Incantation Bowls Research Articles

Five earthenware Mandaic incantation bowls in Ābgīne Museum, Tehrān

Five earthenware Mandaic incantation bowls in Ābgīne Museum, Tehrān

The Bible in the Aramaic Bowls: Between Memorization, Orality, and Writtenness

Abstract The Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls from talmudic Babylonia quoted biblical material as part of their written spells, in order to bolster the apotropaic ritual. Current scholarship is making it increasingly apparent that these spells were part of the Jewish “mainstream,” rather than its margins. The bowl spells were often (sometimes?) produced by professional scribes many of whom—as I argue here —were also steeped in Jewish Scripture and liturgy. Moreover, given the high number of artifacts found, the spells can be considered representative of widespread religious practices and beliefs. The quotations are thus an unparalleled (and the only Babylonian epigraphic) source for the study of pre-Masoretic Bible traditions. The orthographic practices encountered in the biblical quotations become a lens through which to view attitudes to the Bible’s “writtenness” and the functions of writtenness, orality, and different types of memory. On the one hand, many spells provide evidence for the prominence of orality and memorization in Bible transmission and its reproduction. On the other, many bowls also imply a conceptual prestige of writtenness, alongside scribal training. At the same time, most bowls suggest a degree of self-sufficiency of the Bible as an oral, memorized, and liturgical text. While the Bible was construed as a written authority by the rabbis, in practice, its written component was likely neither always present, nor strictly necessary for achieving spiritual efficacy within the spells.

Academic ‘ethics’ and the Schøyen Collection Aramaic incantation bowls: a personal narrative

The Aramaic incantation bowls in the possession of the Schøyen Collection have been the subject of academic controversy and police search. This paper discusses the ethical dimensions of scholarly engagements with the bowls, with a special focus on the actions of University College London and the British Academy. It concludes that there is little evidence of ethical reflection on the part of these institutions, and considers the chilling effects exerted by a wealthy private individual upon academic freedom.

Reimagining the Gender and Class Dynamics of Premodern Composition

Abstract This article argues that recent scholarship on premodern composition can help to reconceptualize the presence of diverse people, including enslaved women, in scribal spaces. A brief historiographic section reviews how scholars have imagined normative Jews to be elite literate men, neglecting evidence of dictation to scribes, and thus excluded evidence of lower-class women especially from their imagining of the past. Applying Wendy Doniger’s rejection of the category of the singular male author in religious texts to Jewish texts, it proposes a heuristic tool to identify women’s presence and perspectives in ancient prose, liturgical, and ritual texts. Finally, it analyzes four incantation bowls as test-cases of this approach. For every text produced by a scribe, scholars ought to imagine a dynamic compositional environment with at least two people, and they can look for evidence of inclusion and exclusion of perspectives based on religious markers, class status, and gendered concerns.

Body and Mind, Husband and Household, Collaborators and Communities: Centrifugal Spheres of Protection in an Aramaic Incantation Bowl (MC 77.233)

Abstract MC 77.233, an incantation bowl in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic script held in the Magnes Collection, is here published for the first time. Written primarily for Ḥammādā daughter of Xwārōy, it deepens and nuances our understanding of apotropaic activities in late antique Babylonia and surrounding regions, with terminology and phrases that are, at turns, typical and unique. Notable, too, are its combinations of, and allusions to, motifs that are elaborated with greater detail on other specimens. My discussion focuses on the role of both client and scribe in the bowl’s production, highlighting connections to bowls of other clients, to several well-attested formula repertoires, and to other Sasanian literary sources like the Babylonian Talmud. Throughout, I emphasize the opportunities for comparative analysis that are now available due to the increasing volume of bowl publications and recent scholarship on religious life, material culture, and interactions between Jews and others in late antique Mesopotamia.

What's (in) Your Bowl? Affordances of Incantation Bowls and their Use in Household Medicine

Abstract: This paper investigates the much-discussed Babylonian incantation bowls inspired by approaches from thing theory, such as the concept of affordance, and from cognitive studies, such as the distributed cognition hypothesis. For once, the material aspects of the bowl amulets and how people may have perceived them are the center of the analysis, not the texts or the images that are inscribed in them. Thus, I discuss the different and versatile affordances ("options for action") that the bowls offered people living in late antique Mesopotamia and what their physical presence may have meant in terms of the production of an emotional response (affect). The preparation process of an incantation bowl, including the choice of bowl, ink preparation, and the procuration of suitable texts, may be seen as a sign of affect and emotion on behalf of several household members. These practices are ultimately very comparable to physical caregiving, and production of a bowl amulet is thereby shown to be firmly grounded in late antique Babylonian household medicine.

Remarks on a New Aramaic Incantation Bowl IM 77781

Abstract This article presents the edito princeps of a formerly unpublished incantation bowl written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. The text consists of fifteen lines and is devoted to protecting the client, his wife and his daughter against the curses of enemies and opponents. The bowl is a gift of Mr. Ismā'īl Nāyf and is part of a collection housed in the Iraq Museum (IM 77781).

The female authorship of Babylonian Jewish incantation bowls

The general consensus in scholarly research is that rabbis, male scribes and male practitioners wrote the incantation bowls. However, a survey of the Jewish-Aramaic incantation bowls published thus far shows a majority of named female authors. This article will elaborate on five of them who wrote incantation bowls in a unique style. The female authors presented in their magical formulae ideas in a discourse which opposes the religious and cultural perception of the rabbinic milieu. Therefore searching the internal space of the Jewish community is not sufficient. Rather, it would be more fruitful to look for an answer to the question of who wrote the incantation bowls using a wider prism. We should, in this case, explore the society and culture of the Sasanian Empire in particular, and late antiquity in general.

Babylonian Jewish Society: The Evidence of the Incantation Bowls

Babylonian Jewish Society: The Evidence of the Incantation Bowls

Syro-Uigurica III: Enochic Material in a Christian Text from Turfan

This article examines a fragmentary Christian text from Turfan written in Uyghur which contains an embedded Syriac magical text intended to be used for corralling a horse. Aft er giving a transcription and translation of the Syriac passage and setting it in its literary context, including the role of amulets and other magical texts in the history of Syriac Christianity, the article discusses the angelic name Saraqael found in the Syriac extract, in an effort to trace the origins of the text. Excurses are given on the book of I Enoch and the Book of Giants, the first because the angelic name is found in it, the second because of its connections with the Aramaic and Central Asian cultural zones. The article then examines another text where the angelic name occurs, the Pishra de-Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, before discussing possible links to other Syriac amulets and incantation bowls.

Hebrew In The Incantation Bowls and In The Babylonian Vocalization Tradition1

Abstract Babylonian Jewish communities possessed a Hebrew vocalization tradition in parallel to the better-known Tiberian and Palestinian traditions. Most of the available evidence regarding Babylonian Hebrew comes from vocalized manuscripts, which were produced during a late period in the history of the dialect. This article examines Jewish Babylonian Aramaic incantation bowls as earlier sources of information regarding the Babylonian Hebrew vocalization tradition. Plene spellings of Hebrew words in these texts, along with other orthographic details, attest to characteristically Babylonian features, such as the preservation of short u, o, e, and i in phonological environments that trigger lowering to ɔ and ε in the Tiberian tradition; the correspondence between Babylonian a-vowels and Tiberian sĕgōl; and non- systematic differences between the Babylonian and Tiberian traditions.

‘Whoever Is Hungry, Come and Eat’

Abstract The provenance of the opening Aramaic portion of the Passover Haggadah has confounded practitioners and scholars for centuries. Little evidence has come to light to explain the origins of this passage or the fluctuations in its attending practices over time. This article argues that additional evidence, found in some neglected Talmudic manuscripts and in incantation bowls, reveals that the core recitational and practical elements of this passage were originally unrelated to Passover or Jewish ritual. Instead, they were part of a recognised social script in late antique Jewish Babylonia that was integrated into the Passover Haggadah. With changes in Babylonian Jewish society, and with the transmission of this section and its associated practices to Jewish communities outside of Babylonia, the original social and cultural context of this sentence was forgotten. Untethered from the setting in which it was culturally legible, it developed through encounters with new actors in different contexts.

Who were the Jewish ‘magicians’ behind the Aramaic incantation bowls?

This article focuses on the social and professional contexts of the producers of Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls. Based on the vast amount of legal terminology deployed in the bowls, as well as a reference to bowl writers as ‘writers of books’ in bowl AMB6, I argue that bowl scribes were part of a professional guild of scribes ( soferim ) that engaged in a variety of forms of Jewish writing. Furthermore, I suggest that the scribal context of the practitioners of the magic bowls was different from the professional context of the contemporaneous corpus of Jewish metal amulets. Identifying the unique Sitz im Leben of the bowls reveals that for Jews in Sasanian Babylonia the line between magic, law and religion was not rigid, and perhaps non-existent. Further work on the context of ancient Jewish magic may therefore lead to new perceptions of ancient Jewish society.

An Aramaic Incantation Bowl and the Fall of Hatra

Abstract The present paper offers an analysis of certain Northern Mesopotamian demons attested on an Aramaic incantation bowl in square script. This object displays at its centre a list of evil entities drawn from a Mandaic forerunner, some of which are paralleled in the epigraphic corpus of Hatra and nearby sites. The analysis explores whether this may provide new evidence regarding the fate of Hatra’s inhabitants and cults in the aftermath of the fall of the city in 240/1 AD; the suggested scenario is that some Hatrenes could have been deported to Babylonia, where they encountered the Mandaean culture in its early phases and acquainted it with a part of their pantheon.

Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon

Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon Christopher T. Begg and Andrew W. Litke 975. [Roman and Jewish Translations] Sean A. Adams, "Translating Texts: Contrasting Roman and Jewish Depictions of Literary Translations," Scholastic Culture, 147-67 [see #1543]. In conclusion, we find similarities and differences between Roman and Jewish depictions of literary translation. In particular, the importance of the source text, the direction of translation, and the intended purpose of the new work are key determiners of the nature of the translation undertaken by the translator. A majority of the differences in these regards were a result of differences in power dynamics vis-à-vis Greek culture. The political dominance of the Romans afforded them the ability to take liberties with the text and [End Page 326] to bring the wealth of the Greek literary heritage into the Latin world. In contrast, Jewish translators did not translate Greek texts into Hebrew or Aramaic, presumably because Jews in Egypt already had access to those texts. Rather, Jewish translators rendered their own ethnicity's works into Greek with a high fidelity to the nature and structure of the original. One of the key findings of my article is the recognition of the diversity of translation perspectives in antiquity, which, I argue, fall primarily along the lines of power. Engagement with another group's literature engenders hierarchical and cultural negotiation: It is not a benign act. By contrasting Roman and Jewish translation practices, one can identify distinctive elements and demonstrate how individuals from diverse but interacting cultures may differ in the ways in which they engage in the scholarly practice of translation. Future studies, I would argue, need to take this idea into account when considering both translation acts and depictions of translations. In the case of the Letter of Aristeas, the presentation of translation in terms of scholarly language is a strategic move on the part of the author in which he makes a statement regarding both the translated text and the people who made it. [Adapted from author's conclusion, pp. 166-67] 976. [Targum Onqelos; Targum Jonathan] Philip S. Alexander, "The Aramaic Bible in the East," AS 17 (2019) 39-66. In this article, A. argues that while the Bible existed in both Hebrew and Aramaic versions among the Jewish communities in the east, it was the Aramaic Bible, namely Targum Onqelos and Targum Jonathan, that functioned as their Bible and helped shape the religious identity of these diverse communities. A. discusses the use of Aramaic in biblical quotations on incantation bowls, and addresses the question of knowledge of the Targumim to the Writings after the Gaonic era. Finally, since, as A. points out, systematic study of Scripture was not a central part of the curriculum in eastern Batei Midrash, this made Onqelos and Jonathan that much more important for the people's understanding of the Bible. 977. [Canon; Isaiah] Joseph Blenkinsopp, "The Formation of the Hebrew Bible Canon: Isaiah as a Test Case," Essays on the Book of lsaiah, 1-11 [see #1428]. I propose to take as my point of departure a brief consideration of four "moments" in the pre-canonical process: Josephus, ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus), Chronicles, and Deuteronomy with associated writings. (p. 1) The compilation of the Latter Prophets may have gone through several phases, including perhaps a Deuteronomistic phase, before it reached its final configuration during the obscure century of Ptolemaic rule. It was at that time, the early Hellenistic period, that books began to be produced with explicit attributions, resembling more closely our idea of a book. In the absence of external information, our only recourse is scrutiny of the prophetic books themselves. The Book of Isaiah reflects the characteristic features of the canon of the Hebrew-Aramaic Bible in general: it can be read as a canon in nuce. One of these features is the juxtaposition within a canonical collection of different and ideologically incompatible points of view. We saw that the inclusion of Deuteronomistic narrative in Isaiah sets up an understanding of the prophetic role different from that of the prophet as social conscience of the society and preacher of reform and moral regeneration. The Isaian biographical tradition in the later...

The Vow-Curse in Ancient Jewish Texts

AbstractUttering a vow was an important and popular religious practice in ancient Judaism. It is mentioned frequently in biblical literature, and an entire rabbinic tractate, Nedarim, is devoted to this subject. In this article, I argue that starting from the Second Temple period, alongside the regular use of the vow, vows were also used as an aggressive binding mechanism in interpersonal situations. This practice became so popular that in certain contexts the vow became synonymous with the curse, as in a number of ossuaries in Jerusalem and in the later Aramaic incantation bowls. Moreover, this semantic expansion was not an isolated Jewish phenomenon but echoed both the use of the anathema in the Pauline epistles and contemporary Greco-Roman and Babylonian magical practices.

Transferring performativity from speech to writing: illocutionary acts and incantation bowls

AbstractThis article considers the interface between orality and textuality in the Aramaic incantation bowls, as well as the use of performative utterances in the texts of their spells. It demonstrates that writing and writtenness were central to bowl praxis as a whole, and argues that the bowls reflect a growing understanding of writing as performative in itself. In light of this, it suggests that the use of illocutionary acts in the bowl texts reflects the (gradual and ongoing) transfer of performativity from speech to writing in Sasanian Mesopotamia. Such acts of “word magic” in the bowls as oaths and curses are more likely to represent transitional language or a kind of “oral residue” than the verbatim representation of speech or spoken acts.

Mesopotamian Double-Jar Burials and Incantation Bowls


 
 
 The corpus of late antique Babylonian incantation bowls comprises a class of double-bowl sets, consisting of two bowls facing each other, fastened together with bitumen. Occasionally, such bowl sets have been found to contain inscribed egg shells or human bones. The double-bowl configuration is highly reminiscent of the double-jar burial practice attested in Mesopotamia from the second millennium to the sixth century BCE. The double-jar (or double-pot) burial involved placing the deceased between two wide-mouthed jars, occasionally joining them with bitumen at the rims. This article explores the double-bowl configuration and suggests a connection between double-jar burials and the later ritual artifacts of the Sasanian period. The double-bowl sets attached with bitumen may have originated on analogy to the ancient burial practice, intending symbolically to bury evil entities or human adversaries.
 
 

A New Testament Text on a Syriac Incantation Bowl: Eph. 6:10-17 on ibc 3

This article demonstrates the use of Eph. 6:10-17 on a Syriac incantation bowl (ibc 3), thereby challenging the commonly held opinion that there are no direct uses of the New Testament among the Syriac bowls. We then situate the use of this biblical passage on ibc 3 within the context of biblical citation and reference in Mediterranean magic more generally. Finally, we briefly reflect on the significance of the usage of the Bible on ibc 3 for the study of Syriac incantation bowls and for the value of categories of religious identification, such as “Christian,” “Jewish,” and “Pagan,” as it pertains to the study of late antique apotropaia.

A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls. Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia, written by M. Moriggi

A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls. Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia, written by M. Moriggi