However, it also makes clear that witchcraft can be performed by Gentiles outside of the holy land Israel. Traditional Judaism forbids the practice of magic mainly on the basis that it involves the worship of other gods. The Jewish Kabbalah was a major influence on later Hermeticism and Qabalah. Kabbalah is a mystical school within Judaism, which provides a set of esoteric teachings to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the traditional Rabbinic literature. However, verses such as “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” provided scriptural justification for the Christian witch hunts in the Early Modern Period, are based on the translation in the King James Bible, whereas the original Hebrew was closer to “sorcerer” or “one who uses magic to harm others.” Biblical references to witches have more to do with mediums and necromancers applying certain practices of Divination, like King Solomon and the so-called Witch of Endor employed by King Saul. References to sorcery can be found in the Hebrew Bible, and there is some evidence that these commandments of magic use were enforced under the Hebrew kings. They used magical power to heal sickness and other acts of white witchcraft or sorcery are ascribed to gods, heroes and men in the literature of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Canaan. Belief in magical practices can be found in several cultures of the ancient Middle East.
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