Exodus 22,18 reads, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Was there a tradition of witchcraft in Biblical times?

1 Samuel, ch.28 (7-25)
Saul and the witch of Endor.

Yes and even before Biblical times "witchcraft" was practised. In general "witches" were the herbalists in a community, the healers and wise women. As knowledge is power, the powers that were sought to eradicate the threat of others having knowledge and killed them. To this day the Catholic Church have tomes and tomes of knowledge locked up in their libraries. One wonders what they are scared might happen if they release it.

According to versions of the Bible in the original languages in pre-King James versions, it translates more closely to "Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live". Poisoning was a huge problem at the time. King James was a huge believer in the occult. The play Macbeth was written specifically for him by Shakespeare based on James's interests. In the King James version, the word was translated inadvertantly (or maybe even purposefully) to "witch".