KJV
Click to Change
Return to Top
Familiar:
fa-mil'-yar: Is found as an adjective qualifying "friend" and "spirit."
(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 21:6; 2Ch 33:6); but Josiah put those who dealt with familiar spirits out of the land (2Ki 23:24).
It seems probable, however, that the practice prevailed more or less among the people till the exile (Isa 8:19; 19:3). See "Divination by the ‘Ob" in The Expositor T, IX, 157; ASTROLOGY, 1; COMMUNION WITH DEMONS.
(2) "Familiars," "familiar friend," from yadha‘, "to know," hence, "acquaintance," one intimately attached (Job 19:14); but more frequently of ‘enosh shalom, "man of (my or thy) peace," that is, one to whom the salutation of peace is given (Ps 41:9; Jer 20:10; 38:22; also in Ob 1:7, rendered "the men that were at peace with thee").
Written by Edward Bagby Pollard
|
Line-By-Line Order:
 Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseSeparate LineVerse OnlyReference Only |
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJV Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
 Abbreviate Books Use SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square BracketsSort Canonically |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2024 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
Loading
Loading
| Interlinear |
| Bibles |
| Cross-Refs |
| Commentaries |
| Dictionaries |
| Miscellaneous |
