Exorcist

Exorcists in the ancient world were practitioners who claimed the ability to cast out evil spirits through rituals, incantations, and invocations of divine names. Jewish exorcism is attested in Second Temple sources; Jesus acknowledged that Jewish exorcists ("your sons") cast out demons (Matthew 12:27; Luke 11:19), and the seven sons of Sceva are described as Jewish exorcists who attempted to use Jesus's name without personal relationship or authority (Acts 19:13–16). The evil spirit's response — "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" — followed by a violent attack — underscored that genuine authority over evil spirits resided not in the name as a formula but in apostolic commission. Jesus himself was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebul (Matthew 12:24), to which he responded by pointing to his exorcisms as evidence of the kingdom's arrival (Matthew 12:28).