Understanding Familiar Spirits

We are familiar with the phrase ‘familiar spirits’. Lev 19:31 says “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” What you may not know is the Hebrew word translated as ‘familiar’ is a derivative of the Hebrew word yada, which means to know through the five physical senses.

My Hebrew expert writes, “The interesting thing about this word pronounced “yidoni” (or, in the plural, “yidonim”) is that it is always used together with the word אוב ֝(pronounced “ove”). An “ove” is a ritual pit used by a spiritist to conjure up the spirit of the dead (the yidoni). This practice was strictly forbidden by the Law, but we can see it in operation in 1 Sam 28, where Saul went to the witch of Endor, an “owner of a ritual pit (an ‘ove’)” So Saul asked her to conjure up Samuel. Nowhere does the word “spirit” of the dead appear, but as we see that it certainly was Samuel who appeared, and quite angry at being disturbed, and angry at Saul for doing so. But the text indicates that this was indeed Samuel. The purpose of conjuring up the dead was to gain knowledge … and that’s where the meaning of “yidoni” comes from, from seeking knowledge from the dead (instead of from God).”