(R.V., “sorceress”), and in Deuteronomy 18:10, as the rendering of
mekhashshepheth, the masculine form of the word, meaning “enchanter.”
- WITCHCRAFT (1 Samuel 15:23; 2 Kings 9:22; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Micah
5:12; Nahum 3:4; Galatians 5:20). In the popular sense of the word no
mention is made either of witches or of witchcraft in Scripture.
The “witch of En-dor” (1 Samuel 28) was a necromancer, i.e., one who
feigned to hold converse with the dead. The damsel with “a spirit of
divination” (Acts 16:16) was possessed by an evil spirit, or, as the words
are literally rendered, “having a spirit, a pithon.” The reference is to the
heathen God Apollo, who was regarded as the God of prophecy.
- WITNESS More than one witness was required in criminal cases
(Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). They were the first to execute the sentence on
the condemned (Deuteronomy 13:9; 17:7; 1 Kings 21:13; Matthew 27:1;
Acts 7:57, 58). False witnesses were liable to punishment (Deuteronomy
19:16-21). It was also an offence to refuse to bear witness (Leviticus 5:1). - WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT (Romans 8:16), the consciousness of the
gracious operation of the Spirit on the mind, “a certitude of the Spirit’s
presence and work continually asserted within us”, manifested “in his
comforting us, his stirring us up to prayer, his reproof of our sins, his
drawing us to works of love, to bear testimony before the world,” etc. - WIZARD a pretender to supernatural knowledge and power, “a knowing
one,” as the original Hebrew word signifies. Such an one was forbidden on
pain of death to practise his deceptions (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1
Samuel 28:3; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3). - WOLF Hebrews zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of
treachery and cruelty. Jacob’s prophecy, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf”
(Genesis 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judges
19-21). Isaiah represents the peace of Messiah’s kingdom by the words,
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6). The habits of the
wolf are described in Jeremiah 5:6; Habakkuk 1:8; Zephaniah 3:3; Ezekiel
22:27; Matthew 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29. Wolves are still sometimes found
in Palestine, and are the dread of shepherds, as of old. - WOMAN was “taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23), and therefore the man
has the preeminence. “The head of the woman is the man;” but yet honour
is to be shown to the wife, “as unto the weaker vessel” (1 Corinthians