Then certain of the vagabond Jews
Who strolled about from place to place, pretending to tell fortunes, cure diseases by charms, and dispossess devils by conjuration, and therefore are called as follows,
exorcists;
such there were among the Jews, as Justin Martyr observes {h}, who adjured by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: these
took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of
the Lord Jesus;
they imitated the Apostle Paul, and attempted to do as he did, using the same: name; hoping to get money or applause, or both, in this way; and it may be observed, that there were some who really did cast out devils in the name of Christ, who did not belong to him, ( Matthew 7:22 ) ( Mark 8:38 )
Saying, we adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth;
that is, to come out the bodies of those men which they had possessed: and the Jews made use of the name of Jesus for healing diseases; for it is said of one F9, that
``he swallowed something which almost choked him, and one came, and muttered to him in the name of Jesus ben Pandira, and he was well''The Alexandrian copy, Beza's ancient one, and others, the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, read, "I adjure you"