Of course everything is out of Leviticus or Deuteronomy.
For the psychics/wizards - in looking at several translations, the common theme was talking to the dead. Cultural context again, mon ami. Even today, those claiming to speak to the dead are fucking cold readers seeking to enrich themselves. That kind of influence is retardedly strong, and, if you're susceptible to it (which is heartbreaking - a sister of mine genuinely believes in this), pretty much impossible to defend against. Look up MacKenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister (In WWII, I think) who consulted the spirit of his dead mother and had his dog stuffed (who he also consulted) for help making decisions that affected the country. I can see why, in a world where harsher punishments were the only ones people paid attention to, this would be acceptable.The traditional view is that ... the material (Leviticus) in it goes back to Moses' time. However, the tradition is comparatively late (it dates from Josephus, a 1st century CE historian), and scholars are practically unanimous that the book had a long period of growth, that it includes some material of considerable antiquity, and that it reached its present form in the Persian period (538-332 BCE).
fun leviticus facts quote:
I just don't have the energy to go on through all these now, but I'll give a more serious effort in the future....Although [Leviticus 18] is principally concerned with incest...
Apart from the questionable case of a man marrying his daughter, the list in Leviticus 18 roughly produces the same rules as were followed in early (pre-Islamic) Arabic culture. However, most tribal nations also disliked exogamous marriage—marriage to completely unrelated people ... In several prominent cases in the Torah, the incest rules are ignored in favour of marriage to a close relative; Jacob is described as having married his first wife's sister, and Abraham as having a father in common with Sarah (rather than a mother, which would have been permitted by the list). These are not seen as illegal marriages as the incest laws were not given until Moses.
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