where in the world did this...

Different translations often have different numbering systems; many times one version will have the "witch" commandment at verse 17, while another will have it at verse 18. Most modern translations have it at verse 18.

Now, you didn't ask about this, but I thought you might like to know that biblical scholars are divided over the actual meaning of the word sometimes translated "witch" or "sorcerer." The Hebrew term is kashaph. Some say it means someone who casts spells, especially in an attempt to control other people; others believe its root meaning is someone who uses herbs in healing or in magic. Either of those meanings, of course, could bring us to what we think of as a "witch" in modern terms.

There are also a host of other Hebrew terms for practitioners of magical arts such as divination, weather prediction, mediumship and channelling, and more aggressive forms of sorcery. Often these terms are put together in a list of people who are not following the Law (the Torah) of Moses, or who are acting against Yahweh's will.

Our Pagan perspective tends to make us either reject that "version" of who or what God is, or simply toss out the Hebrew Bible altogether. But it may be helpful to remember that this was written during a time of great internal conflict for the followers of Yahweh. They were being led to establish Yahwism in the land, and eradicate all traces of Paganism---both the various religions, usually Goddess-centered, and the people who practiced those religions. It was a battle for the survival of a new nation, in a world where synchretism (the blending of religions) meant the being unfaithful to the revelation of GOD that one had received.

But what was actually happening was that Yahwism wasn't supplanting the various Pagan faiths, but was overlaying them with a new name and terminology while keeping the underlying religion. It's the same thing the Church did by setting its holiest days on dates long-established as Pagan holidays---like renaming the goddess Brighit as Saint Brigid, or celebrating midsummer or Litha as St. John's Day. Yahweh was supposed to be triumphing over the worship of Ba'al, even though both are storm gods who are often depicted as bulls.

So saying things like "kill all the kashaph" didn't mean that magical herbs or spellcasting was some huge sin; to the ancient Hebrews, it meant, "We're trying to be separate from the local population, and distinct from the local religions---it's the only way our people and our faith will survive intact!"

.:. Sewa Yoleme