What is the nature of the 7 demons in Mary of Magdalene that Jesus cast out?

[Luke 8:2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%208&version=ESV) and [Mark 16:9](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+16%3A9-11&version=ESV) mention that Mary Magdalene had seven demons, which Jesus exorcised. In spiritual warfare literature, it's common to distinguish different types of demonic influence; example in the article [The Extraordinary Actions of the Devil](https://catholicexchange.com/the-extraordinary-actions-of-the-devil) . [Another](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10864014/trivia) tries to give the following definitions: - *Demonic Possession* - It's when a demon takes over a person's body without their consent. It's what you see in most movies. It involves speaking in tongues, sudden personality changes, sudden violence, even superhuman strength. - *Physical Pain* - This is a sickness or an injury due to a demon being inside a person. It doesn't impact the soul, just the body. - *Diabolic Oppression* - This is when a demon torments a person, causing tragic events in their lives the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, a home. Basically, the story of Job. - *Diabolical Infestation* - It's when demonic entities take over a house, an object, even an animal. - *Diabolical Subjugation* - It's when the possessed invites the demon into their lives. They do this through game play or pledging their soul to the devil. It's real in that if a human wants power, they can trade away their future for that power. - *Diabolical Obsession* - It's when a person has constant, overwhelming and irrational thoughts, making them act in perverse ways. It's hard to detect because it's the most highly functional of all the possessions. But it can lead to suicidal ideation and murder. But today, especially in Western countries, people tend to "psychologize" those demonic influence into chronic depression, etc, such as how [this article](https://ssw.edu/blog/seven-demons/) tries to contemporize Mary Magdalene's seven demons. Rather than speculating from modern / Western lens or use Western categories (like the above), my complete question is: **using the best studies of demonology in Jesus's time, what is the nature of the 7 demons oppressing Mary Magdalene in terms of how the Gospel writers would have conceptualized it?** In other words, what did the gospel writers have in mind when choosing the words to narrate what Jesus did? Is it always a spiritual entity perceived to be gone out like in the Exorcist movie? Or on the other extreme, is it an idiomatic expression for what today we call mental or physical illness? Or is it something in between? The significance of this question is to enable a more faithful interpretation of the many Gospel passages on Jesus and the Apostles casting out demons, which today's Christian groups (esp. those with Freedom ministries) use as the basis of their practice. Some groups even take Mark 16:16-18 literally as the sign of a true believer ("... in my name they **will** cast out demons...") and exhorting them to practice Jesus-given authority to regularly perceive demonic influence in yourself / others and exorcise them. ### Preliminary research 1. A 2009 PhD Dissertation [Jesus, A Jewish Galilean Exorcist: A Socio-Political and Anthropological Investigation](https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/17394) by Amanda Witmer, McMaster University 2. Book Article [Exorcism or Healing?: A Korean Preacher’s Re-Reading of Mark 5:1-20](https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/SBL2008/Chun.doc) by Sejong Chun (Vanderbilt University), reviewed [here](https://aatfweb.org/2015/02/04/article-review-sejong-chun-exorcism-or-healing-a-korean-preachers-reading-of-mark-51-20/) , part of the 2010 book [Mark: Texts @ Contexts](https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Texts-Contexts-Nicole-Duran/dp/0800659988) . This paper contains 5 plausible hermeneutical understanding of the Mark 5:1-20 story, demonstrating the horizon of interpretation we are looking for in this question. 3. [Demons and Politics: A Consideration of Jesus' Exorcisms in Mark](https://www.amazon.com/Demons-Politics-Andrew-Perry/dp/B004P9LQBE) a by Bible scholar [Andrew Perry](https://durham.academia.edu/AndrewPerry) , pdf available [here](https://www.academia.edu/32911343/Demons_and_Politics_A_Consideration_of_Jesus_Exorcisms_in_Mark) at his Academia site, commenting on three 20th century social study theories of exorcism discussed by Paul W. Hollenbach in his well-cited Journal of the American Religion 1981 article [Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1462450) 4. 2007 Master's Thesis [The Representation and Role of Demon Possession in Mark](https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/0k225g32p) by McGill Religious Studies student Eliza Rosenberg, which includes 15-page (!) list of works cited plus a 4-page list of modern exorcism accounts, mostly from news articles from 1995 to 2007.