Amulets and angels: Visionary experience in the testament of Job and the Hekhalot literature

Abstract

This chapter explores the double use of amulets and seals for protection and visionary experience in the Testament of Job and the Hekhalot literature, addressing the following questions: how do they protect Job's daughters or the Hekhalot mystic? How do they make the visionary experience possible? It engages in a kind of switchback comparison among the Testament of Job , the Greek magical papyri, and the Hekhalot literature. The chapter explains with a longer exposition of the story of the Testament of Job , focusing on the protective and visionary powers of the cords that Job gives to his daughters. It shows that the protective function of the cords, both for Job and his daughters, has ample context in the world of late antiquity. The comparison then turns to a similar protective device used in the Hekhalot literature: ḥotamot to guard the practitioner while invoking angels down from heaven. Keywords: amulets; angels; Greek magical papyri; heaven; Hekhalot literature; Testament of Job