Witch, witchcraft (Hastings' Dictionary)
See Magic, vol. iii. p. 20S f. WITHS is the tr. in Jg 16'-"'» of -in; in pin., which means 'bowstring' in Job 30", Ps IP, and is so tr'' here by Moore, who thinks that it was with cords made from the intestines of animals that Samson oliered to be bound, ' green ' meaning fresh, not dried, when they would tie better and be less liable to split. But RV tr. the word ' tent- cord ' in Job 4-', and probably the meaning in Jg 16 is simply 'green ropes.' The Eng.
word (usually spelt 'withe') means a tough flexible twig or willow branch. Wyclif uses it in Lv 23'"' 'withies of the rennyn^e water,' i.e. willow branches ; also in Ps 137-, Is 15'. 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 Witch, witchcraft
Witch; Witchcraft wich, wich'-kraft: 1. Meaning and Use of the Words 2. Biblical Usage 3. Common Elements in Witchcraft and Ancient Oriental Magic 4. Rise, Spread and Persecution of Witchcraft LITERATURE 1. Meaning and Use of the Words: The word "witch" seems to denote etymologically "one that knows." it is historically both masculine and feminine; indeed the Anglo-Saxon form wicca, to which the English word is to be traced, is masculine alone. "Wizard" is given as masculine for witch, but it has in reality no connection with it. Wright (English Dialect Dictionary, VII, 521) says he never heard an uneducated person speak of wizard. When this word is used by the people it denotes, he says, a person who undoes the work of a witch. Shakespeare often uses "witch" of a male (compare Cymbeline, I, 6, l. 166: "He is .... a witch"). In Wycliff's translation of Ac 8:9 Simon Magus is called "a witch" ("wicche"). Since the 13th century the word "witch" has come more and more to denote a woman who has formed a compact with the Devil or with evil spirits, by whose aid she is able to cause all sor…
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