Leviticus 19:31 Commentary: Why God Forbids Mediums and Wizards

Ancient Near Eastern cultures, including the Canaanites whom Israel would displace, regularly consulted spiritists and diviners. Deuteronomy 18:14 says flatly, “For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you so to do.” Israel was to be different.

The Hebrew word ’obh (medium) literally means “bottle” or “water skin.” Commentators note that it was applied to ventriloquists who made their voices seem to come from the belly or from underground (Barnes; Gill; Cambridge Bible). The Septuagint and early translations render it “ventriloquist” (engastrimuthos). The related term yiddeoni (wizard) means “knowing one” or “cunning man”, someone who claimed special knowledge of the future or of hidden things (Clarke; Jamieson-Fausset-Brown).

This verse sits in a list of commands that distinguish holy living from pagan customs. Verse 30 commands Sabbath-keeping and reverence for the sanctuary; verse 32 rises before the elderly; verses 33, 34 love the foreigner as oneself. Wedged between these social duties, the prohibition of occult consultation reminds readers that holiness is not only about outward practices but about whom you trust for guidance. The closing formula “I am Yahweh your God” appears repeatedly in Leviticus 19, anchoring each command in God’s identity and his claim on Israel.

The best-known Old Testament example is King Saul’s visit to the medium at Endor (1 Samuel 28:7, 25). Earlier, Saul had “sent away those who had familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land” (1 Samuel 28:3). That episode shows that even an Israelite king could be tempted to bypass God when God seemed silent. The prohibition is about loyalty: when you consult a medium, you are turning from the Lord to a substitute power.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Leviticus 19:31. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The Septuagint (LXX) translates ’obh as engastrimuthos (“ventriloquist”), reflecting a specific understanding that these practitioners spoke from the belly, which some later manuscripts preserve. None of the consulted commentaries raise any textual uncertainty that affects the meaning of the verse.

Early Christian writers such as Tertullian (On the Soul) and Augustine (City of God) used Leviticus 19:31 to argue that pagan divination and necromancy were demonic deceptions, inconsistent with faith in the one true God. The medieval church classified consultation of mediums as a form of idolatry, often linked to demonic pacts. Reformation figures like Calvin and Luther emphasized that the verse calls believers to exclusive trust in God’s providence rather than seeking hidden knowledge. In the modern period, this text has been central to evangelical teaching against all forms of occult practice, including psychic reading and spiritism. Pentecostal traditions have highlighted the verse as a warning against spiritual deception, while mainline churches often apply it to the broader principle of relying on God’s word rather than supernatural guidance from other sources.

Three-Point Outline

1. What is forbidden: “Don’t turn to mediums nor to wizards.” The Hebrew terms describe people who claim to contact the dead or foretell the future through occult means. The command is absolute.
2. Why it is forbidden: Seeking them defiles. The phrase “to be defiled by them” (v. 31) echoes the language of ritual impurity, the act breaks covenant purity. Consulting such sources is a form of spiritual adultery (Leviticus 20:6 calls it “playing the prostitute after them”).
3. What we are called to instead: “I am Yahweh your God.” The verse ends with God’s self-identification. The positive counterpart is trust in the Lord alone. The surrounding verses (Sabbath, sanctuary, honor of age, love of neighbor) show that holy living, not secret knowledge, is the path of blessing.

Five-Point Outline

1. The practitioners, mediums (oboth) and wizards (yiddeonim). These were real figures in Israel’s world, often ventriloquists or fortune-tellers.
2. The actions, “turn to them” and “seek them out.” The verbs imply deliberate, ongoing consultation.
3. The result, “to be defiled by them.” The contact brings guilt and separation from the holy God.
4. The reason, God’s exclusive claim on his people. Other nations seek hidden knowledge from spirits; Israel seeks wisdom from Yahweh.
5. The coverage, This prohibition applies broadly to all who claim to divine the future or contact the dead, as later passages (Deuteronomy 18:10, 14) make clear.

Illustration Hooks

• The psychic hotline: People pay money to hear a voice on the phone tell them what tomorrow holds. Our age has simply repackaged the old “wizards” with new technology. The heart’s longing for certainty is the same, and God says, “Trust me, not them.”
• The curiosity about a lost loved one: Grief can pull a person toward a medium who promises a message from beyond. The comfort of contact can seem worth the cost. This verse meets that ache with a better invitation: God himself is near.
• The quest for guidance: Before a big decision, it is tempting to look for signs, horoscopes, or “cunning men.” Holy living, Sabbath, sanctuary, honoring the elderly, loving the stranger, is the God-given framework for wisdom.

Questions Your Congregation Is Asking

• What about tarot cards, astrology, or Ouija boards, are those covered by this verse? The principle of seeking hidden knowledge from any source other than God is at stake.
• Is it always wrong to try to contact the dead? Christians across traditions affirm that God has closed that door; he invites prayer directly to him and reserves the knowledge of the afterlife.
• What if someone I know is into these things? The tone of this passage is severe (“cut off,” Lev 20:6), but the pastoral response involves prayer, witness, and inviting the person to the sufficiency of Christ.

This verse stands in the heart of the holiness code, surrounded by commands about the Sabbath, respect for the elderly, and love for the foreigner. Why do you think the prohibition of mediums and wizards appears in that company? What does it say about how God defines holiness?

Discussion Questions

1. Read Leviticus 19:31 aloud. What do the words “mediums” and “wizards” suggest to you about the practices being forbidden?
2. The Hebrew word for “medium” (obh) also means “bottle” or “water skin.” According to the commentaries, how does that relate to the ancient practice? Why might God use a concrete image here?
3. Why does the verse say the people consulted would be “defiled” by these actions? In what ways does seeking hidden knowledge apart from God affect a person’s relationship with him?
4. Look at the cross-references: Leviticus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 18:10, 12. How do these expand the prohibition? Does the New Testament have a similar teaching (e.g., Acts 16:16, 18)?
5. The verse ends with “I am Yahweh your God.” How does that declaration change the force of the command? Why is God’s identity the ultimate reason not to seek supernatural guidance elsewhere?
6. In what forms might the temptation to “turn to mediums” appear in modern culture? Are there subtle versions of this that even Christians can fall into?
7. How can a small group or church community help one another live out the positive side of this command, trusting God for guidance and not the hidden knowledge offered by the world?