eprintid: 10157022
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/15/70/22
datestamp: 2022-10-10 15:50:45
lastmod: 2023-10-16 06:10:05
status_changed: 2022-10-10 15:50:45
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Damsma, Alinda
title: The Undiscovered “Witches” of the Bible: On the Absence of Ezekiel 13:17–23 in the Early Modern Witchcraft Debate
ispublished: pub
divisions: C01
divisions: F14
divisions: B03
divisions: UCL
keywords: Bible, Book of Ezekiel, prophetesses, divination, witchcraft, binding magic, witch-hunts, demonology
note: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
abstract: In the Hebrew Bible we find a diatribe against false prophetesses in Ezekiel 13:17–23. The prophet's verbal attack on these women is preserved in a highly complex text, riddled with text-critical issues and hapax legomena. Ezekiel accuses them of entrapping souls and manipulating life and death. Many scholars have interpreted this obscure text as a reference to witchcraft; these women are understood by Ezekiel to be engaged in harmful magic. However, it has also been argued that the prophet is delivering a polemic against necromancy or certain midwifery rituals. Although the precise nature of the women's activities remains shrouded in mystery, their description contains elements that are reminiscent of the learned concept of witchcraft as it circulated throughout Europe in the early modern period. Nevertheless, despite the demonologies being full of scriptural references, Ezekiel 13:17–23 is noticeably absent. This article compares the depiction of these women and their activities with the portrayal of the witch and her maleficiumin the early modern witchcraft debate. It further explains why the demonologists overlooked this passage by examining its reception history from the period of the early church onward.
date: 2022-10-15
date_type: published
publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2022.0025
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1964074
doi: 10.1353/mrw.2022.0025
lyricists_name: Damsma, Alinda
lyricists_id: ADAMS75
actors_name: Damsma, Alinda
actors_id: ADAMS75
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft
volume: 17
number: 2
pagerange: 241-269
citation:        Damsma, Alinda;      (2022)    The Undiscovered “Witches” of the Bible: On the Absence of Ezekiel 13:17–23 in the Early Modern Witchcraft Debate.                   Magic, Ritual and Witchcraft , 17  (2)   pp. 241-269.    10.1353/mrw.2022.0025 <https://doi.org/10.1353/mrw.2022.0025>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10157022/1/Damsma_project_muse_867060.pdf