Bible in the Aramaic magic bowls

265 Pages·2008·9.9 MB·English

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THE BIBLE
IN THE
ARAMAIC MAGIC BOWLS
Natalie C. Polzer
A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREKENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
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August 1986
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The Jewish Studies Department
McGill University
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Mon trhl, Canada
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C Natalie', C. ~o1zer
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A8STRACT
Throughout the ages, holy tex;s have been used in
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the magieal praetices of many different peoples and nations.
QuOtstions from holy texts frequently appear in magic spells
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and incantations, as the holy written word was to
dee~ed
render a magic act more effective through its holy power.
The Jewish magic of late antiquity was no exception; indeed,
artifactual and literary evidence shows, that without a
doubt, material from the Hebrew Bible was used in Jewish
magic as early as the pre-Exilic period.
The Aramaic Magic Bowls, a type of magiea1 amulet
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produeed in M~,e sopotamia and Asia Minor, are artifaetual
evidence of the use of Biblieal references and quotations
in the Jewish magic of the Talmudie and Geonte periods.
This thesis contains a comprehens1ve survey and analysis of
the use of Bibliesl referenees and quotations in the Bowls.
After an introduction, in which the h1story of
publication of the Bowls snd'the ma1n issues of schola!ly
inquiry and debate are outl1ned, the general magical function
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of the B1blical material in the Bowls is explored.
A detailed exam1nat10n of the magical signifieance
and function of each Biblieal reference and quotation
follows. The use of these quotat1ons and references in
both Jew1sh and non-Jewish magic l1terature is noted, as 1s
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any_ magieal or anti-demonie tradition associated wit~ them
in 'the M1drashim.
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Finally, the relationship bet\lfeen the Magic Bowls
and ~bbinic culture is re-examined, u~ing the treatment of
Bibl,ical materiaI iîs a point of ~referenc~. Today' s prevalent
scholax:.1Y opinion holds that the magic of the Aramaic Bowls
does not reflect R!a bbinic culture; rather, it 'i a closer to
Hellenistie magie and the extra-Talmudic Jewish magic of
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late .antiquity~ l demonstrate, however, that the traatment
of 'Biblieal quotations and referenees in the Bowls has much
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in common vith their treatmènt in Rabbinic literature.
Furthermore, the use of Biblieal q~otations in actual magic
s pelIs in the period in question" 9ccurs only in artifactual
remains, l1ke the Bowls, 'and 'in the Talmud. No other Jewish
1 i terary magic text from this per10d uses Bi b lical
quotations as powerful ~ngredients in magic spells.
My findings suggest that, contrary to popular
scholarly opinio.n, the magic of the" Aramaic Magic Bovls has
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more in common w!th' Rabbinic cul ture than has hitherto been
thought. This 'concl usion 1s significan t for' our und er
standin'g of Jewish socie.ty -in the Talmudic Q,eriod. as it
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'broadens our, concepti.on of Rabbinic beliefs&'and culture.
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RESUME
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1\ A travers les ~poques, on re-t l'ouve l'utilisation de
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tex teis sacr6s dans les pratiques magiques de divers peuples
et nations. Des citations de textes sacrl!s se manifestent
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fr~quemment dans des formules magiques ~t incantations,
puisqu'on' considl!rait que le mOct sacrl! l!crit pouva~t. de
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par son pouvoir sac r~, reniire un sc te magiq ue pl us ef f icace.
La magie juive de la fin de l' Antiquitl! ne f:isait pas
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exception. En e,ffèt, des preuves li t tl!rsi res et ma tl!rielles
dl!mon trent que, sans suc un doute, on 'employait dans la magie
juive des extraits de la Bible hl!braïque.:. et ce, d~s la
p6riod e prl!cedan t l'exil. . ..
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• Les coupes magiques araméennes. sortes d'
provenant de la Ml!sopotamie et de l'Asie Mineure, constituent
des preuves mat6riel1es de l'utilisation de citations et de
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,rl!fl!rences bibliques dans la magie juive des pl!riodes
talmudique et g~onique. La pr6sente thàse contient une
6tude et une analyse comp1àte~ de l'utilisation de citations
et de rl!f6rences bibliques dans les coupes.
Apr~s une in trod uc tion dans 1aq uel\le sont prl!sen tl!s
e~ th~mes
l'histoire de la publication des coupes les
principa.x de débats et d' int,'rêts 6ruditt la foUon
'magique g'n6rale du màt6riel biblique est exp1or6e •
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Vient ensuite une considl!ration ,dét,ail16e de la
signification ~t de la fonction magiques de chaque citation
et r6f6rence. L'emploi. de ces citations et réfl!rences dans
la litt6rature magi.que juive est notl!e ainsi"., que" toute
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tradition magique ou anti-d6moniaque qu'on leur associe
dans les Midrashim.
Finalement, la relation entre les coupes magiques et
la culture rabbinique est reconsid6rée en utilisant le
traitement du matériel biblique comme point de réf6rence.
L'opinion érudite courante actuelle maintient que la magie
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des coupes aram6e~nes ne refl~te pas la culture rabbinique
mats qu'elle se rapproche plut&t de la magie hel16nistique
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et de la magie juive extra-talmudique de la fin de
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l'Antiquit6. Mon étMde démontre, cependant, qU'il-y-a
beaucoup en commun entre le traitement de citations et de
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r6f 6rences "i bliq ues dàn's les cou,pes e~ celui de ci ta tions
et der 6 f é r e n ces b i b li que s dan s 1 a li t t 6 rat ure r a'b b i n i que.
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De plus, l'emploi de citations bibliques dans des formules
magiques de la p6riodel en question, ne se rév~le que dans
des vestiges mat~riels. comme les coupes, et dans le Talm~d.
Aucun autre texte magique littéraire juif de cette p~riode
~'utilise des citatiops bibliques en tant qu'ingr6dients
puissants dans des formules ma~iqUes.
Mes constatations sugg~rent" que, contrairement A
l'opinion 6rudite populaire, la magie des coupes aram6ennes
a un rapport plus étroit avec la culture rabbinique qu'on
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ne le pensait j~squ'ici. Cette conclusion est nécessaire
notre compr6hension de la sociét6 juive de la p6riode
talmudique et 6larS,it notre conception des croyances et de
la culture rabbiniques.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Acknowledgements • • 1
Chapter l INTRODUCTION • 4
Notes to Chapter l • • 15
,lART l SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS OF AND
ABOUT THE MAGIC BOWLsr • • 17
Chapter II A Review of the Publication of the
Ar'amaic Magic Bowls • • .• ,0 18
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Notes to Chapter II 25
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ChapterO III -The Main Issues of Scholarly
Inquiry and, Debate '. .' 29
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IILA The Language of the
Magic Bowls •• 30
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IILB The Magic of the Magic Bowls 31
IIIoC The Magic Bowls and the
History of Magic .. • 43
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III.D The Magic Bowls and Jewish
Society of the Talmudic Period 57
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IlLE The ,Magic Bowls and Other
Bodies of Jewish Literature. 67
Notes to Chapter III • • •
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PAR'f II THE BIBLE IN THE BOWLS 83
Chapter IV The Ph5sical Geograp.b-y of the
Biblica1 Material: the Statistics 84
IV.A The Bi bUeal 'Quotations 86
IV.B The Biblicai References 89
IV.C References to BibIica1 Verses 91
No.tes to Chapter. IV 94
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Chapter V The MaSlcsl Function of the /'
BiblieaP Material 97
V.A The Bibliea1 References 98
V.S The Bi bliea! Quotatçons • 101
Notes to Chapter V • ., 108
Cha.pter VI The Magical Function and Significanee
of the Individual References and
Quotations
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VI.A The Biblieai References 110
VI.S Reference to BibIieal Verses
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VI.C The Bi b Iiea! Quota t ions
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Notes to Chapter VI
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PART III THE MAGIC BOWLS AND TALMUDIC JUDAISM
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Chapter VII The Magic Bowis and Midrash
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VII • .A Basic Concepts
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VII.S Method 184
VII-.C Content 186
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Notes to Chapter VII • • 189--
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Chapter VIII -T- he Quotation of Biblical Verses in~
the Jewish Magic of Late Antiqu1ty 190
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VIII.! The Artifacts • • 191
VIII. B The Texts • • · 192
VIII.e The Talmud • • • ;;> • 1 \ • 197
Notes ta Chapter VIII · 202
Chapter IX Final Conclusions · 205
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Notes to Chapter IX · 209
BIBLIOGRA.- PHY. • • • • 210
. APPENDICES
Append1x -A- I • • • 222
Append1x B • 224
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Appendix C • • 248
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AClNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is with"great pleasure that l thank the Many people
who .. have h.lped and encouraged me throughout thetmany stages
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of the' completion of this thesis. First and foremost, 1
wO.JJld 1 ike to thank my the s is su pervisor, Pro f essor B. Barry
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Levy, with whom it has been my privilege to stupy for the
Irfour years. Under Prafessor Levy' s direction, my
know1edge of "Jewish Biblical Interpretation , mushroom~
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dramatical1y; his insistenc~ on the close, comprehensi\ve
examina t ion of texts has g i ven me a thorough background in
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my d isc i pline. He was aIwa'y s a vailable, when needed, for
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va 1 uable advice and sugges t ions relating t'o my wOr'k. 1
especia"lly thank h!m for his gener~si_ty in allowing me to
make use ofr ttis priva te 1ibrary as a resource." I will never
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forget how Professor 'Levy stimulated my initial interest in
Biblical Studies by his enthusiasm, his inte.rest, and his
breadth of knowledge.
Prof essor Frederik Wisse, of the Fac,ulty of Religious
Studies. S'Iso deserves thanks for his" 10an of an otherwlse
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unavaUable copy of t~e Coptic Magica1 Papyri, from his
personal library. 'Goldie Siga1, ..; 8 librarian in McGill'.s
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Mc~lennan Library, performed an inva1uabl_ servi~e for me.
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o Whi le l )las wri ting my thesis~· she wen t dut of h,er" w8.J. to
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order a m~ch .. nee.ded, newIy pubilshed bc:,ok on the Greek:
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Magica1 Papyri. Thi s work proved to be impor tant to my
study, and l remain in her debt for her prompt and l}elpful
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service. l wou1d a1so like to thank the librarians of the
Religious Studies Library at McGill; their reference skilIs
and generous loan of books greatly facilitated my research.
My congenial friends Michael Pettem, Cathy Hird,
Sylvia Gross and Rbse Lenkov provided me with encouragement
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and with stimulating, amusing and relaxing conversation
during breaks from research. l wiTl always remember these
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conversations with pleasure. My old friend and neighbor,
Maryse Dpdard, must be remembered for her continued sup~ort
and ge~erous babysitting services. Without her wry and
indefatigable sense of humor, this thesis would have been
much longer in the making.
Ï owe special, deep thanks to my high school English
teacher, Mr. William Walsh III ... His teaching had a profound
and permanent influence on my life. For it was in his class
that 1 discovered the terror and the sharp, physical joy
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that came from the acquisition of human knowledge. I am
sure that I would have discovered this for myself in time;
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however, hie unique teaching quickened the inevitable •. 1
will never forget him.
Finally, I need t9 thank my daugh ter. Miranda Lena
Polzer. Though 1 have not yet trained her to type, she is
largely responsible for the production of this thesis. For
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