Note 6 — Chapter V · The Witch in Holy Writ
Reading edition
The word is usually found with yidde ’onim (from yada, “to know,”) and they are generally considered to be identical in meaning. But W. R. Smith, Journ. Phil., XIV. 127, makes the following distinction: Yidde ’oni is a familiar spirit, one known to him who calls it up; the ’ôbh is any spirit who may be invoked by a spell and forced to answer questions.