Original Word: יִדְּעֹנִי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yidd`oniy
Pronunciation: yid-deh-o-nee
Phonetic Spelling: (yid-deh-o-nee')
KJV: wizard
NASB: spiritists, spiritist
Word Origin: [from H3045 (יָדַע - know)]

1. (properly) a knowing one
2. specifically, a conjurer
3. (by impl) a ghost

wizard

From yada'; properly, a knowing one; specifically, a conjurer; (by impl) a ghost -- wizard.

see HEBREW yada'

Word Origin
from yada
Definition
familiar spirit
NASB Translation
spiritist (2), spiritists (9).

יִדְּעֹנִי noun masculine familiar spirit (properly either as knowing, wise (acquainted with secrets of unseen world), Ew vielwisserisch; or as intimate acquaintance of soothsayer, see RS^{JPh xiv. 1885. 127}) — absolute יִדְּעֹנִי Deuteronomy 18:11 2t.; plural יִדְּעֹנִים 1 Samuel 28:3 6t.; הַיִּדְּעֹנִי מִן 1 Samuel 28:9, read הַיִּדְּעֹנִים מִן (see ᵐ5 Th We Klo Dr); familiar spirit, always "" אוֺב, אֹבוֺת 1 Samuel 28:3,9; Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 19:3; 2 Kings 21:6 (עשׂה אוֺב; "" נִחֵשׁ, עוֺנֵן) = 2 Chronicles 33:6; 2 Kings 23:24; Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6,27 (all H; on last two compare Acts 16:16 and Dr^{Deuteronomy 18:11}), Deuteronomy 18:11("" אוֺב + דֹּרֵשׁ אֶלהַֿמֵּתִים).

Definition and Overview

יִדְּעֹנִי (yiddeʿoni) designates a practitioner who seeks knowledge from the dead or from spirits other than the LORD—commonly rendered “medium,” “necromancer,” or “spiritist.” Every appearance of the word in the Old Testament is set in a context of divine prohibition or condemnation. The term is always paired with הָאוֹב (“medium, ghost specialist”), underscoring its place within occult activity that imitates prophetic revelation while rejecting the voice of God.

Biblical Prohibitions