Abraham Abulafia: A Starter Kit

HTR 83:2 (1990) 163-80

SCRIBAL MAGIC AND ITS RHETORIC:

FORMAL PATTERNS IN MEDIEVAL HEBREW AND ARAMAIC

INCANTATION TEXTS FROM THE CAIRO GENIZAH

Michael D. Swartz
University of Virginia

The study of medieval Judaism was revolutionized by the late S. D. Goitein
with A Mediterranean Society, his multilayered study of the medieval Jew-
ish communities in Egypt based on the documents from the Cairo Genizah.^
For while previously the Genizah had been mined for important rabbinic
documents and for the history of the philosophers and Geonim, Goitein's
research sought to provide an account of the religion and life of all classes
of society.^

However, among the vast treasures of the Genizah, important genres of
literature still remain to be explored: the literature of magic, divination, and
other manifestations of popular religion.^ This literature is well represented
in the Genizah and is valuable not only for understanding medieval Jewish
society, but for illuminating the history of Mediterranean magic in late antiquity."^

IS. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as
Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Genizah (5 vols.; Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1967-88).

2For Goitein's view of popular religion in the Genizah period, see Goitein, Religion in a
Religious Age (Cambridge: Association for Jewish Studies, 1974) 3-17.

^The classic study of Jewish magic in the Middle Ages is Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic
and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion (1939; reprinted New York: Athenaeum, 1982).
On Jewish magic in antiquity, Ludwig Blau, Das altjudische Zauberwesen (Budapest:
Jahresbericht der Landes-Rabbinerschule, 1897-98) is still the standard work. A fine survey
of Jewish magical texts from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages is P. S. Alexander,
"Incantations and Books of Magic," in Emil SchUrer, The History of the Jewish People in the
Age of Jesus Christ (rev. and ed. Geza Vermes, Fergus Millar, and Martin Goodman; 3 vols.;
Edinburgh: Clark, 1986) 3.1. 342-79.

"^Previously, only a handful of magical texts from the Genizah have been published: Jacob
Mann, Texts and Studies in Jewish History and Literature (2 vols.; New York: Ktav, 1972)
2. 90-94; Richard J. H. Gottheil and William H. Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah

164 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

The following discussion concerns the distinctive literary character,
rhetoric, and theory of operation behind the magical incantation texts from
the Genizah. It is based on work undertaken by this writer in collaboration
with Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman toward a forthcoming edition, trans-
lation, and commentary to medieval Hebrew and Aramaic incantation texts
from the Cairo Genizah.^ For this edition we have selected amulets from
Box Kl of the Taylor-Schechter Library at Cambridge University, written
on paper and parchment. We have not attempted a formal dating of these
texts, but they seem to span the principal period covered by the Genizah,
from the tenth to fifteenth centuries.

Method

Much modem research on Jewish magic has concentrated on questions
of interchange between Jewish culture and the general cultural milieu, and
the relationship of Jewish magic to other manifestations of Judaism. While
taking these considerations into account, we would do well to listen to the
voices of the magical practitioners themselves. It is this concern that makes
the amulets under discussion of particular value for study.

in the Freer Collection (New York/London: Macmillan, 1927) 106-7; see also 76-81. Eight
magical texts from the Genizah, five of which are amulets, have been published in Joseph
Naveh and Shaul Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity
(Jerusalem: Magnes; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1985) 216-40. See also Joseph Naveh, "A Recently
Discovered Palestinian Jewish Aramaic Amulet," in Michael Sokoloff, ed., Aramaeans,
Aramaic, and the Aramaic Literary Tradition (Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press, 1984)
81-88; "Kibbug Tov ^En Kamohu," Tarbi$ 54 (1985) 367-82; and Shaul Shaked, "^Al Sifrut
ha-Ki§uf ha-Yehudit be-Ar$ot ha-Islam: He^arot ve-Dugma'ot," Pe'amim 15 (1983) 15-28.
Moses Margalioth used several Genizah fragments in his Sefer ha-Razim: Hu^ Sefer KeSafim
Mi-Tequfat ha-Talmud (Jerusalem: American Academy for Jewish Research, 1966). A frag-
ment of a magical handbook is also published in Peter Schafer, Geniza-Fragmente zur Hekhalot-
Literatur (Tabingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1984) Text #20 (TS A.S. 142.13) 169-70. On Jewish
amulets see Moses Gaster, "Charms and Amulets (Jewish)" in Hastings, ERE, 3. 451-55.
Peter Schafer recently announced plans for the publication of a catalogue of magical texts
from the Genizah, to be undertaken by Shaul Shaked. Schafer and Shaked are also planning a joint
edition of a corpus of Hebrew and Aramaic magical texts from the Genizah. See Peter Schafer,
"Jewish Magic Literature in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages," JJS 41 (1990) 75-91.
^Lawrence H. Schiffman and Michael D. Swartz, Hebrew and Aramaic Incantation Texts
from the Cairo Genizah: Selected Amulets from Box Kl (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1991). The transcriptions and translations presented here are from this edition, where more
detailed critical notes are given. I wish to thank Professor Schiffman for numerous sugges-
tions for this article. Professors Mordechai A. Friedman, Ross R. Brann, and Elliot Wolfson
also provided helpful comments for our joint study. However, only I am responsible for any
errors in this paper.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 165

Many of the classic studies of medieval Jewish magic, such as that of
Joshua Trachtenberg, have been based primarily on magical handbooks,
such as Sefer ha-Razim and Sefer Raziel,^ By contrast, the amulets under
study here were intended for use. Most contain the names of the individual
clients who are to benefit from the amulets. For this reason they illustrate
elements of the formation of magical traditions otherwise obscure to us. In
these texts we see how literary conventions, fragments of poetry, and stan-
dard formulae are combined to create a coherent effect. We also see how
motifs found in Midrash, folk literature, and the traditional Jewish liturgy
are incorporated for specific purposes. We see what, among the countless
recommendations for praxis and purposes of magic listed in magical
handbooks, the medieval practitioners found most useful.

Moreover, concentration on the texts of these amulets allows us to ana-
lyze the rhetoric of Jewish magic. The amulets display patterns of com-
position of striking coherence. These patterns are widespread and can show
how individual formal elements such as magical names, exempla from
biblical stories, and direct adjurations to the angels are employed for the
immediate concerns of the magicians and their clients.

The magic of these amulets is manifestly textual. The amulets, which
usually refer to themselves as ketav, "writing," are themselves instruments
of power. Some amulets state that they can protect "the bearer of this
writing" (nose^ ha-ketav ha-zeh); that is, by wearing or carrying the amulet
anyone can receive its benefits.^ Many of them are written with the care
with which the Genizah scribes are known to have prepared documents, in
the elegant hand and abhorrence of blank space that characterized the
medieval scribal aesthetic.^ Furthermore, they are adorned with magical
ciphers, border designs, and other physical signs of magical potency.

^Margalioth, Sefer ha-Razim. Margalioth's text is translated in Michael A. Morgan, Sepher
ha-Razim: The Book of the Mysteries (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983). A more compre-
hensive and useful study is Hans Niggemeier, Beschwo'rungsformeln aus dem "Such der
Geheimnisse" (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1975). Sefer Raziel, a manual of esoterica that includes
material compiled by the German pietist Eleazar of Worms, was used extensively by Trachtenberg
in Jewish Magic. On Sefer Raziel see Joseph Dan, "Raziel, Book of," EncJud 13, cols. 1592-
93; Y. M. Ta-shema, "Sifriyatam §el Hakhme A§kenaz ba-Me*ah ha-y'-yb'," Kiryat Sepher
60 (1985) 298-309; FranQois Secret, "Surquelques traductions du Sefer Raziel,'' REJ 128 (1969)
221-45; Nicolas Sed, "Le Sefer ha-Razim et la m^thode de 'combinaison des lettres'," REJ
130 (1971) 295-304.

"^For example, MS TS K1.137, line 5. The Hebrew text of this amulet was published in
Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 239-40.

^On scribal practices, see Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2. 228-40.

166 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

As a consequence of this textuality, the amulets display a fundamental
characteristic of ancient and medieval scribal activity. The amulet functions
not only as a physical object of power, it is a mnemonic, or script, for oral
recitation. Because of this we can expect the texts to bear characteristics of
those types of writing intended for oral performance — formulaic phrases,
rhythmic patterns, repetition, and the like. These forms allow us to employ
methods of analysis such as those used by Joseph Heinemann for texts of
Jewish prayer.^ As Heinemann has shown, texts of ancient Jewish liturgy
can vary widely in the way motifs and literary units are combined, reflecting
techniques of improvisation around basic formal and halakhic rubrics. A
similar process is at work in the magical texts.

The magician has been characterized as a strict conservative, copying all
he has before him, lest the magical formula be altered and its potency be
diminished. ^^ And indeed, the magical texts from the Genizah do contain
material that can be traced to ancient Palestine. In their edition of Pales-
tinian amulets, Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked have found direct parallels
to magical texts from the Genizah.*^ Basic literary forms used for the
composition of ancient Palestinian and Babylonian incantations can be found
in magical books available in contemporary Jewish communities.^^

However, our documents show that the magicians of the Genizah em-
ployed a measure of creativity in the combining of literary units. This is
apparent upon comparison of two amulets written by the same scribe. For
example, MSS TS K1.127 and TS A.S. 143.487 are amulets from the same
hand. One incantation is incorporated verbatim into both amulets. Not only
the formulae are reproduced, but magical names and signs as well. TS
K1.168 and TS A.S. 142.12 were also written by one scribe. These two
amulets have several lines that are identical except for the names and genders
of the clients. Other units found in handbooks and other texts are incorpo-
rated by scribes into the amulets for their respective purposes. In TS K1.42,
a passage found in TS K1.24, a fragment of a magical handbook, is incor-
porated almost verbatim into a larger amulet.

^Joseph Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud: Forms and Patterns (trans. Richard S. Sarason;
Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, 1977). On Heinemann's method, see Richard S. Sarason, "The
Modern Study of Jewish Liturgy," in Jacob Neusner, ed.. The Study of Ancient Judaism (New
York: Ktav, 1981) 1. 107-79.

^^See, for example, Alexander, "Incantations," 344, and the sources cited there.

'iSee Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 29-30.

'^Printed incantations employing the basic forms described here can be purchased in
Jerusalem and New York today. For examples of written amulets of relatively recent prov-
enance, see I. M. Casanowicz, "Jewish Amulets in the United States National Museum,"
JAOS 36 (1916) 154-67; idem, "Two Jewish Amulets in the United States National Mu-
seum," JAOS 37 (1917) 43-56. For a striking example of the persistence of formal and
narrative motifs in magic, see Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 105-22.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 167

The scribes endeavored to copy magical names and symbols as accu-
rately as possible, and to follow conventional formulae. However, they
distinguished between these names and formulae, which had to be followed
strictly to make the magic effective, and those literary forms and sequences
of themes that could be employed with some flexibility. This flexibility in
composition shows that medieval magic texts are the product of a continu-
ous process of redaction and adaptation from Palestinian antiquity to the
Middle Ages.^^

The relevance of Heinemann's work extends beyond these methodologi-
cal considerations, for phrases, formulae, and whole pericopae parallel to
Jewish hymnic and liturgical literature are found in these amulets. TS K1.168
contains a passage that bears strong resemblance to the qeduSah hymns, the
hymns of sanctification recited in the Babylonian morning liturgy. These
hymns play a prominent part in the hymns of Hekhalot literature, but are
also an important component of the Yoser blessing of the statutory lit-
urgy. ^"^ The amulet invokes:

the holy, fitting, pure, and honored angels who stand before the holy
one, blessed be he, who do his bidding reverently, and rejoice in their
missions, doing the will of their Creator with praise, lauding, and
extolling, (lines 91-96)

/ n'^'Dpn •'3S'? □nQi:;n nn^::] I am-an nn^Dm wmv<^r\ I □o^'pQm
/ mip ]i:i-i □•'©i:;i □mn'''?©n / □•'Hi-n n«-i''n rm-h^ wms?^

The qeduSah de-Yoser from the statutory liturgy describes the minister-
ing angels in these words:

All are beloved, all are pure, all are mighty, and all do, in reverence
and awe, the will of their Creator. 15

i^Cf. Hans Dieter Betz {The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation [Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1986] 1 . xlvi) on the use of earlier poetic and literary formulae in the Greek
magical papyri.

I'^On the place of the qeduSah in Hekhalot literature see Philipp Bloch, "Die Yorde Merkavah,
die Mystiker der Gaonzeit und ihrer Einfluss auf die Liturgie," MGV/J 37 (1983) 18-25, 69-
74, 257-66, 305-1 1; Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (2d ed.; New York:
Schocken, 1954) 60.

^^Seder "Avodat Yisrael, ed. Seligmann Baer (1867; reprinted New York: Schocken, 1936/

168 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

Another hymn, recited in the statutory Sabbath morning liturgy, contains
these lines:

Happy in their going out, and joyful in their coming, they do the
bidding of their Creator reverently. i^

□t^nn D^TOi nm'^2 rrnoD

These parallels remind us of Heinemann's observations that the liturgical
literature of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages was in a fluid state
and that phrases and passages could travel from one liturgical context to
the next.i^ In this case, the passage is not a direct quotation from the
liturgical hymns, nor is it derived from them. Rather, motifs and phrases
are common to both, suggesting that these were at hand to both the liturgist
and the magician. These phrases were embedded in the poetic lexicon of
the magician because of their presence in the liturgy. The esoteric dimension
of the qeduSah hymns served to enhance their value for both sets of
composers. 18

In fact, the parallels to liturgical literature suggest that the influence
worked both ways. The following passage appears in several magical texts
from the Genizah. In MS TS K 1.127 the evil spirits are adjured:

37) 78. Cf. the version in the liturgy of the Babylonian Gaon Rav Amram in Seder Rav '^Amram
Ga^on, ed. Daniel Goldschmid (Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1971) 13, where the word u-
ve-yir^ah "and in awe," does not appear. Our amulet is closer in wording and orthography to
the present-day liturgical version.

'^Baer, Seder '^Avodat Yisrael, 211-12. On this hymn see Ezra Fleischer, Ha-Yo^rot be-
Hithavvutam u-ve-Hitpathutam (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1984) 47.

'"^Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud^ 37-69.

'^Several hymns employing this motif are found in early Jewish liturgical literature. See
the hymn ^e/ barukh gadol de'^ah in the statutory weekday morning liturgy; cf. Siddur Rav
Sa'^adia Ga^on, ed. Israel Davidson, Simhah Assaf, and Issachar Joel (Jerusalem: Meki$e
Nirdamim, 1970) 36-37. In the Hekhalot text Ma'^aseh Merkavah a similar passage is in-
corporated into a hymn (Peter Schafer, Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur [Tabingen: Mohr, 1981]
§596). See Alexander Altmann, "Sire Qedu§ah be-Sifrut ha-Hekhalot ha-Qedumah," Melilah
2 (1946) 5; see also Michael Swartz, Mystical Prayer in Ancient Judaism: An Analysis of
Ma'aseh Merkavah (TObingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1991) chap. 14.1.2.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 169

by the name which the sea heard and was split,

which the fire heard and was quenched,

which the boulders heard and were shattered,

and which the stone heard and exploded. . . . (lines 8-10)^^

X)^^^m ]n«n :2aD^ I Ta:mr\ u^^'o i:;DtDi / rx:Dr\ mp^ :2aD^ I :;pn]i □''n :;d2?2? aton

This poetic passage reflects a common motif in magical texts — that the
potent names and magical agents borne by the magician have the power to
command magical forces.^^ Parallels to this passage can be found not only
in the literature of Eastern and Western Jewish magic, but in Hellenistic
magic as well.^^

But this motif also finds its way into liturgical poetry. A liturgical poem
(piyyut) by Shimon bar Megas, a Palestinian poet of the sixth or seventh
century CE, praises God in the same terms, but in the characteristic payetanic
form:22

As is your praise, so is your name.

Act on our behalf for the sake of your name:

For it is the name that is pronounced

over the earth and it trembles,

over the hail and it flees,

over the coals and they are extinguished. . . .

i^The Hebrew text of this amulet is also published in Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 237-
38.

20On this motif see Baruch A. Levine, "The Language of the Magical Bowls," in Jacob
Neusner, A History of Jews in Babylonia (5 vols.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970) 5. 371-73.

21 A close parallel to this passage is found in MS TS K1.68; see also MSS TS A.S. 143.427
and TS A.S. 143.322; cf. also MS Oxf. Heb. e44 (=Neubauer #2668) and TS A.S. 143.45.
Sefer Raziel refers to the seventy-two-letter divine name as the name "which Moses, our
teacher. . . invoked at the [burning] bush. Anyone who invokes it over a demon, it will flee,
or over fire, it will be extinguished, or over a sick person, he will be healed." Cf. the claims
made for the "god of the Hebrews" in PGM IV, a well-known Greek magical papyrus said to
be related to the Jewish magical tradition: Karl Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae: Die
Griechischen Zauberpapyri (Stuttgart: Teubner, 1973) 170-72, lines 3034-79, translated in
Betz, Greek Magical Papyri, 96-97. On that passage see Gustav A. Daissmann, Light From
the Ancient East (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910) 250-60; cf. Blau, Zauberwesen, 96-1 12.

22Joseph Yahalom, Piyyufe Simeon bar Megas (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences
and Humanities, 1984) 169-70; cf. p. 26.

170 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

p2^
-pn p yh'nn p

n'2D am D^'pn^n *?:;

Unlike the amulet, this piyyut is in the form of an alphabetic acrostic.
A similar passage also appears in the liturgy of Saadiah Gaon.^^ In these
cases it is entirely possible that this motif reached the piyyutim from the
magical context, and not the other way around.

This confluence of magical and liturgical literature raises a long-stand-
ing question in the history of religion: can we then draw such a sharp
distinction between prayer and magic? In recent years this distinction, made
by previous generations of historians of religion, has come under reexami-
nation.^"^ It is not our task to resolve the phenomenological dimension of
this complex question here. But in the case of the Hebrew and Aramaic
magical literature, we can address the question in literary terms: in late
antiquity and the Middle Ages, Jewish magical incantation texts are marked

^^Siddur Rav Sa^adiah, 389-90. This piyyut is an expansion of the commandment "Do not
take the name of the Lord in vain." For similar traditions in the prayer rites of the Byzantine
empire, cf. Daniel Goldschmidt, Mehqere Tefillah u-Piyyuf (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1978) 133-
34, 250.

24This distinction, which sees magic as coercive and prayer as requiring the assent of the
deity, plays a pivotal role in the evolutionary schemes of Edward Burnett Tylor's Primitive
Culture (New York: Henry Holt, 1874) and James George Frazer's The Golden Bough (2d ed.;
12 vols.; New York: Macmillan, 1935) see vol. 1, esp. 220-43. See also Friedrich Heiler's
classic study. Prayer: A Study in the History and Psychology of Religion (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1932). However, as Keith Thomas points out, "the conventional distinction
between a prayer and a spell seems to have been hammered out not by the nineteenth-century
anthropologists. . . but by sixteenth-century Protestant theologians" {Religion and the De-
cline of Magic, [New York: Scribner's, 1971] 41; see also 61-62, 113-50). Recent studies of
prayer suggest that for many cultures this characterization of magic opposed to prayer cannot
be maintained. See Sam Gill, "Prayer," in Mircea Eliade, et al., eds.. The Encyclopedia of
Religion (New York: Macmillan; London: Collier Macmillan, 1987) 11. 489-94 and the
references cited there; cf. also Gladys A. Reichard, Prayer: The Compulsive Word (1944; reprinted
Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1966). On the state of the question in
the study of Hellenistic magic, see Alan F. Segal, "Hellenistic Magic: Some Questions of
Definition," in R. van der Broek and M. J. Vermaseren, eds.. Studies in Gnosticism and
Hellenistic Religions: Presented to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 171

by distinct formal and rhetorical features. In this study the term magic is
used heuristically to describe texts bearing those literary characteristics.^^

THE AMULETS

The language and magic of the amulets comes from a variety of sources.
The Aramaic of the amulets bears few distinctive signs of either Palestinian
or Babylonian Aramaic dialects.^^ The texts contain parallels to both Pal-
estinian and Babylonian magical traditions, and to midrashic and talmudic
traditions. However, it is most appropriate to consider the Genizah magic
a direct descendent of the Palestinian magical tradition.

The authors of the amulets were apparently pious Jews who revered
biblical heroes and quoted scripture extensively; many of them show evi-
dence of familiarity with classical rabbinic liturgy, law, and lore. They
seem to have varied widely in their educational background, social class,
and knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic.

The amulets were written for a variety of purposes: most prominent are
healing,^^ love,^^ harm or expulsion of an enemy ,^^ and success in busi-
ness.^^ A frequent function is the request for "favor and grace" (hen va-
hesed) in the eyes of fellow human beings — in other words, for social
acceptance or popularity.^^

(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981) 349-75; and John G. Gager, "A New Translation of Ancient Greek
and Demotic Papyri, Sometimes Called Magical," JR 67 (1987) 80-86. An argument for the
conventional distinction is mad^ in A. A. Barb, "The Survival of the Magic Arts," in Amaldo
Momigliano, ed.. The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963)
100-125.

25Cf. Niggemeier, Beschworungsformeln, 63. On the use of hymns in Hellenistic magical
texts, see note 13 above; see also Segal, "Hellenistic Magic," 352-53.

26Cf. the Aramaic of marriage contracts (ketubbot) from the Cairo Genizah, described by
Mordechai Akiva Friedman, Jewish Marriage in Palestine, A Geniza Study (2 vols.; Tel Aviv/
New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1980) 1. 48-87.

27ms TS K1.94, for headaches; TS K1.18 and TS K1.30 (two leaves of the same amulet)
for protection in childbirth.

28ms TS K1.168. On love charms in Palestinian magic and their parallels in the Genizah,
see Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 85-89, 216-17; on spells in the Genizah for the attraction
and alienation of affections, see Mordechai Friedman, RibbuiNaSim be-Yisrael: Meqorot HadaSim
mi-Genizat Qahir (Jerusalem/Tel Aviv: Mosad Bialik, 1986) 166-68.

29ms TS K1.42.

30MSS TS Kl.lOO and TS K1.157. See the following note.

3iThis function is often tied to that of success in business or public life. In MS TS K 1.1 57
the angels Rahmiel and IJasdiel are adjured to bring grace and favor to Shalom ben Zuhra',
"so that he may transact business with every person in the world" (lines 20-21). In MS TS
K1.6, the client apparently wishes to be favored by high officials.

172 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

LITERARY STRUCTURE

These incantations vary a great deal in literary style and form. Nonethe-
less, they generally follow a coherent formulaic pattern. This pattern ap-
pears in short incantations such as MS TS K 1.125 as well as long ones,
such as MSS TS K 1.127 and TS K 1.168. This structure is sometimes re-
peated two or three times.32 In such cases, the units are linked with a
conjunction such as ve-^af, "and furthermore," or ve-'^od, "additionally." The
elements of this structure are enumerated below.^^

Pronouncements

Most incantations begin with a formula for the pronouncing of the name
of God. This formula consists of the term be-Sem, "in the name of," fol-
lowed by a divine name. The formula serves to inform the powers that the
magician is working under God's authority. The be-Sem formula is one of
the most common figures in Jewish magical incantations. A version of the
formula, ^ana^ be-Sem, is also said to have accompanied the pronouncing of
the divine name by the high priest on the Day of Atonement.^"* According
to t. Ned. 1:1, this formula constitutes an oath.^^ There are indications that
the be-Sem formula also found its way into Greek magical texts.^^

The name of God in the opening of the incantation is usually less elabo-
rate than those contained farther on. Usually the Tetragrammaton or a
conventional circumlocution of it (such as YH, YY, or H) appears in this
position. Occasionally a biblical verse expressing the name of God or one
that serves as a source for divine names appears here. A common example
is Exod 3:14, ^ehyeh ^aSer ^ehyeh, "I Am That I Am."

This name of God is often followed by an appellative or phrase describ-
ing God, consisting of one or more adjectives, participles, or biblical verses

32See, for example, MS TS K1.18 and 30, in which the same incantation appears in He-
brew and Aramaic.

33Cf. the structure of Sefer ha-Razim incantations described by Niggemeier, Beschworungsformeln,
73-118. Our incantation formulae are often more extensive than those of Sefer ha-Razim.

34Saul Lieberman, "Some Notes on Adjurations in Israel," in Lieberman, ed.. Texts and
Studies (New York: Ktav, 1974) 23.

35See Lieberman, "Notes," 23; and Lieberman, Tosafot Ri^Sonim (Jerusalem: Wahrman,
1937) 1. 188.

36Following Gedalia Alon ("Be-§em," Tarbi^ 21 [1950] 33, reprinted in idem, Mehqarim
be-Toledot Yisra^el be-Yeme Bayit Seni u-vi-Tequfat ha-MiSnah ve-ha-Talmud [Tel Aviv:
Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1967] 194-205), Saul Lieberman argued that the formula besen bereithen
berio in PGM 2. 110 was derived from the formula beSem de-baryan, "in the name of our
Creator." See Lieberman, "Notes," 22-24.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 173

in praise of God's powerful or merciful qualities. Often these appellatives
are taken from biblical verses: Thus MS TS K 1.1 27 begins:

In your name, O Lord of hosts, enthroned on the cherubim, the
elaborated name, by the seventy names of God compassionate and
merciful, God who wounds and heals. . . . (lines 1-3)

i^sm / f mo b^ Din-n ]m bv^ rmn wvn^n ^miBon

This opening is a patchwork of biblical phrases and magical traditions.
It includes the phrase rokhev ha-keruvim, "[he who is] enthroned on the
cherubim" (2 Kgs 19:15, Isa 37:16, Ps 80:2, 1 Chr 13:6); an inversion of
Exod 34:6;^^ and the term mohes ve-rofe^, "he who wounds and heals,"
based on Deut 32:39.^^ The passage also refers to the tradition of the
"elaborated name" (Sem ha-meforaS), that is the full name of God,^^ and the
seventy names of God."^^

Occasionally the amulet opens with the formula be-Sem YHWH na^aseh
ve-nasliah, "in the name of the Lord may we succeed in what we do." It
is found, for example, at the beginning of MS TS K 1.1 00. This formula also
opens ketubbot (marriage contracts) and other legal documents."^^ As we shall
see, there are other ways in which magical and legal usages coincide.

Adjurations

Adjurations to the angels or demons often follow this opening formula.
These serve to command the angels to perform the magician's request. The

^^This inversion is found in Joel 2:13 and Jonah 4:2.

38ln rabbinic poetry andp/>'>'M;, it is common to construct appellatives from biblical verses.
On these forms, which have been called hidduSe seruf, novel construct pairs, see Aaron Mirsky,
"Ha-Sirah be-Tequfat ha-Talmud," Yerushalayim: Senaton le-Divre Sifrut ve-Hagut 3-4 (1970)
161-70. On the use of these forms in Hekhalot and related liturgical literature, see Michael
D. Swartz, ''^Alay le-Shabbeah: A Liturgical Prayer in M'aseh Merkabah,'' JQR 77 (1986-
87) 179-90; idem. Mystical Prayer.

39See Blau, Zauberwesen, 124-28, and the references cited in Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic,
288 n. 21.

"^^On this tradition see Joseph Dan, "The Seventy Names of Metatron," Proceedings of the
Eighth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Division C (1982) 19-23.

'♦iSee Lieberman, "Notes," 21-28; Friedman, Jewish Marriage, 1.91; idem, "Marriage as
an Institution: Jewry Under Islam," in David Kraemer, ed.. The Jewish Family: Metaphor and
Memory (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989) 40-41.

174 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

oath formula comes in a number of permutations. The standard terms, vir-
tually synonymous, are maSbi^a ^ani ^alekhem, hiSba^ti ^alekha, ^aSba'^et
^alekhon, or momina^ ^alekhon, "I adjure you," gozer ^ani ^alekhem, "I order
you." Incantations are also termed Sevu^ah, "adjuration," or momata^, "oath."
The act of reciting the incantation is referred to by the verb W, "to swear."
Rabbinic literature provides evidence of the widespread use of adjuration
formulae in daily speech. These phrases were taken seriously by the rabbis,
who used them in determining the limits of validity for oaths and vows."*^
Here too we see a confluence between magical and legal language in the
Tannaitic formulary of oaths. In m. Sebu^ot 4.3 and 4.5-13, the formula
mashbi^a ^ani ^alekha serves in cases of testimony to compel recalcitrant
witnesses either to testify or to take an oath that they have no evidence. To
be valid, the oath requires a response of "Amen."

Instructions

Instructions to the angels or demons follow the adjuration. Some texts
adjure demons to stay away, and others adjure angels to help protect or
otherwise favor the client. It is at this point that the supernatural powers
are addressed. This passage usually reveals the purpose for which the amulet
was created.

The angels are instructed in various ways. Often, the divine powers are
asked to grant something, such as healing or favor. The angels are also
often asked to prevent demons from doing damage.

The angels are sometimes asked to intervene before God on behalf of
the client. In MS TS K 1.18/30 the zodiacal sign ^Arieh (Leo) is directly
commanded to intercede to protect Habibah bint Zuhra^ who is about to
give birth:

I have adjured and commanded you, O zodiacal sign Arieh, to arise
with all might and strength, force and power, to prevail against all
harmful spirits and those which cause pain and sickness, to the woman
Habibah bint Zuhra', to represent her in prayer and petition before the
King of Kings,'*^ the holy one, blessed be he. . . . (lines 1-5)

'♦^The tractates Nedarim and Sebu'^ot are especially concerned with these subjects. On the
relationship of these formulae to the rabbinic regulations see Saul Lieberman, Greek in
Jewish Palestine (New York: Feldheim, 1965) 115-43.

"^^Or, "the King of angels," reading MaPakhim with the manuscript. This confusion, or
conflation, of the two terms is not unknown in medieval manuscripts. See Stefan Reif s
comment in Stefan C. Reif and J. A. Emerton, eds. Interpreting the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1982) 186 and note.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 175

p)pim D2iii?i minrn ri? tan / iM^rm nn« *?rn nn« "t*?:? Tnm / TiiJnm

/ «-inr ran nn-'nn nwv<n n« D''«/''*?nKDn D''n''«DDm yp'tan ta ir -inrsY?

n"npn do^^pdh o*?d "i*pd ''33*? / ne?p«m n*?''Dnn mi?n nDi?m

In some amulets, the angels are adjured to do anything the magician or
client requests. MS TS K1.71 adjures the angels to "do for me such-and-
such, [kakh ve-khakh], that which I ask of you" (line 15). There is no other,
more specific purpose indicated for the incantation. The practitioner thus
wishes to obtain a kind of "blank check" from the angels, who are to be
at his bidding.

At times the demons themselves are commanded. MS TS K 1.1 8/30, the
exorcism for Habibah bint Zuhra^ quoted above, threatens the demons in
the name of Ashmedai:

I adjure and command you, all sorts of evil diseases, and evil pains,
every kind of nausea and dysentery, indisposition, pain and infirmity
within the body of the woman Habibah bint Zuhra% in the name of ^El
Saddai, from whom you tremble and of whom you are afraid, and in
the name of Michael, your master, and in the name of Ashmedai, your
king, and in the name of all those appointed to rule over you, to get
going, flee and leave this woman, and do not ever again come near
her. (lines 11-20)

b^^^^ nv^p I •'3D tai -^m^i ]''n''i^m \^''i j-'ij-id •'D'^d / ta ]ini^ ]D''*?i? i^]-im i^]''Di

]ini^ TTTTi n ntz? ^^^ I De?n i^inr nn nmn tw^ rv^yi I m^^ ]rs-n -ii?2ii e?in''Di

n ]]iDD / ta D2?m '^':di^ noem D2?m / ]iDnn *?i^D''D atom j-'^pni^n / \)S"'>^\

]i£30in >ib\ KniT'i^ / ]ni^n tao ]ipmm ]ip-ii?m ]iDnm / iita-ri n ]iD''*?i? \^>^^

Ashmedai is known in Jewish tradition as the king of demons, while
Michael is the archangel.'*^ This passage is notable in that it recognizes
both Ashmedai and Michael as masters of the demons. But this passage is
also striking in that diseases are adjured directly. Indeed, in many amulets
there is no distinction between demons and diseases.

"^See L. Ginzberg, " Asmodeus," /£ 2. 217-20; and Gershom Scholem, "Peraqim Hadagim
me-^Inyene 'Ashmedai ve-Lillit," Tarbi^ 19 (1947/48) 160-75. On archangel traditions see
Gershom Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkavah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (New
York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1965) 43-55.

176 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

As we can see, these passages are also marked by formulaic lists, such
as lists of misfortunes from which the client is to be protected (or, in the
case of destructive incantations, to be visited on the victim) or of benefits
that the client is to receive. This listing is a prominent feature of the more
extensive healing amulets.

MS TS K 1.1 68 is an amulet commissioned by a husband for his wife. Its
purpose is to protect his wife from witchcraft and to win back her affec-
tion; he evidently believed that her estrangement was due to a spell cast on
her. The amulet lists the possible places where harmful magic might be
performed:

[let there] be cancelled from Netanel who is known as Hibat Allah ben
Durra and from his wife Sitt al-Furs bat ^Azizah all kinds of sorcery,
and all kinds of witchcraft, and all evil inscriptions and spells which
have been cast upon Netanel. . . and his wife. . . whether cast by day
or by night, whether at a grave or under a tree, whether by food or
drink, whether in a house or in a field, whether under the moon or the
stars, (lines 100-12)

/ nrrr m o^^b\^ no n^nn« / ]di nni p nbb)^ nnn '^yn I by^-m ]d \^^zi^

\i DVD ]^3 / ^m):rm\ nrr:; to. o-is':'» no / n^nn^i^':'! nni ]3 Tt'n^ t\it\ I ^r\^T\
nnD / \i n^33 \i ym^i ]^3 / ^-yx:^-! ]^3 p^^ mnn \i I -inpn \i rb^^o

n^^3DiD / ]^3 nnnr mnn yi

These lists reflect a characteristic proclivity of the amulets, one reflected
in the use of legal formulae as well — the desire to be as complete as
possible. The repetitive, sonorous quality of these lists may also serve to
enhance the mysterious effect of the incantation for the magician and for
the client who hears the incantation recited.

The Client's Name

The name of the client is included in the instructions. In magical hand-
books this part of the incantation employs the formula ploni ben ploni, "N.
son of N." as in manuals for the writing of legal documents. A personal
name appears in most of the incantations we have identified as designed for
active use. One amulet, MS TS K 1.137, protects anyone who bears the
amulet, and two, MSS TS K1.71 and TS K1.128, are cast in the first person.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 177

Sometimes the mother's name is listed in this formula, as in traditional
prayers for healing."^^

Magical Name

A magical divine name or series of names follows this instruction. This
name is usually more extensive than the name that appears in the beginning
of the amulet, and often includes magical symbols.46 Magical names can
also be composed of or the acronyms of biblical verses, Greek words (whose
meaning would have been unknown to the medieval practitioners), and
permutations of the Tetragrammaton.'^^ j\^q name can also be that of angels
or powerful biblical figures. In MS TS K1.94 the names of Metatron and
Elijah the prophet appear as magical names.

Biblical Verses

The incantation often concludes with biblical verses. Usually these verses
are relevant to the problem addressed by the incantation. An amulet for
success in business lists Isa 10:14: "I was able to seize, like a nest, the
wealth of the peoples. '"^^ An amulet for healing lists Deut 7:15: "The Lord
will ward off from you all sickness. '"^^ Often the verses testify to the power
of God or of his holy name. Where these verses appear at the end of the

"♦^See b. Sabbat 66b, where a series of traditions attributed to Abbaye's mother includes
the custom that "all incantations which are repeated must contain the mother's name;" on this
passage see Marcus Jastrow, comp., A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and
Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (2 vols.; Brooklyn: P. Shalom, 1967) 1. 801, s.v. minyan.

^^On these symbols see Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic, 141. These symbols, which usually
consist of intersecting lines tipped with circles, are also found in Palestinian and Samaritan
amulets. See Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, Amulets 2, 4, 5, 8, and 14; see also Moses Gaster,
"Samaritan Phylacteries and Amulets," in Studies and Texts 1. 400-403; idem, "Jewish
Knowledge of the Samaritan Alphabet in the Middle Ages," in Studies and Texts 1 . 607. Manuals
purporting to provide keys to the decipherment of these symbols can be found in medieval
esoteric manuscripts. See Israel Weinstock, "Alpha-Beta' §el Metatron u-Feru§ah," Temirin
2 (1981) 51-76; and Gershom Scholem, Origins of the Kabbalah (Philadelphia: Jewish
Publication Society; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987) 328 n. 267.

'♦''On the composition of magical names in Jewish magic of late antiquity and the Middle
Ages, see Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic, 78-103; T. Schrire, Hebrew Magic Amulets (2d ed.;
New York: Behrman House, 1982); Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, 94-100. On more con-
ventional ways of expressing the name of God in medieval Jewish manuscripts, see Jacob Z.
Lauterbach, "Substitutes for the Tetragrammaton," PAAJR 2 (1930-31) 39-67.

48TS K1.152 lines 26-29.

49TS K 1.1 37 lines 23-24.

178 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

amulets, their function in the rhetorical structure is to guarantee that the
power of scripture will be brought to bear on the magic.

Biblical verses and references to biblical heroes also perform another
function. A common form equates the success of a biblical figure such as
Joseph or Noah with the expected success of the client. Thus God's provi-
dence and favor to the hero is brought to serve the client's needs. MS TS
K1.6 is an amulet for Menashe ben Shamsi, who wishes to be loved by
"the children of Adam and Eve, whether man or woman, whether great or
small, even unto king, officer and captain." The amulet quotes Gen 6:8 in
this fashion:

"Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord" of hosts. So may I find
favor in the eyes of God and man. (lines 14-16)

Di»i / wni)^ '^^2 ]n »:iD» p m»3:i / mn^ 'TD2 ]n »:iD n]

Closing Formulae

A pious formula such as "Amen" or "Selah" usually ends the amulet.
These formulae are also used to conclude liturgical prayers. These words
often appear in sets of three, or multiples of three: "Amen, Amen, Amen,
Selah, Selah, Selah."

Liturgical doxologies also appear at the conclusion of the amulets, and
in the body of the amulets, as pious formulae. Particularly significant is the
use of the formula: "Blessed be the name of his majesty's glory forever and
ever" (barukh Sent kavod malkhuto le-^olam va-^ed). This formula is par-
ticularly appropriate in that it explicitly blesses God's name. According to
the Mishnah the formula was recited in the temple in Jerusalem after the
high priests recited the Tetragrammaton on the Day of Atonement.^^

The Rhetorical Statement of the Incantations

The amulets present, therefore, an integrated structure, and make a co-
herent rhetorical statement. This statement can be summarized as follows:

^^See m. Yoma 3.8, 4.1-2, 6.2. On the formula see also Lawrence H. Schiffman, "A Forty-
Two Letter Divine Name in the Aramaic Magic Bowls," Bulletin of the Institute of Jewish
Studies 1 (1973) 97-102.

MICHAEL D. SWARTZ 179

(1) The divine figures are invoked in the name of God by means of the
opening be-Sem formula.

(2) They are then adjured to do specific or general tasks for the client
or magician through adjuration and command formulae.

(3) The client is usually specified by name.

(4) The ailments from which the client is to be protected or the benefits
to be acquired are then elaborated in extensive lists, so as to include as
many functions as possible. These lists are followed by specific application
to the case at hand.

(5) These requests are reiterated and ensured by the recitation and quo-
tation of biblical verses and other formulae.

(6) The incantation comes to a formal end with the liturgical formula
"Amen" or "Selah," which emphasizes the solemnity of the incantation.

CONCLUSIONS

In the structure outlined above, three distinctive elements can be isolated
that express the operating assumptions of the magic of the amulets: (1) the
pronouncement and listing of the divine name; (2) the command to the
intermediaries, the angels or demons; and (3) the linking of these with the
material welfare of a specified person or persons.

The rhetorical structure brings these elements together. The oath and
instructions establish communication with the angels, which has been au-
thorized by God through means of the magical divine name. The instruc-
tions, which usually include the name of the client, bring these powers to
the aid of his or her well-being.

God is usually not compelled directly in these incantations. Rather it is
his authority that is brought to bear on his subordinates, the angels or
demons. In fact, the angels can be seen as heavenly bureaucrats, loyal to
their superiors and suspicious of mere mortals. The magician holds a script —
the amulet (or more accurately, the spoken incantation), bearing the seal of
the King — the magical name. Thus it is this authority, and not any inherent
power of the individual, that enables the magicians to command angels and
demons and help the client. This function may also explain the affinities
between magical and legal formulae. According to this structure by which
the magician is the authorized agent of God on behalf of the client, the
incantation is a document, binding on the angels, that accomplishes its
function upon writing or recitation.^^

5iFor examples of legal formulae of divorce in the Babylonian magic bowls, see Levine,
"Language of the Magical Bowls," 349-51.

1 80 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEW

It has been noted above that some of these amulets are good examples
of the craft of the professional scribe. This "bureaucratic" dimension of the
magic described here raises the possibility of addressing the question of the
social position and function of the Genizah magicians. In societies such as
that of the Genizah, scribes often functioned as intercessors for individuals
before judges, functionaries, lovers, and other formidable persons. The scribal
magic described here may be but a natural extension of this function. The
magician is principally a craftsman, plying a trade.^^ But in a world where
divine providence seems distant, the magician, with his tools, with the help
of the angels, and acting under God's authority, makes that providence
accessible.

52Emile Durkheim's remark that the magician "has a clientele and not a church" (The
Elementary Forms of the Religious Life [New York: The Free Press, 1965] 60) is appropriate
to our magical practitioners. Cf. Walter Burkert's description of "religious craftsmanship" in
the ancient Greek world: "Craft Versus Sect: The Problem of Orphics and Pythagoreans," in
Ben F. Meyer and E. P. Sanders, eds., Jewish and Christian Self-Definition, vol. 3: Self-Definition
in the Greco-Roman World (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982) 6.