At Qumran there were first century parchment and papyri writings found.
In Cave 4 there was a text recording efforts to rebuke a demon. In text
4Q560 a "... fever demon, chills demon, chest demon", was commanded to not
disturb at night with disturbing dreams, (The Dead Sea Scrolls, M. Wise,
© 1996).
The idea of a good and bad spirit was preserved in the Bible in the book of
Job; a discourse including a tale of God and Satan debating the loyalty of Job.
In Jesus' day ailments, strange dreams, hallucinations, temptations, lying
spirits, and bad
behavior were described by the people as demons, or the work of demons.
People had also described the blessings, healings, guidance, and inspiration of God making
them succeed. There was also text describing good beings (angels) other
than God causing good things to happen.
Matthew 12:27 (American Standard Version)
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast
out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be
your judges.
Many of the people rejected Jesus accusing him of being able to cure
people with strange mental disorders by being in collusion with the
devil. They went to their traditional religious leaders to try to
get divine intervention.
A Byzantine Jewish exorcism prayer in Hebrew on an amulet invoking the name
of God (Yahu) to drive the fever/shivers (malaria?) and demons from Yaitha. The amulet was
found in the Golan where Judaism flourished under the Christian Byzantine empire
until the time of the Islamic conquest.
