חֶ֫בֶר
che.ver
spell
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Analysis of חֶ֫בֶר (chever) Based on the lexicon data provided, חֶ֫בֶר (chever) is a Hebrew term defined as "spell" with four occurrences in the biblical text. The word appears rarely in Scripture, appearing only four times across the entire Hebrew Bible. This limited frequency suggests it represents a specialized concept rather than an everyday term in ancient Hebrew vocabulary. The definition "spell" indicates the word refers to some form of magical utterance or incantation—language believed to produce supernatural effects. Given that the word appears only four times, understanding its precise application would require examining its specific contexts of use. The rarity of the term suggests that biblical writers did not frequently employ this particular word when discussing magical practices, though the concept itself may have appeared in biblical discourse through other terminology. The lexical evidence indicates that חֶ֫בֶר occupied a distinct place in biblical Hebrew vocabulary related to magical or supernatural language practices. Its scarcity in the biblical record may reflect either limited concern with documenting such practices or deliberate avoidance of terminology associated with forbidden magical activities. Without access to the specific verses where this word appears, the full range of its usage and cultural significance remains constrained by the basic definitional information available.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences across the text
which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
Isaiah 47:9But these two things will come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in their full measure, in the multitude of your sorceries, and the great abundance of your enchantments.
Isaiah 47:12“Stand now with your enchantments and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth, as if you might profit, as if you might prevail.
Deuteronomy 18:11or a charmer, or someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.