(8) Necromancy. 'A necromancer,' one who, by frequenting tombs, by inspecting corpses, etc., like the witch of Endor, pretended to evoke the dead, and bring secrets from the invisible world (Gen. xli :8; Exod. vii:i l ; Lev. xix:26; Deut. xviii:io-12).
(9) Betomancy. Belomancy. as it is called. is a form of divination by means of arrows (Ezek. xxi :21; see also 2 Kings xiii :14-to), a notable ex ample of which occurs in the history of Nebu chadnezzar, who, being undecided whether to march first against Jerusalem or Rabbah, allowed neither his policy nor resentment to decide the course of his expedition, but was determined wholly by the result of superstitious rites.
The way of divining by arrows was, having first made them bright, 'in order the better to fol low them with the eye,' to shoot them, and to prosecute the march according to the direction in which the greatest number of arrows fell; or, having 'mixed together' some arrows with the names of the devoted cities marked on them, to attack that first which was first drawn out ; or to put in a bag three arrows, as is the prac tice of the Arabs, one of which is inscribed with the words, 'Command me, Lord,' the second with 'Forbid me, Lord,' while the third is left blank; so that if the first is taken out, he was to go; if the second. he was to desist; if the third is drawn, no decision being given, the experiment is to be repeated.
(10) Rhabdomancy. Rhabdomancy, or divin ation by rods (Hos. iv :12), has been con founded with the preceding. But the instruments of divination which Hosea alludes to are entirely different from those described by Ezekiel, arrows being used by the latter, whereas the former speaks of 'staff.' The form of divination by the staff was, after placing it upright, to let it fall, and decide by the direction in which it fell. or, according to others, by measuring the staff with the finger, saying at each span. 'I will go,' or 'I will not go,' and determining the course, accord ing as it happened to be the one or the other at the last measurement. Both of these, as Jerome informs us, were frequently practiced by the As syrians and Babylonians. Herodotus (vi) de scribes the Alani women as gathering and search ing anxiously for very smooth and straight wands to he used in this superstitious manner.
(11) Images. Another way of divining was by 'images' (Ezek. xxi :21), which are generally considered talismans, but which the Persian and other versions render astrological instruments or tables.
(12) The Liver. Another form of divination was 'by looking into the liver' of a newly-killed sacri fice, and by observing its state and color accord ing to certain rules, to draw a favorable or un favorable omen.
(13) The Cup. The last form which it is of consequence to notice as alluded to in Scripture was by 'the cup.' But in what manner it was prac ticed ; whether it was by observing the appear ance of some magical ingredients that were in fused into the vessel, or whether allusion is made to a famous cup which the immemorial tradition of the East says has been in the possession of some great personages, and represents the whole world; or, finally, whether the original word ren dered 'divineth,' should be rendered by 'search ing' or 'inquiring earnestly,' as many learned writ ers, anxious to save the character of Joseph from the imputation of sorcery (Gen. xliv :5), have labored to prove, it is absolutely impossible, and we shall not attempt, to determine.
(14) Prevalence in Egypt. Egypt, the cradle of arts and sciences, if she did not give it birth, seem to have encouraged the practice of divina tion at an early age, and whether any of its forms had become objects of popular superstition, or were resorted to for the purposes of gain in the days of Joseph, it is well known that at the time of the Hebrew Exodus there were magicians in that country whose knowledge of the arcana of nature, and whose dexterity in the practice of their art, enabled them, to a certain extent, to equal the miracles of Moses. By what extraordinary powers they achieved those feats, how they changed their rods into serpents, the river water into blood, and introduced frogs in unprecedented numbers, is an inquiry that has occasioned great perplexity to many men of learning and piety. Some have imagined that the only way of ac counting for the phenomena is to ascribe them to jugglery and legerdemain ; the serpents, the frogs and the other materials requisite having been se cretely provided and dexterously produced at the moment their performances were to be exhibited.