end. make an end. ( > Lord ! < lome, Lord .lesiis ! come.
( ie, come quickly ! Lead my soul out of darkness."
See \.S. Posner, JDer treui Zeugi Gottes, wetland Pastor mi di r lconigl. Strafanstalt zu Sagan ; I on i /'/" m Fi eunde (Schreiberschau, 1851, 2d ed.); and the biography pre- pared h\ a brother ol the deceased in the Sotmtags-Bib-
Kothek, vol. iv. pt. iii (Bielefeld, 1850); Jewish Intelli- gencer (L 1.1853); Zuchold, Bibliotheca Theologica,iL
1201. (15. P.)
Posselt, A m.i -i i -.a German Lutheran theologian, was horn Jan. 6, 1658, at Zittau, in the Oberlausitz. lie studied at Wittenberg, Kiel, and Jena, and for a long time he preached at Hamburg. In 1688 he was appointed preacher at SS. Peter and Paul in his native place: in 1711 he wa- made archdeacon, and in 1718 pastor primarius of St. John, in which position he died, Nov. 23, 1728. He wrote, Richtigt ErUdrungder Epistel St. Pauli an di* Romer: Nachrichi von dt *< in TIanden Imlii Dili a biblisch a l..r< mplart n. See Jocher, Gil< hrten- l.i a ikon, -. v.
Possessed with Devils, the usual rendering in the A. V. of the Greek datpovi&utvoi (but also fai- uoviffStivrtc, Mark v. 18; comp. Saipovia t%ttv, Luke viii. 27: rrvevpa Btu/ioviov aKaSaprov t\m\ iv. 33), Matt, iv, 24; viii. 16; xv,22; Actsviii,7; Luke viii, 2. These were persons afflicted with disease, a- epilepsy i Matt. xvii. 15; Luke ix, 39), paralysis (Luke xiii. II, 16), dumbness (Matt. ix. :;■_': xii, 22), and especially with lindane holy and insanity (Matt, viii, 28 ; Mark v. 2 sq. ; Luke viii, 27 sq.); whence the healed are said to he of sound mi ml (ota<f>povovvT£Q, Mark v. 1.3: Luke viii, 35). It is not necessary to suppose that the epilepsy oi the dumbness, when this was the main feature of the case, wa- complicated with peculiar physical disorders, although epilepsy is very commonly connected with something of the kind (see Farmer, Vers. p. 89; Hip- pocrat. Virg. Morb.c. i : Esquirol, Path, n. 'I In rap. 'I. Si i - lenstorungen\ Leips. 1827], p.73: comp. p. 503). indeed, while these special disabilities of men in other respects in sound and vigorous health were naturally referred to a supernatural cause, ihis would be especially the case ! with the sudden attacks of epilepsy, falling at irregular intervals and without premonition. Everything of this kind the dews, like the Greeks and Romans, referred to evil spirits taking possession of men (see Acts \. 38; Luke xiii. 16; comp. Josephus, Ant. vi, 8, 2. on 1 Sam. xvi. 11. 2.".: see also Lightfoot, p. 388; Eisenmenger, Entdeckfes Judenth. ii. 454; Maimonides, Schab. ii, 5; I'.inh. iii. I: Creuzer, Symbolik, iii. 4 sq.). The case wa- the same among the ancients with those extraor- dinary events and achievements, accomplished by men, whi.h seemed too great to proceed from the natural hu- man powers they were r« fi rred to the operation of a di- vinity. Not only hallucinations, melancholy, and epi- lepsy (.ailed by Herodotus the sacred disease, iii. 33), but al-o the ravings of Bacchantes and Corybanti - were viewed as proc< eding from superhuman inspiration i He- rod. iv,79; Eurip. Bacch. 298 sq.; Dion. Hal. / tin ii. c. xxii : see al-o Herod, iii. .".:> : Heliod. .F.lli. iv. 10; Bos, / vercit. Phil. p. 62 sq.). Hence to dsemonize (cai- uovav)is the common Greek expression meaning ><• he imam i.Lsch. Chaph. 564; Sept. c. Theb. 1008: Eurip. PAon.899; Aristoph. Thesmoph. 1060; Plutarch, Mar- sell. 2d: Lucian, Philopseud. c. xvi: and Wci-t. i. 282; esp. Aretsei Caussa Morb. diut. i, 4). Butthesi daemons were generally viewed as the spirits of the deceased (Philostr. A poll. iii. 88; Horace, Epod. v. !>1 : com]). Josephus, War, vii, 6, ■"• ; and on exorcising them, see Plutarch, c7i mpt .-•. \ ii. ;.; Lucian, Philoj .-■• ud. c. xvi; on the S\ riac and Arabic usage of speech, see Jahn, Nach- iit'i-.i.y. 178 sq.). The practice of exorcism upon such men. lor the purpose of driving out the daemons, was very confmon (comp. Lucian. Philopsevd. c. xvi; and see Matt, xii, 87 ; Luke ix, 19; Acts xix, 18 sq. ; comp. .lustin Mart. Apol. ii. 7>. The exorcists made use of magical formula', -aid to have descended from Soli mon (Josephus, Ant.viW, 2. 6), in connection wiih certain roots, -tone-, .ie. i id. War, vii, • '>. 8; Mishna, Gittin, Ixvii, 2: Plutarch, l>< Fluv. wi. 2). Afterwards thi men were found al-o in other countries (Lucian. Philopsevd. c. xvi*. Many Buppose thai Jesus -imply adopted the popular mode of speech in his age in speaking of i.;c-
POSSESSED
441
POSSE YIN O
tnoniac possession, and healed the unfortunate sufferers without sharing in the view commonly taken of their disease (P. von Hemert, Accommodat. in N. T. p. 51 sq. ; Hase, Leben Jesu, p. 71 sq.), just as the physicians in the time of Origen, who did not at all believe in real possession by devils (comp. the principles of Maimoni- des; Jahn, Nachtrage, p. 185). On his method of heal- ing, comp. Paulus, i, 423; ii, 02 1 ; and on Mark ix, '29, against the view of Paulus, Fritzsche on Matt. xvii. 21. Where prayer and fasting are recommended to the apos- tles as means of exorcism, Porphyry (Abstinen. ii, 204, 417 sq.) may be compared. It was very natural that the sufferers", when healed, wished to remain in the vi- cinity of the Great Physician (Luke viii, 38 ; comp. viii, 2); for there they considered themselves most safe against the return of the daemons.