'If You Appear as a Pig': Another Incantation Bowl (Moussaieff 164)

Abstract

As more Aramaic incantation bowls are being published the richness of this material in terms of it being a complement to other late antique and early medieval Jewish and non-Jewish Mesopotamian materials that we know of is being realized; Moussaieff 164 is such an example. This incantation is neatly structured and consists of six sections that include an introduction, two sections of adjurations to the demons to leave, two sections of conditional threats and a final section that consists of carefully chosen biblical verses. It includes interesting elements that can be cross-referenced with sections of liturgy, Hekhalot literature and Mishnaic and Talmudic literature. The imagery that is found within the threats to the demons is graphic and extraordinary. One of the most striking aspects of this text is the quote from mShevu. 4:13, an appropriation of oaths from the terrestrial legal sphere to that of the supernatural.