Medium אוֹב

We are in chapter nineteen of Leviticus with our word for today used for the first time in the Bible. אוֹב spirit of the dead, necromancer, ghost, skin-bottle, soothsayer. It is used 16 times in the Old Testament. Our word is used in the sense of a ghost, the spirit of the dead raised by necromancy. 1 Samuel 28:8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a הָאֹב֥וֹת spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” Isaiah 29:4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a כְּא֤וֹב ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper. Most of the time our word is used in the sense of a medium, someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead. This is how our word is used in our chapter today which is also the first time it is used in the Bible. Leviticus 19:31 Do not turn to הָאֹבֹת֙ mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. God, throughout the rest of the Bible, clearly condemns such practices because of how dangerous and deadly it is to his people. Leviticus 20:6, 27 If a person turns to הָֽאֹבֹת֙ mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people … A man or a woman who is a א֛וֹב medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them. God specifically identifies Saul’s failure and death to participating in this practice. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a בָּא֖וֹב medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. God points out how ridiculous it is for people to ask for help from dead people instead of asking the living God. Isaiah 8:19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of הָאֹבוֹת֙ the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? I’ll close with another use of our word that emphasizes what we saw yesterday with all the evil activity around our word for today and yesterday’s word. In fact, this evil is so bad, as we have seen, this was why God drove out the people before them from the land. Deuteronomy 18:9-11 When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a אוֹב֙ medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.