Exodus 22:18 and the Poisoner They Called a Witch

There is one verse that hangs over every Christian Witch like a guillotine.

You know the one. Maybe it was whispered by a family member who found your tarot cards. Maybe it was shouted at you by a stranger who saw you looking at books about Wicca and candle magic. Maybe you've never heard it spoken aloud, but you still feel it—like a hand on your shoulder, pulling you back.

Exodus 22:18.

In the King James Version, it is blunt: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

For centuries, the church has used this sentence to terrify people away from their own power. They used it to justify burning women in Europe and hanging them in Salem. They use it today to keep you out of the margins of your own Bible.

But here is the secret they don't teach in Sunday School:

The translators didn't get it wrong. They chose a word that served the church's agenda.

The Poisoner in the Text

The Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in Hebrew. And in the original Hebrew, the word used in that verse is not "Witch."

The word is Mekhashepha.

Scholars who study ancient Hebrew—people who dig into the dirt of the original text—say this word doesn't mean "witch." It means poisoner. Someone who uses herbs or hidden means to cause physical harm.¹

The Bible isn't banning magic. It is banning malice. It is banning cruelty.

It is telling you not to poison your neighbor's well. It is telling you not to use your knowledge to murder. It is a law against doing harm, not a law against doing the work.

What the Church Taught You:

What the Text Actually Says:

The Same Power

If the Bible banned magic, Moses would have been stoned to death.

Think about it. Moses threw down a staff and turned it into a snake. Elijah called down fire from the sky to burn a wet altar. Jesus turned water into wine and calmed storms with his voice.

What do you think that was?

They weren't using a special "Prophet-Only" energy source. They were accessing the Power—the same holy, accessible energy that you call upon when you pray.

When a Prophet accesses the Power to save a city, the Church calls it a miracle.

When a "regular person" accesses the Power to heal their child or protect their home, the Church calls it witchcraft.

The mechanism is the same. The only difference is who holds the permit.

Defense is Not Malice

The Bible is full of prayers for protection and self-defense. God explicitly instructs us to call upon the Power when we are in danger.

Protection is not malice. Shielding yourself is not poisoning someone else. The Bible draws a line between harming others and defending what's yours.

Exodus 22:18 forbids offensively crossing that line in malice. It does not forbid standing on your side of it.

Why This Matters

They used this verse to control you.

Not just your preacher—your parents, your Sunday School teachers, the people whose opinion of you was based entirely on how good of a Christian they believed you were. They fed you this verse like it was medicine to heal your "temptation" to practice and told you it was for your own good.

And it worked. You learned to fear your own power. You learned to second-guess every instinct. You learned to be afraid of your own inherited power.

But now you know the truth: they were wrong. They were lied to too, but this cycle of denying the power you may rightfully claim is behind us.

The verse was never about you. It was never about protection spells or marked Bibles or candles on your altar. It was about poisoners—people who use their knowledge to harm their neighbors with malice.

You're not harming anyone. You're protecting yourself and your loved ones.

So the next time someone throws Exodus 22:18 at you, you don't have to flinch. You don't have to explain yourself. You can just say:

"That verse is about poisoners. I'm not poisoning anyone."

And then you can close the door.

The Takeaway

Do not let a mistranslation keep you small.

If you are working to heal your home, protect your family, and improve your life, Exodus 22:18 is not about you. You are not a Mekhashepha. You are not a poisoner. You are simply someone who has learned to pick up the tools your ancestors left you.

The Power is yours. Use it for good. But use it.