Familiar (Hastings' Dictionary)
' Familiar spirit ' is the tr. in EV of Heb. '6bh wherever it occurs (except Job 32" where in plu. it means 'skin-bottles,' EV 'bottles,' RVm ' wine skins '), on which see Driver on Dt 18" and art. Demon ; also Van Hoonacker, ' Divination by Ob,' ui Expos. Tillies, Jan. 1898. ' Familiar ' has in this phrase the sense of the 'La.t. fannliaris , belong- ing Ui one's family, and so to oneself, ready to serve one as a famulus or servant. The oldest example in Oxf. Eng. Diet, is Stow, Chron.
(1565) 107, 'A familiar spirit which hee had ... in likentsse of a Catte.' But it is found in Geneva Bible of 1500, 1 S 28' ^^- ' etc., whence it passed into AV. Similar phrases seem to be older, as Prose Legends in Anqlia, viii. 146 (14 — ), ' Hir famylier aungel thet hadide hir in kepynge ' ; and Capgrave, Chron. 25 (1460), 'That same familiar devel.' In Jer 20" we find the subst. ' familiars ' (Lat.
familiares), ' All my familiars watched for my halt- ing,' for which RV gives 'familiar friends' as the same Heb. is tr. in Ps 41» AV and RV. The Heb. U lit, m&D (or men) of my peace.' It occure also Jer 3822, Ob '. The moat instructive occurrence is no doubt Ps 41^, and the meaning is there at least not simply acquaintances, those to whom I should ^ve the ordinary- salutation, Peace be with you ' (Streane) ; but rather, as Cheyne, tboM who are epecially attached to me by a covenant.
Illustrations of the subst. ' familiars ' are Knox, ffist. 38, ' they would chop their familiars on the cheeke with it [the New Testament] ' ; and Hos 10'* Cov. ' All thy stronge cities shalbe layed waist, euen as Salmana was destroyed with his famUiers.' J. Hastings.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Familiar
Familiar fa-mil'-yar: Is found as an adjective qualifying "friend" and "spirit." ⇒See the definition of familiar in the KJV Dictionary (1) Used, in a number of Old Testament passages, of spirits which were supposed to come at the call of one who had power over them. 'obh, literally, something "hollow"; compare 'obh, "bottle" (Job 32:19 the King James Version); because the voice of the spirit might have been supposed to come from the one possessed, as from a bottle, or because of the hollow sound which characterized the utterance, as out of the ground (Isa 29:4); or, as some have conjectured, akin to 'ubh, "return" (nekromantis). Probably called "familiar" because it was regarded as a servant (famulus), belonging to the family (familiaris), who might be summoned to do the commands of the one possessing it. The practice of consulting familiar spirits was forbidden by the Mosaic law (Le 19:31; 20:6,27; De 18:11). King Saul put this away early in his reign, but consulted the witch of Endor, who "had a familiar spirit" (1Sa 28:3,7-8,9; 1Ch 10:13). King Manasseh fell into the same sin (2Ki…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia