Divination in the Biblical Texts

Context of this post

Recently I had a conversation on an online forum about Joseph Smith and his use of seer stones. Someone attempted to point out that there is no precedent in the Bible for men using small "peep stones" to channel revelation or texts. They wanted to point out the absurdity of “the fact that he (Joseph Smith) thought ‘magic rocks’ would help him do things”. In response to this clearly problematic idea, I have decided to publish this page in response to that charge.

What is divination?

It would be helpful to get our terms straight. When I refer to divination, I refer to any practice used to ascertain the will of God or other supernatural beings. This includes the use of mediums, signs or events to predict the future or discover hidden knowledge. Divination therefore encompasses a wide range of activities.

Biblical words for divination or diviners

While it seems there are statements written by some of the biblical authors that prohibit divination, it should be pointed out that English translations of the Bible unintentionally (maybe sometimes intentionally) conceal the underlying features of the Hebrew text, especially when mentioning divination. Some methods of divination were seen positively; others were neutral; and others were proscribed. Forbidden forms were witchcraft, sorcery, soothsaying, and augury, and necromancy.

Biblical Hebrew has a couple of words for these kinds of activites. The one notable one is kāšap̄ (כֶּשֶׁף), which is used 6 times in the Tanakh (Exo. 7:11, Exo. 22:18, Deut. 18:10-11, 2 Chr. 33:6, Dan. 2:2, Mal. 3:5). The word refers to witches or sorcerers; practicioners of sorcery either through astrology or by enchantments. In the Exodus tradition, for example, Moses and the children of Israel enter into a covenant with Adonai on Sinai, and one of the provisions of the covenant was to not permit sorcery:

You shall not tolerate a sorceress (מְכַשְׁשֵׁפָה).

— Exodus 22:18

This kind of commandment is expanded by the Deuteronomist:

Let no one be found among you who consigns a son or daughter to the fire, or who is an augur, a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer (וּמְכַשְׁשֵׁף), one who casts spells, or one who consults ghosts or familiar spirits, or one who inquires of the dead.

— Deuteronomy 18:10-11

In every instance the word kāšap̄ occurs in the Tanakh, it is condemned or is applied condescendingly to the practitioners of sorcery from different nations.

Another word that is used is nâchash (נָחַשׁ). Coming from the root word which means to whisper, it is used to refer to the practice of divination, enchantments, observing of omens, among other things. It also shows up in Deut. 18:10, and is found in other places. Interestingly, the word is employed in Genesis 44:5 in the story of Joseph of Egypt. When Joseph told his servants to overtake his brothers walking out of the city, he instructed them to say:

'...Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does he not indeed use it for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’"

— Genesis 44:5

Unfortunately, this translation is obscures the emphasis in the underlying Hebrew text. In the passage, nâchash is repeated successively to emphasize Joseph's activity. Dr. James D. Tabor, a Professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, translates the passage in his Transparent English Bible (TEB hereafter):

Is not this, that with which my master drinks, and he prognosticating (נַחֵשׁ) — he surely prognosticates (יְנַחֵשׁ) with it?

— Genesis 44:5 TEB

The author of this passage implies that Joseph used the cup for divination without disclosing the approval status of the practice. When Joseph's brothers were escorted back to his presence, he scolded them:

Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?”

— Genesis 44:15

Once again, there is an instance of emphasis via repetition of the word nâchash. The TEB translates it as:

and Joseph said to them, "What is this doing that you have done? Do you not know that a man such as me, prognosticates (־נַחֵשׁ) — he surely prognosticates (יְנַחֵשׁ)?"

— Genesis 44:15 TEB

Considering that the composer of the Joseph Cycle portrays Joseph as being one who interprets dreams of his two inmates and eventually of Pharaoh (Gen. 40, Gen. 41:1-36), it seems that a pattern emerges. Joseph is a diviner by skill and use it in a way that served the purposes of the God of Israel.

It seems this word in Genesis is used to refer to the practice of divination in neutral light. Outside of the ancestral tradition, it is used of neutral and bad divination. Most other occurrences of this word include a condemnation of the practice in the laws in Leviticus and the Deuteronomistic history (Lev. 19:26; 1 Kgs 20:33, 2 Kgs 17:17, 2 Kgs 21:6, 2 Chr. 33:6).

Another notable word is 'ānan (עָנַן). The word means "to cover" or in its denominative form, "to cover with clouds". Fun fact: In Gen. 9:14 there is a play on words between 'ānan (עָנַן) with the word for cloud, or 'anan (בְּעַֽנְנִי).

In most other cases it refers to soothsayers, enchanters, or those who observe omens in nature, and those that practice covert actions of a magical nature (2 Kgs. 21:6, 2 Chr. 33:6, Isa. 2:6, Isa. 57:3, Jer. 27:9, Mic. 5:12). In one instance it is compounded to form a place name in Judges 9:37 called Elon-meonenim which means "diviners' oak".

Another word used is qāsam which also refers to diviners, soothsayers and those who search for omens. The lexicon of this word can be found here.

While in most cases diviners in the Bible are described pejoratively, there are other cases where divination is used in a manner that serves the biblical narratives and ultimately God's purposes. We now move on to discuss the methods of divination that seem to be approved in the biblical texts.

Approved methods of divination

The Urim and Thummim

There Urim and Thummim (U&T hereafter) were two small stones mentioned in the Old Testament. They where typically used by high priests in the temple, and likely served in aiding the priest in receiving revelations from Adonai. According to some of the biblical texts it was commanded by God and seen as a legitimate method to know His will on difficult matters. Here are instances where the texts describe the U&T being commanded by God to be used:

Ostensibly, the concept these authors had was that the U&T could act a medium of divination to discern God's will. Another point of interest of the U&T is where they are placed on the priest's body. It would be placed in a pouch located near the the priest's heart, which is thought to be the center of thought and wisdom in Israelite thought. It was also understood to be the locus of spiritual conviction and purpose. This evidence supports the idea that it acted as an implement for receiving revelation.

The ordeal of bitter water

One particularly strange example of divination is in Num. 5:11-31 where Adonai gives instructions to Moses concerning the discernment of unfaithful wives. In the event that no direct evidence or witnesses could be produced to demonstrate a woman's infidelity, there was a procedure to test the accusation.

The procedure was for the husband bring his wife and a grain offering of jealousy to a priest at the tabernacle. The priest first make a concoction of holy water and dust from the tabernacle floor. He would then write a curse on a scroll and subsequently wash the writing into the water. After the accused woman disheveled her hair and held the offering in front of the priest, she would swear an oath affirming her innocence. The priest would then give the woman the concoction to drink. The result of the test hinged on the woman's reaction: if she became sick and bloated upon drinking it, she would be considered unfaithful and would face a judgment; if not, she would be considered not guilty and could be able to bear children.

Regardless of whether this was pragmatic or effective, the author of Numbers saw this method of divination as a legitimate test to evaluate a woman’s fidelity.

Lot casting

Lot casting is mentioned in some biblical texts as a method of divination to determine the will of God. It generally consisted of taking an object with text written on each face and tossing it on to the ground to see which side landed up. It is essentially the same thing as rolling a die. Lot casting was seen as an appropriate method to determine the will of the Lord by various biblical authors:

Other methods

There are also some methods of divination that are not approved or disapproved by God and are generally seen in a neutral light:

These examples come from Robert Boylan's blog page here.

Rebuttals

The notion that Joseph Smith using a “seer stone” is something that makes him fradulent should also be applied to the biblical prophets if one is to be consistent. Otherwise, it is a double standard.

It seems that in the case of the U&T, you have simple "yes/no" or "multiple choice" usages. To try to now extrapolate to whole new books never before read is ridiculous.

There is a lot wrong with this kind of response. To the person who That is a complete misrepresentation of my argument. I never claimed that such devices in the biblical texts were used to transcribe entire books worth of revelation like the Book of Mormon. All you were criticizing in the thread was “the fact that he (Joseph Smith) thought ‘magic rocks’ would help him do things”, and I responded to that criticism with the above evidence. The fact that Joseph Smith ever used such a device at all was your original gripe, and now you are shifting the goalposts to something beyond your original contention.

Saul was already doing stupid things, just look back 1 chapter where he made an "unlawful sacrifice". Trying to use him as an example of "what we can do", is a bad idea…

Saul's request to Adonai to indicate through the U&T who was guilty was never viewed in the text as something “stupid”. Neither is it regarded in the text as anything objectionable; it acknowledges that it happened without commenting on whether or not it was appropriate. Samuel's rebuke and deposing of Saul was based on Saul's failure to head Adonai's command to slaughter his enemies' cattle. Saul's use of the U&T is never marshaled as a reason to unseat him. Given the evidence from the Deuteronomistic history author above, the passages about him using the U&T and/or the ephod are seen as legitimate divination.