for their beliefs and practices. Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations. The most common meaning of "witchcraft" worldwide is the use of harmful magic. Belief in malevolent magic and the concept of witchcraft has lasted throughout recorded history and has been found in cultures worldwide, regardless of development. Most societies have feared an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman". Historians and anthropologists see

25950-511: The term to servant spirit-animals which are described as a part of the witch's own soul. Necromancy is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy , although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The biblical Witch of Endor performed it (1 Samuel 28th chapter), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of Eynsham : "Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call to

26123-887: The threshing floor where his son Solomon would build the First Temple , and brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Yahweh then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty. In the Septuagint , a basis of the Christian biblical canons , the text is divided into two books, now called the First and Second Book of Samuel. The Jerusalem Bible divides the two Books of Samuel into five sections. Further subheadings are also based on subdivisions in that version: 1 Samuel 1:1–7:17. Samuel 1 Samuel 8:1–15:35. Samuel and Saul 1 Samuel 16:1–2 Samuel 1:27. Saul and David 2 Samuel 2:1–20:26. David 2 Samuel 21:1–24:25. Supplementary Information A man named Elkanah , an Ephraimite from

26296-451: The treasure, and even sends some to the elders of Judah when he returns to Ziklag. Meanwhile, the Battle of Mount Gilboa is raging on and, as Samuel said, the Philistines are winning. Saul's three sons have been killed, and he himself has been wounded by arrows. Saul asks his armor-bearer to run his sword through him rather than let him be captured by the Philistines, but does it himself when

26469-589: The two. In 331 BC, a deadly epidemic hit Rome and at least 170 women were executed for causing it by veneficium . In 184–180 BC, another epidemic hit Italy, and about 5,000 people were brought to trial and executed for veneficium . If the reports are accurate, writes Hutton , "then the Republican Romans hunted witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world". Under the Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis of 81 BC, killing by veneficium carried

26642-677: The victims of the Finnmark witchcraft trials. In England, the Witchcraft Act 1541 regulated the penalties for witchcraft. In the North Berwick witch trials in Scotland, over 70 people were accused of witchcraft on account of bad weather when James VI of Scotland , who shared the Danish king's interest in witch trials, sailed to Denmark in 1590 to meet his betrothed Anne of Denmark . According to

26815-495: The view of the Church for many centuries. The general desire of the Catholic Church 's clergy to check fanaticism about witchcraft and necromancy is shown in the decrees of the Council of Paderborn , which, in 785 AD, explicitly outlawed condemning people as witches and condemned to death anyone who burnt a witch. The Lombard code of 643 AD states: Let nobody presume to kill a foreign serving maid or female servant as

26988-408: The village of Keilah from the Philistines with the help of God and Abiathar. When God tells him that Saul is coming and the citizens of Keilah will hand him over to Saul, David and his men escape to the desert of Ziph , where Jonathan comes and recognises him as the next king. Some Ziphites inform Saul that David is in the desert, but Saul's search is broken off by another Philistine invasion. After

27161-426: The wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps, a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore but slight resemblance to human speech. The Councils of Elvira (306 AD), Ancyra (314 AD), and Trullo (692 AD) imposed certain ecclesiastical penances for devil-worship. This mild approach represented

27334-482: The witch archetype. In some parts of the world, it is believed witches can shapeshift into animals, or that the witch's spirit travels apart from their body and takes an animal form, an activity often associated with shamanism . Another widespread belief is that witches have an animal helper. In English these are often called " familiars ", and meant an evil spirit or demon that had taken an animal form. As researchers examined traditions in other regions, they widened

27507-459: The witch who practiced maleficium —that is, magic used for harmful ends". In the early years of the European witch hunts "the cunning folk were widely tolerated by church, state and general populace". Some of the more hostile churchmen and secular authorities tried to smear folk-healers and magic-workers by falsely branding them 'witches' and associating them with harmful 'witchcraft', but generally

27680-404: The word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems still to be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic   ... or as the practitioner of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in

27853-497: The world, accusations of witchcraft are often linked to social and economic tensions. Females are most often accused, but in some cultures it is mostly males. In many societies, accusations are directed mainly against the elderly, but in others age is not a factor, and in some cultures it is mainly adolescents who are accused. Éva Pócs writes that reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories. The first three of which were proposed by Richard Kieckhefer , and

28026-550: The world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence stemming from witchcraft accusations. Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in Britain, including the much publicized case of the murder of Victoria Climbié . Magic was an important part of ancient Mesopotamian religion and society, which distinguished between 'good' (helpful) and 'bad' (harmful) rites. In ancient Mesopotamia , they mainly used counter-magic against witchcraft ( kišpū ), but

28199-401: The world, witches have been thought to gather at night, when normal humans are inactive, and also at their most vulnerable in sleep". In most cultures, witches at these gatherings are thought to transgress social norms by engaging in cannibalism, incest and open nudity. Witches around the world commonly have associations with animals. Rodney Needham identified this as a defining feature of

28372-456: The world. It presents a framework to explain the occurrence of otherwise random misfortunes such as sickness or death, and the witch sorcerer provides an image of evil. Reports on indigenous practices in the Americas, Asia and Africa collected during the early modern Age of Exploration have been taken to suggest that not just the belief in witchcraft but also the periodic outbreak of witch-hunts are

28545-463: The writings of Augustine of Hippo and early theologians, who made little distinction between witchcraft and the practices of pagan religions. Many believed witchcraft did not exist in a philosophical sense: Witchcraft was based on illusions and powers of evil, which Augustine likened to darkness, a non-entity representing the absence of light. Augustine and his adherents like Saint Thomas Aquinas nevertheless promulgated elaborate demonologies, including

28718-655: Was wicca ('male sorcerer'). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , wicce and wicca were probably derived from the Old English verb wiccian , meaning 'to practice witchcraft'. Wiccian has a cognate in Middle Low German wicken (attested from the 13th century). The further etymology of this word is problematic. It has no clear cognates in other Germanic languages outside of English and Low German, and there are numerous possibilities for

28891-529: Was E. E. Evans-Pritchard 's Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande , a study of Azande witchcraft beliefs published in 1937. This provided definitions for witchcraft which became a convention in anthropology. However, some researchers argue that the general adoption of Evans-Pritchard's definitions constrained discussion of witchcraft beliefs, and even broader discussion of magic and religion , in ways that his work does not support. Evans-Pritchard reserved

29064-449: Was found innocent, while Mary was acquitted of witchcraft but she was still sentenced to be hanged as punishment for the death of her child. She died in prison. About eighty people throughout England's Massachusetts Bay Colony were accused of practicing witchcraft; thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch-hunt that occurred throughout New England and lasted from 1645 to 1663. The Salem witch trials followed in 1692–1693. Once

29237-549: Was particularly likely to be suspected when a disease came on unusually swiftly, lingered unusually long, could not be diagnosed clearly, or presented some other unusual symptoms". A common belief in cultures worldwide is that witches tend to use something from their target's body to work magic against them; for example hair, nail clippings, clothing, or bodily waste. Such beliefs are found in Europe, Africa, South Asia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and North America. Another widespread belief among Indigenous peoples in Africa and North America

29410-421: Was reserved solely for witches and heretics, the implication being that a burned body could not be resurrected on Judgment Day . The resurgence of witch-hunts at the end of the medieval period, taking place with at least partial support or at least tolerance on the part of the Church, was accompanied with a number of developments in Christian doctrine, for example, the recognition of the existence of witchcraft as

29583-663: Was suggested by Richard Horsley that 'diviner-healers' ( devins-guerisseurs ) made up a significant proportion of those tried for witchcraft in France and Switzerland, but more recent surveys conclude that they made up less than 2% of the accused. However, Éva Pócs says that half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been healers, and Kathleen Stokker says the "vast majority" of Norway's accused witches were folk healers. Societies that believe (or believed) in witchcraft also believe that it can be thwarted in various ways. One common way

29756-836: Was used in the American colonies as early as May 1647, when Margaret Jones was executed for witchcraft in Massachusetts , the first of 17 people executed for witchcraft in the Colonies from 1647 to 1663. Witch-hunts began to occur in North America while Hopkins was hunting witches in England. In 1645, forty-six years before the notorious Salem witch trials , Springfield, Massachusetts experienced America's first accusations of witchcraft when husband and wife Hugh and Mary Parsons accused each other of witchcraft. In America's first witch trial, Hugh

29929-660: Was well known for a quarrelsome and aggressive nature." According to Julian Goodare, in Europe, the overall proportion of women who were persecuted as witches was 80%, although there were countries and regions like Estonia, Normandy and Iceland, that targeted men more. In Iceland 92% of the accused were men, in Estonia 60%, and in Moscow two-thirds of those accused were male. In Finland, a total of more than 100 death row inmates were roughly equal in both men and women, but all Ålanders sentenced to witchcraft were only women. At one point during

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