Hebrew word · H178

אוֹב

'ov

medium

'Ov can mean the ghost summoned, the ritual pit through which it was called up (compare Hittite a-a-bi and Akkadian apu, 'pit'), or the person who does it ('a woman who is mistress of an 'ov', 1 Sam 28:7). It also means 'wineskin' (Job 32:19), possibly because the voice was thought to sound hollow.

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) water skin bottle

2) necromancer

1b) necromancer, one who evokes the dead

1c) ghost, spirit of a dead one

1d) practice of necromancy

3) one that has a familiar spirit

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 19:3

Range of meaning

'Ov can mean the ghost summoned, the ritual pit through which it was called up (compare Hittite a-a-bi and Akkadian apu, 'pit'), or the person who does it ('a woman who is mistress of an 'ov', 1 Sam 28:7). It also means 'wineskin' (Job 32:19), possibly because the voice was thought to sound hollow. Yidde'oni is from yada' 'to know': 'one who knows', meaning a knowing spirit or the person who consults it. The two always appear together.

Against the English

KJV 'them that have familiar spirits' / 'wizards'; BSB/NIV 'mediums and spiritists'; ESV 'mediums and the necromancers'. The modern versions are clearer; the KJV words have drifted (see drift).

How it drifted

In Early Modern English a 'familiar' was a household spirit attending a witch, and a 'wizard' was a 'wise one' (from 'wise'). Today the first suggests a witch's cat and the second a fantasy magician.

Used elsewhere in the period

Banned in Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27 and Deut 18:11. Saul consults an 'ov at Endor (1 Sam 28). Manasseh promotes them (2 Kgs 21:6) and Josiah removes them (2 Kgs 23:24). Most strikingly, Isa 8:19 uses the same verb and the same pair: 'When they say to you, "Seek to (dirshu el) the 'ovot and the yidde'onim"… should not a people seek to its God?' The Greek Septuagint renders 'ov with engastrimythos, 'belly-talker' or ventriloquist.

From the study of Isaiah 8:19

Range of meaning

A notoriously hard word. Proposed senses, several of which can overlap:

  • ghost / spirit of the dead that speaks (Isa 29:4: 'your voice will be like an ʾôb from the ground');
  • the practitioner who controls such a spirit (Lev 20:27: a man or woman 'in whom is an ʾôb');
  • a ritual pit dug to call up the dead;
  • possibly connected with ʾāb, 'father,' meaning ancestral spirits. The same word ʾôb also means a leather 'wineskin' (Job 32:19), and some connect the two senses.
Against the English

KJV 'them that have familiar spirits'; BSB/NIV/NASB 'mediums'; ESV 'mediums.' 'Medium' fits the practitioner sense but loses the sense of the ghost itself and the underground associations.

How it drifted

English has no single word that covers the spirit, the person who summons it, and the place it comes from. Translators had to pick one.

Used elsewhere in the period

Fixed pair with yiddeʿōnî in Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24. The woman of Endor is a baʿălat-ʾôb, 'mistress of an ʾôb' (1 Sam 28:7). H. A. Hoffner compared Hittite āpi and Akkadian apu, ritual pits through which underworld beings were summoned; the pit scene in Homer's Odyssey book 11 is a well-known Greek parallel. The LXX often renders it engastrimythos, 'belly-talker' (ventriloquist).

From the study of Leviticus 19:31

Range of meaning

A term from the world of necromancy, meaning communication with the dead. Its uses: (1) the ghost or spirit of a dead person (1 Sam 28:8, "divine for me by the ʾôv"; Isa 29:4, a voice "like an ʾôv from the ground"); (2) the person who has one or works with one (Lev 20:27, "a man or woman in whom is an ʾôv"; 1 Sam 28:7, baʿălat-ʾôv, "mistress of an ʾôv"); (3) possibly the ritual pit or device used to call the dead up. A different word spelled the same way means "wineskin" (Job 32:19).

Against the English

KJV: "them that have familiar spirits". BSB, NIV and NASB: "mediums". ESV: "mediums", with "necromancers" for the second term. "Medium" is broadly right, since the person stands between the living and the dead. But it loses the point that the word can name the ghost itself, and that what is being contacted is specifically the dead, not spirits in general.

How it drifted

"Familiar spirit" comes from early modern English witchcraft belief: a household demon (Latin familiaris, "of the household") that served a witch. The KJV translators used the idiom of their day, and it brings in a picture of witches and imps that is foreign to the Israelite world. "Medium" took on its modern séance sense with 19th-century Spiritualism.

Used elsewhere in the period

Possible relatives in other ancient languages: Hittite a-a-bi, Hurrian ābi, Akkadian apu and Sumerian ab, all meaning a ritual pit dug to summon underworld beings (H. A. Hoffner, JBL 1967). Other proposals link it to ʾāv, "father" (spirits of the ancestors; compare Ugaritic ʾilʾib, "divine ancestor"), or to an Arabic root meaning "to return" (a ghost that comes back). The Greek translation (LXX) usually renders it engastrimythos, "belly-talker", that is, a ventriloquist. This reflects the belief that the ghost spoke from inside the medium, and it matches Isaiah's "those who chirp and mutter" (Isa 8:19). Other uses: Deut 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 7–9; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24; Isa 19:3.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 3

  1. Leviticus 19:31 הָאֹבֹת֙ the necromancers

    You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

    Here: The ʾôv was the means of contact with the dead. Depending on the passage the word names the ghost itself, the person who has one, or perhaps the ritual pit it was called up from. Here it means the whole business of calling up the dead and the people who do it.

  2. Leviticus 20:6 הָֽאֹבֹת֙ the necromancers

    Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

    Here: Plural of ʾov. Elsewhere the word can mean the ghost that is called up, the person who calls it up, or (possibly) the pit used in the ritual. Here it means the practice and those who carry it out: getting messages from the dead.

  3. Leviticus 20:27 א֛וֹב a necromancer

    A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

    Here: The ghost of a dead person who is called up to speak, or the channel used to reach it. Here the ʾôb is "in" the person, which makes them the dead's mouthpiece. (See the full study.)

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 18:11 אוֹב֙ a necromancer

    casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.

1 Samuel · 5

  1. 1 Samuel 28:3 הָאֹב֥וֹת the necromancers

    Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

    Here: A word for calling up the dead. It can mean the spirit called up, the practitioner who calls it, or perhaps the ritual pit or device used. Here it means the practitioners, or the practice together with its people.

  2. 1 Samuel 28:7 א֔וֹב א֖וֹב necromancy

    Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied.

  3. 1 Samuel 28:8 בָּא֔וֹב by <the> necromancy

    So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”

  4. 1 Samuel 28:9 הָאֹב֥וֹת the necromancers

    But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?”

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 21:6 א֖וֹב necromancer

    He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

    Here: A term for contacting the dead. It can mean the ghost itself, the pit or device used to call it up, or the person who does the calling. The woman of Endor is a 'mistress of an ov' (1 Sam 28:7).

  2. 2 Kings 23:24 הָאֹב֣וֹת the necromancers

    Furthermore, Josiah removed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. He did this to carry out the words of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the house of the LORD.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 10:13 בָּא֖וֹב by <the> necromancy

    So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

    Here: "By means of the 'ov." This is the forbidden practice of calling up the dead. The word can mean the spirit of a dead person, the pit or means used to summon it, or the person who does so. It points directly to the woman at Endor (1 Sam 28:7, a "mistress of an 'ov").

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 33:6 א֖וֹב necromancer

    He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did great evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

    Here: The spirit of a dead person called up for consultation, or the person or pit-ritual used to call it up (1 Samuel 28:7–8). Used here as a collective: 'necromancy.'

Job · 1

  1. Job 32:19 כְּאֹב֥וֹת like wineskins

    Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 8:19 הָאֹבוֹת֙ the necromancers

    When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    Here: The ghosts of the dead, or the people and ritual devices that summon them. The word blurs the spirit and the one who calls it up; 'mediums' captures one side of it.

  2. Isaiah 19:3 הָאֹב֖וֹת the necromancers

    Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out from among them, and I will frustrate their plans, so that they will resort to idols and spirits of the dead, to mediums and spiritists.

    Here: "The 'ovot": the means of contacting the dead. The word can mean the ghost called up, the pit it was summoned through, or the person who did it (1 Sam 28:7). Israel's law forbids it (Lev 19:31; Deut 18:11).

  3. Isaiah 29:4 כְּא֤וֹב like a necromancer

    You will be brought low, you will speak from the ground, and out of the dust your words will be muffled. Your voice will be like a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper out of the dust.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.