1 occurrence in 1 dictionary
Reference: Familiar spirit
Easton
Sorcerers or necormancers, who professed to call up the dead to answer questions, were said to have a "familiar spirit" (De 18:11; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6; Le 19:31; 20:6; Isa 8:19; 29:4). Such a person was called by the Hebrews an 'ob, which properly means a leathern bottle; for sorcerers were regarded as vessels containing the inspiring demon. This Hebrew word was equivalent to the pytho of the Greeks, and was used to denote both the person and the spirit which possessed him (Le 20:27; 1Sa 28:8; comp. Ac 16:16). The word "familiar" is from the Latin familiaris, meaning a "household servant," and was intended to express the idea that sorcerers had spirits as their servants ready to obey their commands.