In the KJV, the translation of Ex. 22:18 is "Thou Shalt not suffer a Witch to live. The NIV, (a contextual translation), has it as "Thou shalt not
suffer a sorcerer to live."
In the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, it claims the word
"witch" in Hebrew as " 3784 kashaph, a prim. root; prop. to whisper a spell, i.e. to enchant or practice magic:--sorcerer, (use) witch (-craft)."
However, in the Webster's New World Hebrew Dictionary, the term "kashaph", can be broken into two parts: a root word, "kash", meaning, "straw, herb, reed", and "hapaleh", or "casting, bringing down, using."
Combined, these words translate into "using/casting herbs/straws/reeds" -
one who uses herbs.
So a better translation is "one who uses/has knowledge of herbs".
Hebrew is a contextual language. Words can have a positive or negative
meaning based upon context.
Kashaph is not the Hebrew term for witch. The Hebrew term for witchcraft is "keeshoof", meaning sorcery or magic. "Mekhash" means "to bewitch", and the term for a female who practices magic is "mekhashah", whereas the term for a male is "mekhashef", (the "ah" and "ef" suffix denoting gender.)
Note that none of these terms has a similar root to "kashaph". Therefore,
the question is, why did a unrelated term like "kashaph" get mistakenly
translated into "witch" ?? Easy, terms that denote "knowledge of herbs" have tended to get translated as "witchcraft" in theological writings for nearly 2000 years.
His reply
Dear Marty Lineberry,
The verse says "A Witch shall not live."
Your confusion is due to the fact that you can't read Hebrew and rely
on inaccurate sources. You quote some incorrect translations such as
the example "kash" which is completely unrelated to the questionable
word. This word is written with a Koof whereas the the word you question
is written with a Kaf.
In short, the word here is Witch with no room for other interpretations.
You seem to be a very thorough person in your quest for the true meaning
of the Book of Books.
We suggest that you learn the Hebrew language and reduce your dependence
on confusing, misleading, and often inaccurate sources.
Dr. Danny Ben-Gigi
Hebrew World