Literally, “a tier of knots,” referring to the wearing of magic cords and knots as spells against evil. Such a custom is common in the East today. The word translated “or” should be “even,” making “charmer” explain the last word of v. 10.

 Literally, “one who inquires of an ’ob,” a “medium” (RSV). An ’ob is the skin of a sheep or a goat usually used as a water bottle by men who supply villagers with water from a well or a spring (see on Lev. 19:31). The reference here may be to the hollow sound produced by such a dry skin, and so refer to the whispering, chirping, and muttering of a familiar spirit that has gained control of “the consulter” or medium. It may involve the practice of ventriloquism, anciently practiced by a depraved priesthood to deceive people. For the use of this word in reference to a skin bottle see Job 32:19. In Ugaritic literature recently recovered at Ras Shamra (see p. 128) the word ’ob specifically means “departed spirit.”

Literally, “a knower,” from the verb “to know.” Here it refers to those who claimed to have wisdom from other than human sources.

Literally, “a consulter with the dead.” There appears to be little if any difference between a “necromancer” and a “consulter with familiar spirits.”