Amulet

AMULET. An amulet is anything worn as a charm or protection against evil, disease,

witchcraft, snakebite, poison, and other perils, bodily or spiritual. In fact, the wearing of
jewelry and all manner of facial and bodily ornaments had its deepest origin in this
superstition. The word amulet derives from the Lat. amuletum, a word found twice in the
elder Pliny, and itself a Latinized form of Arab. hamalet, a noun derived from a verb
meaning “to carry.” The actual word “amulet” occurs only once in ASV and RSV, in Isaiah
3:20, in a list of condemned feminine trinkets. The Heb. is lahash and means literally
“whispering” or “charming,” the hissing of the snake charmer lying behind the metaphor
(Ps 58:5; Eccl 10:11; Jer 8:17).

Amulets had many forms, and archeology has abundantly illustrated them. They were
gems, cut, carved, or inscribed with magical formulae; stones; lunar discs associated with
the worship of Astarte or Ishtar; pierced shells, the origin of the cameo; pearls; teeth,
inscribed rolls of papyrus; earrings; signet rings, worn on the body or hung from door
and wall for the protection of dwelling place or town.

The ancient world was addicted to the superstition, and it has not yet died out even in
Christian and cultured communities. In Rome, Greece, Egypt, and all through Asia Minor
and the Middle E the practice is found interwoven with every form of sympathetic
magic. A divine hero in some threatening pose was an amulet of victory; a nude
goddess, sometimes heavily emphasized, was a charm for childbirth or fertility. The Hitt.
colored amulets red, the hue of blood—life’s vital fluid, or blue, a propitious color for
protection against the evil eye.

The Hebrews seem not to have resisted the temptation to wear amulets in spite of
sporadic efforts to combat the practice (e.g. Hezekiah’s destruction of the brazen
serpent [2 Kings 18:4] and Jacob’s earlier cleansing of his household [Gen 35:1-4]). The
host at Sinai had enough golden earrings to provide Aaron with the material to fashion
the golden calf, itself a symbol of the bull’s strength and a national amulet. Judas
Maccabeus was horrified to find amulets under the tunics of his dead soldiers (2 Macc
12:40). The phylacteries, small boxes containing quotations from the law (esp. Exod 13:1-
16; Deut 6:4-9; 11:18), which the Pharisees wore on arms and forehead were properly
amulets. The word phylactery (Gr. phulakterion) actually means a “safeguard” or
“amulet,” an extension of the basic significance of “guard post” or “garrison.” These tiny
scrolls were actually thought to ward off evil. The practice was an attempt to spiritualize
a custom which others had found to be inveterate. The tufts or tassels, with crimson
cords, which were worn at the four corners of the outer garments (Num 15:37-41; Matt
23:5) and the bells which decorated the high priest’s robe may have originated in a
similar compromise or sublimation. Christian practice has frequently been invaded by
supersition. Witness Calvin’s scorn for the alleged fragments of the cross and the
numberless nails of Calvary and other relics of saints and martyrs.