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H3704 · Hebrew · Old Testament
כֶּסֶת
keseth
Noun, feminine
Pillow/cushion (for the arm/wrist)

Definition

The Hebrew keseth refers to bands or pillows — objects used in false prophecy and divination. The word appears in Ezekiel 13:18–20 in connection with women who 'sew magic charms (kesethoth) on all wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads.'

Usage & Theological Significance

Keseth appears in one of the most striking anti-false-prophecy passages in the Old Testament. God declares through Ezekiel that these magic armbands were used to 'ensnare souls' (Ezekiel 13:20). The women who used them claimed to speak for God while actually exploiting the vulnerable. The passage reveals that God takes false prophecy with deadly seriousness — it is not mere superstition but soul-hunting. The church must be equally vigilant: every false 'word from God' that manipulates rather than liberates, consoles rather than convicts, is condemned by the same Lord who tore off the kesethoth in Ezekiel's day.

Key Bible Verses

Ezekiel 13:18 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people.'
Ezekiel 13:20 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms.
Deuteronomy 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft.
Isaiah 8:19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

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