- MAGIC The Jews seem early to have consulted the teraphim (q.v.) for
oracular answers (Judges 18:5, 6; Zechariah 10:2). There is a remarkable
illustration of this divining by teraphim in Ezekiel 21:19-22. We read also
of the divining cup of Joseph (Genesis 44:5). The magicians of Egypt are
frequently referred to in the history of the Exodus. Magic was an inherent
part of the ancient Egyptian religion, and entered largely into their daily
life.
All magical arts were distinctly prohibited under penalty of death in the
Mosaic law. The Jews were commanded not to learn the “abomination” of
the people of the Promised Land (Leviticus 19:31; Deuteronomy 18:9-14).
The history of Saul’s consulting the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-20)
gives no warrant for attributing supernatural power to magicians. From the
first the witch is here only a bystander. The practice of magic lingered
among the people till after the Captivity, when they gradually abandoned
it.
It is not much referred to in the New Testament. The Magi mentioned in
Matthew 2:1-12 were not magicians in the ordinary sense of the word.
They belonged to a religious caste, the followers of Zoroaster, the
astrologers of the East. Simon, a magician, was found by Philip at Samaria
(Acts 8:9-24); and Paul and Barnabas encountered Elymas, a Jewish
sorcerer, at Paphos (13:6-12). At Ephesus there was a great destruction of
magical books (Acts 19:18, 19).
- MAGICIANS Hebrews hartumim, (dan. 1:20) were sacred scribes who
acted as interpreters of omens, or “revealers of secret things.” - MAGISTRATE a public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew
shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land
(Deuteronomy 1:16, 17). In Judges 18:7 the word “magistrate” (A.V.) is
rendered in the Revised Version “possessing authority”, i.e., having power
to do them harm by invasion. In the time of Ezra (9:2) and Nehemiah
(2:16; 4:14; 13:11) the Jewish magistrates were called seganim, properly
meaning “nobles.” In the New Testament the Greek word archon, rendered
“magistrate” (Luke 12:58; Titus 3:1), means one first in power, and hence
a prince, as in Matthew 20:25, 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8. This term is used of
the Messiah, “Prince of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5). In Acts
16:20, 22, 35, 36, 38, the Greek term strategos, rendered “magistrate,”
properly signifies the leader of an army, a general, one having military