Hebrew word · H3049

יִדְּעֹנִי

yide'oni

spiritist

From yāda', 'to know': 'one who knows, knowing one.' This may be a spirit of the dead with special knowledge, or the expert who has access to that knowledge. It always occurs paired with ʾôb.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a knower, one who has a familiar spirit

1a) a familiar spirit, soothsayer, necromancer (meton)

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 8:19

Range of meaning

From yāda', 'to know': 'one who knows, knowing one.' This may be a spirit of the dead with special knowledge, or the expert who has access to that knowledge. It always occurs paired with ʾôb.

Against the English

KJV 'wizards'; BSB/NIV/NASB 'spiritists'; ESV 'necromancers.' 'Wizard' originally meant 'wise one' (wise + -ard), which is close to the Hebrew 'knower,' but modern readers hear fantasy magic.

How it drifted

KJV-era 'wizard' was a fair match. The word later moved toward stage and fantasy magic.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24; Isa 19:3 (Egypt in panic will 'seek… the ʾōbôt and the yiddeʿōnîm'). The pairing shows these were recognised, established practices, not rare marginal ones.

From the study of Leviticus 19:31

Range of meaning

"Knowing one", from yādaʿ, "to know". Either the spirit of the dead thought to have hidden knowledge, or the specialist who draws that knowledge out. It occurs about 11 times, always right after ʾôv, so the two make a fixed pair, something like "ghosts and knowers".

Against the English

KJV and WEB: "wizards". BSB and NASB: "spiritists". ESV: "necromancers". The supplied gloss gives "soothsayers", but in Hebrew that English word usually translates other terms, such as ʿōnēn in 19:26.

How it drifted

"Wizard" first meant "wise one" (Middle English wys + -ard), so it once matched the Hebrew's "knowing one" quite well. Today it brings to mind fantasy magicians with staffs and spells, which the Hebrew is not about.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 20:6, 27; Deut 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24; Isa 8:19; 19:3. The LXX rendering varies: here epaoidos, "enchanter"; elsewhere gnōstēs, "knower". Mesopotamian texts have a parallel specialist, the šāʾilu ("asker"), who consulted ghosts (eṭemmu).

From the study of 1 Samuel 28:3

Range of meaning

'Knowing one', built from yādaʿ 'to know'. It refers either to a spirit of the dead that has hidden knowledge, or to a practitioner who claims such knowledge through spirits. It occurs 11 times, always paired with ʾôb (Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut 18:11; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; 23:24; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 2 Chr 33:6).

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT: 'wizards'. BSB/NIV/NASB: 'spiritists'. ESV: 'necromancers'. NLT uses a phrase about those who consult the spirits of the dead.

How it drifted

KJV's 'wizard' (from Middle English wys, 'wise', plus -ard) originally meant 'wise one, one who knows', which is close to the Hebrew 'knowing one'. In modern English a 'wizard' is a robed spell-caster from fantasy fiction. That loses the specific link to the dead.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint usually renders it gnōstēs ('one who knows') or epaoidos ('enchanter'). Its constant pairing with ʾôb shows it belongs to the same area as necromancy, as opposed to omens or spells in general. The 'knowledge' sought was knowledge of the future or of hidden matters, which the dead were thought to have.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 3

  1. Leviticus 19:31 הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔ים the soothsayers

    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: Formed from yādaʿ, "to know": "the knowing ones". Either the dead, thought to know hidden or future things, or the people who get that knowledge from them. In the Bible it always comes right after ʾôv.

  2. Leviticus 20:6 הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔ים the soothsayers

    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: Built from yadaʿ, 'to know': 'the knowing ones'. It refers either to the spirits who supposedly know hidden things or to the practitioners who claim that knowledge. Paired with ʾov, it names consulting the dead.

  3. Leviticus 20:27 יִדְּעֹנִ֖י a soothsayer

    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: Built on the verb "to know": "the knowing one." It means either a spirit of the dead believed to have hidden knowledge, or the person who gets that knowledge from it.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 18:11 וְיִדְּעֹנִ֔י and a familiar spirit

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

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 28:3 הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֖ים the soothsayers

    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: From the verb 'to know'. Either the spirits who 'know' hidden things or the people who claim knowledge through them. In the Bible it always appears paired with ʾôb.

  2. 1 Samuel 28:9 הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֖י the soothsayer

    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 וְיִדְּעֹנִ֑ים and soothsayers

    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: From yada', 'to know': a 'knowing one.' This means either a spirit of the dead that supposedly knows hidden things, or the specialist who consults it. It always appears paired with ov.

  2. 2 Kings 23:24 הַ֠יִּדְּעֹנִים the soothsayers

    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.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 33:6 וְיִדְּעוֹנִ֑י and soothsayer

    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: 'Knowing one,' from yada', 'to know.' Either a spirit of the dead believed to have hidden knowledge, or the person who consults it. It is always paired with 'ov.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 8:19 הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔ים the soothsayers

    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: Built from 'to know': 'the knowing ones,' either spirits of the dead believed to have special knowledge or the specialists who claim access to it.

  2. Isaiah 19:3 הַיִּדְּעֹנִֽים׃ the soothsayers

    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 knowing ones": from yada', 'to know'. These are spirits, or the people who consult them, believed to hold hidden knowledge. In the Bible the word always comes paired with 'ov. The irony: Egypt, proud of its knowledge, now begs 'knowers' among the dead.

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