the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Exorcism
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or EXORCISM . The word may be defined as denoting the action of expelling an evil spirit by the performance of certain rites, including almost always the invocation of a reputedly holy name. An anticipation of the later methods occurs in David’s attempt to expel Saul’s melancholia by means of music ( 1 Samuel 16:16; 1 Samuel 16:23 ); and in the perception of the benefit of music may possibly be found the origin of the incantations that became a marked feature of the process. A more complicated method is prescribed by the angel Raphael ( Tob 6:16 f., Tob 8:2 ). In NT times the art had developed; professional exorcists had become numerous ( Acts 19:13; Acts 19:19 ), whilst other persons were adepts, and practised as occasion needed ( Matthew 12:27 , Luke 11:19 ). An old division of the Babylonian religious literature (cf. Cuneif. Texts from, Tablets in Brit. Mus ., pts. xvi., xvii.) contains many specimens of incantations; and the connexion of the Jews with that country, especially during the Exile, is an obvious explanation of the great extension both of the conception of the influence of demons and of the means adopted for their treatment. Exorcism was a recognized occupation and need in the Jewish life of the first century, as it became afterwards in certain sections of the Christian Church.
In the procedure and formulæ of exorcism, differences are traceable in the practice of the Jews, of Christ, and of His disciples. An illustration of the Jewish method may be found in Josephus ( Ant . VIII. ii. 5), who claims Solomon for its author, and describes a case that he had himself witnessed. Other instances occur in the papyri ( e.g . Dieterich, Abraxas , 138ff.), and in the Talmud ( e.g. Berakhoth , 51 a; Pesachim , 112 b ). The vital part of the procedure was the invocation of a name (or a series of names, of a deity or an angel, at the mention of which the evil spirit was supposed to recognize the presence of a superior power and to decline a combat, as though a spell had been put upon him. Christ, on the other hand, uses no spell, but in virtue of His own authority bids the evil spirits retire, and they render His slightest word unquestioning obedience. Sometimes He describes. Himself as acting ‘by the finger of God’ ( Luke 11:20 ) or ‘by the Spirit of God’ ( Matthew 12:28 ), and sometimes His will is indicated even without speech ( Luke 13:13; Luke 13:16 ); but the general method is a stern or peremptory command ( Matthew 8:16 , Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25 , Luke 8:29 ). He does not require any previous preparation on the part of the sufferer, though occasionally ( Mark 9:23 f.) He uses the incident to excite faith on the part of the relatives. His own personality, His mere presence on the scene, are enough to alarm the evil spirits and to put an end to their mischief. In the case of His disciples, the power to exercise was given both before and after the resurrection ( Matthew 10:1; Matthew 10:8 , Mark 3:15; Mark 16:17 , Luke 9:1 ), and was successfully exercised by them ( Mark 6:13 , Luke 10:17 , Acts 5:16; Acts 8:7; Acts 19:12 ); but the authority was derived, and on that ground, if not by explicit command (cf. ‘in my name,’ Mark 16:17 ). the invocation of the name of Jesus was probably substituted for His direct command. That was clearly the course adopted by St. Paul ( Acts 16:18; Acts 19:13-16 ), as by St. Peter and the Apostles generally in other miracles ( Acts 3:6; Acts 4:10 , James 5:14 ). The name of Jesus was not recited as a spell, but appealed to as the source of all spiritual power, as not only the badge of discipleship but the name of the ever-present Lord of spirits and Saviour of men ( Matthew 28:19 f., John 14:13 ).
R. W. Moss.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Exorcism'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/e/exorcism.html. 1909.
