Demonic Possession in the Old Testament
While the New Testament frequently describes individuals as "demon-possessed" (δαιμονιζόμενοι) [2], often manifesting in physical ailments or mental distress [2, 8, 9], the concept of demonic possession in the Old Testament is not explicitly articulated in the same way. The term "demoniac" is primarily a New Testament designation for those afflicted by evil spirits [1].
The Old Testament does, however, acknowledge the existence and activity of malevolent spiritual forces. For instance, the devil is identified as having "the power of death" in Hebrews 2:14, a concept rooted in the broader biblical narrative [4]. There are instances where evil spirits are depicted as influencing human actions, such as the "lying spirit" that the Lord put in the mouth of Ahab's prophets to deceive him, leading to his death [12]. This passage in 1 Kings 22 illustrates a divine allowance for a spirit to work deception, though it doesn't describe the prophets themselves as "possessed" in the New Testament sense of being indwelt or controlled by a demon.
Instead of direct possession, the Old Testament often refers to practices associated with evil spiritual influence, such as divination and necromancy. Deuteronomy 18:10, 14, for example, condemns those who practice divination, and 1 Samuel 28:8 describes Saul consulting a necromancer [7]. These practices involve seeking knowledge or power from spiritual entities outside of God, which were strictly forbidden. The Philistine priests and diviners, as well as Balaam, are also noted for their involvement in such arts [7]. Ezekiel 21:21 mentions specific forms of divination, including consulting images (teraphim) and examining entrails [7]. These activities suggest interaction with spiritual forces that are not divine, aligning with later understandings of demonic influence, even if the terminology of "possession" is absent.
The Old Testament also uses language that, in some translations, might seem to hint at possession, but upon closer examination, refers to different concepts. For example, the name "Cain" can be interpreted as "possession" or "possessed" [5], but this is a linguistic root for a name, not a description of a spiritual state. Similarly, "Genubath" means "theft" or "robbery" [6], and "possession" in Genesis 34:29 refers to material wealth and captives taken as plunder [3], not spiritual indwelling. The Babylonian Talmud discusses a gentile acquiring a Jew through "possession" via conquest in war, which is a legal and physical concept, not a spiritual one [13].
New Testament accounts of demon possession frequently describe symptoms such as violence, revulsion at Jesus' presence, inability to speak, blindness, seizures, and self-destructive behavior [9, 10, 11]. These detailed descriptions of direct demonic control over an individual's body and mind are not paralleled in the Old Testament narratives. While the Old Testament acknowledges evil and spiritual opposition, it does not present the same explicit framework of individuals being "possessed by demons" as seen in the Gospels [2, 8]. The focus tends to be more on idolatry, sorcery, and the influence of evil in human hearts and actions, rather than direct demonic indwelling causing specific physical or mental afflictions.
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Possession — [[984]Demoniacs]”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Demoniacs — This word is frequently used in the New Testament, and applied to persons suffering under the possession of a demon or evil spirit, such possession generally showing itself visibly in bodily disease or mental derangement. It has been maintained by many persons that our Lord and the evangelists, in referring to demonical possession, spoke only in accommodation to the general belief of the Jews, without any assertion as to its truth or its falsity. It is concluded that, since the symptoms of the affliction were frequently those of bodily disease (as dumbness”
- Genesis “and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. -- Genesis 34:29”
- Hebrews “Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, -- Hebrews 2:14”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Cain — possession, or possessed”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Genubath — theft; robbery”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Divination — Of false prophets (Deut. 18:10, 14; Micah 3:6, 7, 11), of necromancers (1 Sam. 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1 Sam. 6:2), of Balaam (Josh. 13:22). Three kinds of divination are mentioned in Ezek. 21:21, by arrows, consulting with images (the teraphim), and by examining the entrails of animals sacrificed. The practice of this art seems to have been encouraged in ancient Egypt. Diviners also abounded among the aborigines of Canaan and the Philistines (Isa. 2:6; 1 Sam. 28). At a later period multitudes of magicians poured from Chaldea and A”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Daemoniac — One "possessed with a devil." In the days of our Lord and his apostles, evil spirits, "daemons," were mysteriously permitted by God to exercise an influence both over the souls and bodies of men, inflicting dumbness (Matt. 9:32), blindness (12:22), epilepsy (Mark 9:17-27), insanity (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:1-5). Daemoniacs are frequently distinguished from those who are afflicted with ordinary bodily maladies (Mark 1:32; 16:17, 18; Luke 6:17, 18). The daemons speak in their own persons (Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:23, 24; 5:7). This influence is clearly distinguished f”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 8:28: 8:28-34 This episode focuses on Jesus’ authority as well as on the cost of following him; those who walk by faith will, like the Messiah, also experience opposition. 8:28 possessed by demons . . . so violent: Demon-possession was often accompanied by violence, revulsion at the presence of the Son of God (8:29), inability to speak (9:32; 12:22), blindness (12:22), seizures (17:15), and self-destructive behavior (17:15). With Jesus’ exorcisms, the power of the Kingdom broke into human history (12:28).”
- Matthew (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Matthew 9:32: As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil--"demonized." The dumbness was not natural, but was the effect of the possession.”
- Luke (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Luke 9:36: And, lo, a spirit taketh him,.... An evil spirit, the devil, as in Luk 9:42 seizes and possesses him at once, and he suddenly crieth out; in a most terrible manner, giving dreadful shrieks, as soon as he perceives that he is seized by the demon: and it teareth him, that he foameth again; throws him into convulsions, so that he foams at the mouth: and so we read (t) of a son of a certain Jew, that "a certain spirit passed before him and hurt him, convulsed his mouth, and his eyes, and his hands were convulsed, and he could not speak.'' And bruising him; by dashin”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. II.--ON' THE OPPOSING POWERS. (part 2): his prophets. And He said, Thou shalt deceive him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so quickly. And now therefore the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets: the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."[5] Now by this last quotation it is clearly shown that a certain spirit, from his own (free) will and choice, elected to deceive (Achab), and to work a lie, in order that the Lord might mislead the king to his death, for he deserved to suffer. In the first book of ”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 181b.75:4: The Gemara asks: We found a source for a gentile acquiring a gentile through conquest, which is an act of taking possession; from where do we derive that a gentile can also acquire a Jew through the act of possession such as conquest? The Gemara answers: As it is written: “And the Canaanites, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took of them captive” (Numbers 21:1). This indicates that even a Jew is acquired by a gentile through the act of possession, in this case, conquest in war.”