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Pharmakeia

The Greek word pharmakeia appears in Galatians 5:20 and Revelation 18:23. Terms from the same root word appear in Revelation 9:21, Revelation 21:8, and Revelation 22:15. These are typically translated into English as “sorcery,” “witchcraft,” or “sorcerer.” Ancient Greek uses of pharmakeia closely mirror the generic modern English word drugs ; the same Greek root word produced English terms such as pharmacy and pharmacist.

Modern use of the word sorcery evokes images of supernatural power and spells; biblical use of pharmakeia doesn’t fit well with such ideas. Rather, the term suggests various forms of drug abuse. Those might include drug use in pagan worship, as an addiction, or as a poison used to manipulate and control others.

In modern English, separate terms distinguish medicines, chemicals, and illicit drugs. As used in most contexts, a “pharmacist” and a “drug dealer” both distribute chemicals, but of different kinds and for drastically different reasons. Because English vernacular uses entirely different words, phrases like selling drugs evoke something illicit while taking meds or prescription drugs don’t imply anything nefarious. Ancient Greeks used words like pharmakeia to refer to that entire spectrum: from medicines to psychoactives to poisons. This makes cultural and biblical context crucial when interpreting terms related to pharmakeia.