Hebrew word · H7081

קֶ֫סֶם

kesem

divination

Divination: seeking a decision or knowledge of hidden or future things by technical, ritual means. These include casting lots, shaking arrows, consulting household images (teraphim), and reading animal livers or other omens.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

1) divination, witchcraft

1a) of the nations, Balaam

1b) of false prophets

1c) in a good sense (king's lips as oracles)

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 Ezekiel 13:23

Range of meaning: Divination: seeking a decision or knowledge of hidden or future things by technical, ritual means. These include casting lots, shaking arrows, consulting household images (teraphim), and reading animal livers or other omens. The noun can also mean the fee or the decision obtained (Num 22:7, 'fees for divination in their hand').
Against the English: "Divination" is the right term. The KJV's "divine divinations" keeps the Hebrew doubling of verb and noun. The NIV and ESV say "practice divination", which is smooth but drops the doubling.
How it drifted: For many modern readers 'divination' suggests fortune-telling booths or the occult in general. In Israel and Babylon qesem was a recognised, skilled practice used by kings and states. It was banned in Israel because it sought guidance apart from YHWH's word, not because it was considered fringe.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deut 18:10–14 bans the qōsēm qesāmîm ('diviner of divinations') together with other practitioners. 1 Sam 15:23 says 'rebellion is like the sin of divination'. Ezek 21:21 [Heb 21:26]: the king of Babylon 'practises divination', shaking arrows, consulting teraphim and inspecting a liver. Mic 3:11: 'her prophets divine for money', which parallels the payment in barley and bread in Ezek 13:19. Mesopotamian sources record a large professional divination industry (the bārû diviner, omen series).

From the study of Ezekiel 13:6

Range of meaning: Divination: getting a decision or knowledge of the future by technique and omen, such as casting lots with arrows, reading animal livers, or consulting household gods. The noun and the verb qāsam are almost always used of forbidden or foreign practice. One neutral or positive use is Prov 16:10, of a king's decisive judgment.
Against the English: All the supplied versions say 'divination(s)', which is accurate. What English readers may miss is the shock: this word is being applied to men who speak in Yahweh's name, not to pagan fortune-tellers.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deut 18:10–14 bans the qōsēm qəsāmîm ('diviner of divinations') and then promises a prophet like Moses as Israel's legitimate channel (18:15–22). Balaam is called 'the qōsēm' (Josh 13:22). Ezek 21:21 (Heb 21:26) describes Nebuchadnezzar at a fork in the road 'to practise qesem': shaking arrows, consulting teraphim, inspecting the liver. Babylonian liver-omen texts and models confirm that this was standard Mesopotamian technique.

From the study of 1 Samuel 15:23

Range of meaning: Divination: seeking hidden knowledge, especially about the future or about decisions such as going to war, through physical signs. Methods included casting lots, shaking arrows, examining animal livers, and consulting household gods (all three appear together in Ezek 21:21). The related verb qasam names the diviner (qosem). It is sometimes used of foreign seers such as Balaam (Josh 13:22) and of false prophets (Jer 14:14; Ezek 13:6–9).
Against the English: The KJV's "witchcraft" (followed by NLT) brings in a later English picture of witches: spells, curses, pacts with the devil, broomsticks. Qesem is about getting information and guidance, not about working magic. Most modern versions (ESV, NIV, NASB, BSB) correctly say "divination".
How it drifted: Behind the KJV's "witchcraft" lies the Latin Vulgate's ariolandi, "of soothsaying". The 1611 translators, writing in the age of England's witch trials and under James I, author of Daemonologie, used "witchcraft" broadly for any forbidden occult practice. Since then the English word has narrowed to spell-casting and pagan magic.
Used elsewhere in the period: Deut 18:10 lists the qosem qesamim ("one who divines divinations") first in the list of banned practices. Num 23:23 says "there is no divination against Israel". In Ezek 21:21 the king of Babylon divines at a crossroads with arrows, teraphim and a liver. Across the ancient Near East, kings routinely consulted omen experts before campaigns, as the huge Mesopotamian omen collections show.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

Numbers 22:7 וּקְסָמִ֖ים and divinations

The elders of Moab and Midian departed with the fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and relayed to him the words of Balak.
Numbers 23:23 קֶ֖סֶם divination

For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’

Here: Asking the gods for a decision by technical means such as lots, arrows or inspecting entrails. The Moabite elders came to Balaam with 'fees for qesem' in hand (22:7).

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 18:10 קְסָמִ֔ים divinations

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

Here: 'Divinations.' The verb and its own noun together ('divines divinations') name someone who does this as a trade, not someone who once wondered about the future.

1 Samuel · 1

1 Samuel 15:23 קֶ֙סֶם֙ divination

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”

Here: Getting hidden knowledge or guidance from omens, lots, arrows, livers and similar methods. This is not spell-casting. Moses' law bans it outright (Deut 18:10), and here it stands for the worst kind of religious disloyalty.

2 Kings · 1

2 Kings 17:17 קְסָמִ֖ים divinations

They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.

Here: The noun from the same root as the verb: 'they divined divinations'. Repeating the root stresses that this was regular practice, not a single lapse.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 16:10 קֶ֤סֶם׀ divination

A divine verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth must not betray justice.

Jeremiah · 1

Jeremiah 14:14 וְקֶ֤סֶם and divination

“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.

Here: Getting answers by omens, lots or other techniques, which Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids. Grouping them with diviners is an insult that puts Israel's prophets among pagan omen-readers.

Ezekiel · 4

Ezekiel 13:6 וְקֶ֣סֶם and divination of

They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.

Here: Getting answers by omens and techniques. Israel's law forbids it (Deut 18:10), and Ezekiel pictures the king of Babylon doing it with arrows, household idols and a liver (21:21). Calling Israelite prophets' oracles qesem files them with the forbidden pagan practices. It is a deliberate insult.
Ezekiel 13:23 וְקֶ֖סֶם and divination

therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

Here: The technical term for getting an answer about the future or about hidden things by ritual means such as lots, omens or objects. Deuteronomy 18:10 forbids it outright. It is again put first for emphasis.
Ezekiel 21:21 קָ֑סֶם divination

For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.
Ezekiel 21:22 הַקֶּ֣סֶם the divination

In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.

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