C O NTENTS

I NTROD U CTI ON
Oil a m ys tic e e l men t in ti q uity
an

(a) i n th e B ibl e ; (b) i n Assyri a (c) in Egypt an d Greec e

O il i n m agic
(a) Babyl o n i an
( b) Je w i s h
( c) Egyptian
(61) Eu ro pe an
B byl i
a o n an o r igi n
A . TA L M UD I C PA SS A GES R EF E RRI NG To OI L MA GI C, AND NOTES .

B byl n i
a p aralle l s ; N ot es on 3 73 W
o an “W, my :» fiw m agic al
,

p o w e r o f o i l B abyl o n i an o r i gi n
—1 2
7

B . LATE R JEW IS H TE XTS , TRANS LA TI ONS , A ND NOTE S 1 3

-
42
B Te x t s in w hich O il i s u se d as a pa rt o f t h e divi n ation
I .

c erem on y 1 3 - 25

B 2 Te xt s i n w hich th e w ho l e divi n ati on i s made on ly t hrough

.

t h e O il . 5

N o t e s ; B abylo n i an p aralle l s ; B a byl o n i an o rigin O f t h e l at e J ewi s h

O il magic sh o w n
N OTES
1 . On m : Ow
, a: w
saw an
,
: On 5m : ” WW
( ow m
n y)
,

2 . On l o o ki n g at t h e fi n ger n ai l s at t h e p ray e r o f Ha bda lah ;

-

th row i n g away th e p ari n gs o f t h e n ails ; cutti n g t h e n a i l s

o n c ert ai n d ay s an d i n a c e rt a i n o r d er

3 . On t h e m agic al ci rcl e
4 . On s t o n e s i n m agic
5 . On W DW H 7 173 1?
6 . On ‘
the th ree light s that are in t h e u n iverse
se a an d t he
7 . O n d ivi n ati o n th rough O il-fo rm ati o n s ; s triki n g Old B aby
l on i an para ll e ls 3 9 — 0
4
8 . On t h e u se of O il mix e d w ith w at er a m o n g t h e Jew s i n
B abyl oni a ab o ut 1 000 OJ " .

9 . O n n~ 5nn W IDE ? an d i t s B abyl o n i an o rigi n

av ”
 I NTRO DU CTION .

OI L w as r eg ard e d i n anti quity as a mystic el em en t .

It was us e d for con s e cratio n an d d e dic ati o n Wh en J acob .

w an t e d t o h a l lo w t h e sto n e at B e th e l h e pou re d O il o n it
(Gen xxviii
. . Wh en Mos es d e dicat e d A aro n to t he
s ervic e o f G od he poure d o i l o n his h ea d an d an oi n t e d
h im (L ev viii 1 2 of also E x o d x xix )
. . The T ab e rn acl e
,
. . .

a n d all th at w a s in it was co n s ec ra te d b b e i n g an oi n t e d
y
w ith oil (L ev viii 1 0 . L ev x 7 Mos es s ay s t o A aro n
.
, . .
,

an d his son s : A n d y e s h all n o t go out fro m t h e d o or

‘

o f t h e t en t Of m eeti n g l est ye di e : fo r t h e an oi n tin g ,

o il o f th e Lo r d is up o n you A t t h e c l ean si n g of t h e
’
.

l ep e r too oil was us e d Fou r ve rs es d eal w ith t he use o f

, , .

t he o il for th at purpos e (L ev xiv 1 5 1 8 ; o f also vv 26 . .

—
. .

E v ery a ction m en tio n e d i n th o s e v ers e s n o d o ubt ha d

its signi fic an c e S am u el w h en s e l e cti n g S aul fo r the
.
,

kin gship pou rs o il o n his h ea d (1 S am x

, Wh en . .

D avid w as chos en by S am u e l t o succ ee d S aul he w as

a n oi n t e d w ith o il by S amu e l
( 1 S am xvi An d so . .

w er e t h e l at e r kin g s an oi n t e d w ith O il s e e e sp e ci a lly ,

1 Ki n gs i ; of also PS xlv 8 . . . .

I n A ssyri a too m em o ri al sto n e s an d tabl ets w e r e

, ,

a n o i n t e d w ith o i l S o Tiglat h Pile ser I (en d o f tw elfth

.
-

c en tury B O E ) s ays : n a mi p l lid Sa méi fl Ra mman a bi

. . .
‘

i a §a mné ap ézi u§ t he m e m o ri al s to n e s of my an c e stor

- -
,
‘

Samsi -Ramman I h av e an oin t e d w ith o il (c o l viii 4 7 ’

.
,

S ee for m or e r eferen c e s D e litz sch A ssyris c hes

, , ,

Ha ndwé r terbu c h p 550 I n Egypt an d G ree c e also Oil

’

. .
,

w as us e d fo r d e dic atio n ; s ee H astin gs D ic tio n a ry of the ,

B i ble Vol I p 1 0 1
,
.
,
. .

O il a lso pl ay e d a rOl e i n magic W e k n ow this fro m .

A sse -Babylo n i an magic al t exts In t he Ritua ltafeln .

A 2
4 BAB " L ON I AN O IL M AG I C

publish e d by Z imme rn
O il is men tio n e d s everal ti mes 1

as an i mp o rtan t e l emen t in magic I n O ld B abylo n i an .

t exts publish e d by J H un g er we fin d divi n ation by

,
2 .
.
,

mean s o f o il Wh at i mport an c e th e r e was as cribed to

.

o il i n B abyl o n i a n magic c an als o b e s e en fro m t h e

follow in g p assag e occurrin g in on e of the i n can tation s

o f t he Maklfi t e xts publish e d by Tallq vist
3

szp tu §a mn u ellu §a mn u i b-bu §amna n a m-ru

§a mn u ma—lil-li §a i ld ni
§a mn u ma p § §i ié bu-oz-ii a §a a -me-lu -ti
-
a -a - — é "W

§a ma n §ip ti §a f l E -a: §a ma n §ip ti §a i l M a rduk

d-da -é i -id-ka §a ma n tap -hi-ué -ti
§d il E —a id-di-nu a -n a p a -a §-é a -a -ti
ap -é i Z
-
usf- ka éama n ba lati
a ddi ka .

‘
In c an tation . Bright
Oil pu re o il shini ng , , o il,

the pu rifyin g O il o f t he g o ds ,

Oil whi c h soft en s the sinews o f man .

W ith the oil o f t he in c an tation of E a , with t he O il o f t he inc an

t at ion of Marduk
I have made t h ee dri p ; wit h the oil of so ftenin g
whi c h E a has given fo r th in g
so o

I h ave anointed thee Oil o f life

I have put on th ee .
’4

Not e
sp e ci ally lin e 3 4 in w hich t he O il is c all ed t he
e ,
‘

O il o f th e in can tatio n of E a an d Marduk the t wo great

Babylo n i an gods o f magic an d divi natio n .

It is t he Obj e ct of t he followi n g p age s to sho w t h at

B abylo n i an O il magic in its various for ms is also to be
1
I n h i s B eitrcige
’

z ur K enn tn i s l
der baby onischen Re igion, l Leipz ig ,
1 90 1
(t o uote d i n these pages as
be q
2
J Hu n ger Bec h erw ah rsagung bei den B abylon iern n ach z wei
S ee .
,

K e il s chr iftt exte n aus der Ham m ur abi Ze it ( Leipz iger S emitis tische S tud ien -
,

I, Leipz ig 1 903 ,
.

S e e K L Tallq vi s t Die assyrische B eschworungsserieM alclii Le ip z ig 1 895

'
3
. . .
, , ,

S ee p 9 2 li n es 3 1 —8 ; an d of W ei ssbach Z ur S erie
.
,
.
,

Maklu in Beitrcige z ur A ssyriologie V o l I V p 1 6 0

’

.
, ,
. .
 I NTROD U CTI O N 5

found amo n g th e J ews in t he ti me o f t he T al mud a n d in

l at er ti me s The p arall e ls are striki n g n o t o n l y w ith
.
,

reg ard to the use of the oil b ut als o w ith r e gard to t h e ,

c er em o n i e s an d for mul as c o nn e ct e d w ith it It w ill be .

s een th at t he Babyl o n i an an d J ewish docu men ts suppl e

m en t an d thro w light o n e ach o th e r The p a ss ages re .

ferri n g to oil in magic in th e T almud are v ery few an d

frag men tary It will be s e en ho w th ey beco m e cl ear
.

an d i n t elligi bl e w ith t he h elp o f t h e B abylo n i an t exts

a s w e ll as t he l at er J e w ish docu me n ts .

I w ill d e al first w ith the Ta l mudic p ass ag e s (A ) an d

th e n w ith the l at e r J ew ish t exts (B) Th es e l at er t e xts .

I di v id e i n to tw o groups : (1 ) o n e g roup (B 1 ) con sist

i n g of thos e t e xts i n which oil is us e d in cours e o f t h e
d ivi n atio n c er emo n y as a p art of t he c erem on y so th at
t he spirits may app e ar in t he thu mb n a il o r i n t he h an d -

o r in t h e v e ss el an d may b e s een th rough t h e oil (n ow h e» ,

s e co n d g roup co s isti n g o f t exts in

1 ( )
2 t h e
( )
B 2 n

w hich t he whol e divin atio n is m ad e pr actic ally th rough

t he o il o n ly as through t h e form ati o n o f t h e oil (8) o r
,

th ro ugh t he r efle cti o n o r n on r efl e cti o n in the Oil (9 -

,

Te xt 1 1 d o e s n ot strictly b elo n g to thi s group Bu t in .

this t ext too th e u se o f O il is i mport an t

, , .

W e fi n d th at o il a lso pl ay e d a r Ole in E gypti an m agic .

The D emotic Magic al P apy rus o f Lon do n an d L eyd e n ,

publish e d by G riffith an d Tho m pso n are full o f o il divi n a ,

tio n a n d c o n t ai n man y strikin g p aral l els t o B abyl o n i an

,

m agic al t exts as w ell a s to t he J ew ish t e xts publish e d

h er e 1
Th er e c an be n o dou bt th at this fo rm of magic
.

c a me t o t he E gypti an s fro m t he l an d o f t h e Euph rat e s .

The follo w i n g p ass ag e fro m t h e p apyrus me n ti o n e d will

h elp to show cl early t he B abylo n ian origi n of E gypti an
o il magic :

[ Th e s p ell
] w h i c h yo u say t o t he O il t o pu t it o n t he stin g

daily : I sis s at r ec i t in g t o t he O il Abartat an d l amenti n g (2

‘
) to
1 Cf G if fith
. d Th m p n l
r pp an 3 3 3 5 49 o 3 3
so ,3 . c , . . 21 —
, , ,
1 0 ,
1 1 1 ,
1 1 , 1 2 ,

1 3 7 ,
I 3 9, 1
47 , I ss, 1 6 5, I 69 .
6 BABYL O NI AN OI L M AG I C

t he true Oil saying Th ou b eing p rai sed I will praise t hee O Oil
, , , , ,

I will p raise th ee t h o u b ei n g p rais ed by t he Agat h o

,
da emon ; th o u
b eing appl au ded (i) by me myself I will p rai s e thee for ever , ,

0 h erb o il— ot h erwi s e t r ue O il O sweat o f t he Agath o daemo n

- —

amul et 2 o f Geb s I si s who mak es i n vo c at io n t o t he o il

() I t. i

(see Griffith an d T h omp s on l c p 1 3 1 lines 1 7 2

,
. .
, .
,
—

'
Th e s e lin es r ead as if th ey were fo rm ed o n t he p ass ag e
fro m Ma klu q uot ed abo ve (p
, an d sho w un m istak abl y
.

t he B aby l o n i an o rigi n o f E gypti an oi l m agic .

I n E uro p e t o o Oil h as bee n kn o wn as a m ean s

, ,

o f m agic a l m an ipul ati o n s ; c f e g lin es 1 29 3 0 i n .

, . .
,
—

C o l eridge s T he A n c i en t M a rin er
’

The wa t er, like

’
a wi t c h s Oi ls,

burnt green ,
an d blu e ,
an d W h it e .
’

The i n flu en ce of t he cultur e of th e l an d of t he t wo
rive rs up on the d evel o p men t of m an kin d has b ee n v ery
gr eat but n o t the l eas t gre at has it been i n t he do mai n
,

o f m a gic an d w itchc ra ft The mor e on e e x am

. in e s t he
an ci en t l it e ratu re t h e m or e o n e s e e s h o w t h e v ari o us

fo rm s o f S um ero Babyl o n i an sup erstiti o n sp read t o the

-

w h o l e of t he an ci en t civi l iz e d wo rld an d ho w man y o f ,

th es e sup erstiti o n s h ave survive d up to the pres en t day

i n E a st an d We st .
 A .

PA S S A G E S FR O M THE TA L MUD .

T al mud Babli S an h e dri n

IN t he follo wi n g Bara ith a
,

is q uot ed z— Jan s Ss in: 51s w5 mm: our: fir ‘

m paw “ W
mo web ma mo 51: rwnb rm fi “
n e n ow 51: ra nt c o unt)

3 53 3 2) 7m m ran rm r aw pawn On e is allo w e d to ask of ‘

the pri n c es o f o il an d the pri n c e s of e ggs o n ly (on e do e s ,

n o t ask b e c aus e ? th ey li e 1 rm ov e r
) O n e w hisp e rs a ch a .

o il i n t h e v e ss e l an d o n e do es n o t w hisp e r a ch ar m ov e r

o il in t he h an d ; th e refore on e an oi n ts (o n e s e lf) w ith

the oil in t he h an d an d o n e do e s n ot an oi n t (o n e s elf)
w ith t he oil in the v ess el
’
.

It is cl ear th at we h av e in this Baraith a th e u se o f oil

in magic I n t he first c as e (n . ow we & c ) oil is us e d for , .

divi n ation purpos es (in: 51 xw5) In the s econ d cas e t he .

o il is us e d for w hisp e ri n g a ch arm wa nt for magic al

‘ ’

, ,

h eali n g Ho w the oil was us e d by t he divi n er the

.

B ara ith a do e s n o t stat e Neith e r is it C l ear w h at fiw .

‘

mean s Rashi expla i n s that it r efe rs to magical w ork

.

with o il an d th at raw fir) mean 7m: h r) ( t he pri n c es o f ‘

t he thu mb But this do e s n o t add much to our un d e r

stan din g o f the Baraith a I n fac t th e phras e "raw fit) (as .
,

w ell as c an: we ) app ear e d so o bscur e that so m e MS S .

h ave we or W m The A ruch (e d Kohut V o l V III p 1 6 1 )

?
.
, .
,
.

tran sl at es “It? by prin c es B ut fro m t h e e xpl an atio n o f

‘ ’
.

th e A ruch (see w hich diffe rs so mew h a t fro m th at of

1 S o me C o mm en t at ors d o n o t re a d NSN ; see th e R spe o n sa o f

No 9 2 , an d cf Rabbin o wi c z , D‘ WDWD pmpw ad Io c t T h e m ean in g

‘ no e
. .
,
.
, 9 .

w o ul d th en be th a t th es e i n q ui ri es ar e a ll ow ed b ec au se t h e p r i n c es li e ‘
.

Thi s i s h ow ev e r u n lik ely

, , .

2
S ee Rabb in o w i c z o p cit S anhedri n p 3 06
, . C f al so the att e m pt
.
, , . . .

at e xpl an ati o n ma de by L G o l d s c h m i d t i n h i s t ran sl ati o n o f S an h e d ri n

. ,

p 44 3 n ot e 53 0
.
,
8 BABY L ON IAN OI L M AG I C

R ashi , it c an be a lso s een th at t he r eal m ean i n g o f t he

B ara itha wa s by n o me an s cl ear to thos e w ho attempte d
to explain it W e w ill s ee l ater how t he l at e J ew ish
.

docu m en ts throw full light o n this B ar aith a At presen t .

w e w ill s e e wh at t he B abylo n i an R itu a l T abl e ts yi e ld

for t h e u n d e rst an din g of this p ass ag e .

Ri t pp 1 96 7 . iii op en s w ith t he follow i n g lin es

, .
—
, ,

a Sa ma § bel di n im a A da d bel bi ri a na§§i k u n u §i

( )
2 [- - -
'
- -

a ka r ra b kn n u §i
- -
] (3 ) §a m -
n a el la s
- a m n a mar
- l A n iin z -

§amna md r f l Ea ( )
2 Sam as lord of t,he judg e men t , ,

H ad ad l o rd o f t he di vi n atio n " I brin g to y[ou I d edicat e

, ,

to you ] (3 ) pure o il o il a child o f Anu o il a child of , , , ,

Ea This prayer of t he barn is co n clud e d in lin es

1 3 1 4 : ( 1 3 ) i n a qibi ti jd n t§ t
—
i Ja ina mini ma ma la - - - -

epp u§n §u) (1 4 ) ta mi t a ka r ra bu ina imni én it §nmé

- - - - - -

li §n ket ta li b §i
- I n my supplicatio n my l ifti n g
- - .
,

up o f the h an ds in e verythi n g I do ( 1 4) th e i n q uir y , ,

’
I d dic t in his right an d his l e ft be corre ctn ess
e a e ,
1
.
.

Lin e s 1 5 25 th en co n t ai n t he follow in g pr escription s

—

( 5)
1 burd §a up u n ta i -s ar-ra q sa mna a n a s i r -lei i tta na n di

( )
I6 m i lZ ( )
-i i - i a i n a kki -ki § a m n a a n a m e m a -ka l-ti i n a ddi

a Sa ma § a A da d i ld n i ra bnti i ma m
-di
) ( 7) 1 u

( )
1 8 §n m -ma te r m it § a m n n i §-ta l-ma
(1 9) i ld ni ra bati
iz z a z u-ma (20) di-nim ket-te n mii a ri i -di-nn (2 1 ) mm
é u lnm -um) §a rri a na z a kap na kri a na én lnm a mmani
a na s a -ba t a li 22) a n a e é § -e§ a rr a ti a n a z a nan §a me -e
( p ( ) ( )
a na
( 3)
2 m m l i bbi d u t é n di u m imm a n u t -la

a na di n e ta -n am-bi i na di ni
( 4)
2

( 5)
2 m a r amé l
ba r e i n a m e § a m n a
[i -n a -ia l
] C ypr e ss .
,

fi ne flour he
sh all pour out o il on the libatio n he sh all ,

put ( 1 6 ) an offe ri n g he sh all pour ou t o il o n the wat er

, ,

o f t h e v e ss el he sh all put ( 1
7) o f Sam as an d H ad a d , t he ,

great gods he sh all i n q uir e (1 8) Wh en t he o men an d

, .

t h e o il are faultl e ss (1 9) th e gr eat gods co me n e ar an d

It i s rathe r difficult t o s ee t o w h at the se w o rds refer ; see Zimm ern

1
,

1 c p 1 97 n ote b
. .
, . C ould th ey n o t refer t o t h e p ers on acti n g as medi um
, .

( see b el ow ) ?
 P ASSAG E S F RO M TH E TA LM U D 9

(20) j udg e a j udg emen t o f j ustic e an d right e ous n e ss

( )
2 1 co n c e rn i n g t h e w e lf a r e o f t h e ki n g t he ov erthro w o f
,

the en emy t h e s afe ty o f t h e arm y t he t aki n g o f a city

, , ,

(22) t he maki n g o f a curs e t h e rai n i n g fro m h eaven , ,

( 3)
2 t h e m a ki n g abu n d an t o f t h e i n w a rds 1
an d an y thi n g
w hich ev e r (24) for judgeme n t th o u an n ou n c est in ,

j udge men t ( 5)
2 t h e divi n e r sh all look upo n oil in

wate r
H ere w e cl early h av e a cas e of divi n atio n by Oil .

m
A lthough it s e e s accordi g n t o 1 1 6 h an d l 1
,
8 th at it . .
,

sp eaks h ere of l ecan o man cy it mus t be i n fe rre d fro m ,

1 2 1 3 l 1 7 an d l 1 9 that t he o bj e ct w as n o t o nl y to
.
b
, .
, .
, .

et to k n o w t h e futu re h app en i n gs fro m t he for mati o n s

g
o f t he o il ee b e low b a lso an d p e rh aps m ai n ly
(s ) u t ,
—

fro m t he gods th ems e lve s by m ean s of t he o il Th er e fo re .

,

wh e th e r 773 2) in n ow 1 2 ) r efers to l e c an o m an cy or wh e th e r
1

it refers which is m or e prob abl e— to a differen t u se o f

—

t h e o il (see b e lo w) to ask o f t h e "my 1 22 m ean s to i n q uir e

,
”

o f t he p ri n c e s h gods h e d e mo n s th r ough usin g o il

(t e t ) ,

wh at t he futur e w ill b ri n g o r to a sk th em to fulfil a c ert a in

wish Cf als o t he e xpre ssio n i l Sa ma § a f l A da d i lani
. .

ra bati i §a - a la w ith in: 5 1 NW5 Th at t he now n o) often

’
- - .

‘
li e d (rnrnnw ev e n thos e who b e li ev e d i n thos e sup er

st it io u s acts w ill h ave k n o w n as t h e c ere m o n i e s co n n e ct e d ,

w ith thos e a cts w er e so n u me rous an d ha d to b e m ost

sc rupulously an d faithfully p erform e d an d t he l e ast ,

e r ro r brought about failur e F o r this r easo n t he divi n e r .

pray e d th at he m ight be s ave d fro m m ist ak es c f 11 1 3 1 4 , . .

—

o f t h e q uot e d ritu al t abl et a lso H u n g e r l o p ,

. .
, .

1
S ee Zi mm ern , l . c ., n o e t d . It mean s , pe
r h ap s ,
‘
th e m a ki n g abun d an t
o f th e h eart ’
.

1
I n t h e c ase o f D’XJ “127 e ggs w e re u s e d fo r t h e pu rp ose o f d ivi n a ti o n
‘
.

W e s e e from thi s th a t a m agic al i n flu e n c e s i m il ar t o th a t o f o i l w as

a s c rib ed t o t h e e
gg an d th at th e e gg w as u s e d fo r v ari o u s ma g ic a l
,

pu rp oses Thu s w e al so read in Hilp re c h t s E xca vations in A ssyria and

.
’

B a byl on i a o f egg s w hich w ere c o n c e al e d u n d er i n c a n t ati o n b o w l s

, I bid - . .
,

p 4 1 8 Hilprec h t m en ti on s fragmen ts o f a n egg sh e l l i n s c rib ed w ith

.
,
‘ -

H eb rew letters in b l ack i n k P 4 4 8 Hi lp rec h t s ay s th at th e i n sc ri bed .

,
‘
 10 BABY L ON IAN OIL MAG I C

s e c o n d c as e o f t he Bara ith a (i wms) sp eaks o f t he

The ‘

u se o f o il fo r m agic al h eali n g The B ara itha says th at .

t he w hi sp e ri n g of th e ch arms is do n e o ver o il in a v ess e l .

The s ame thi n g w e fi n d in t he Babylo n i an Ritu al

'

C f Ri t pp 1 04 5 1 1 1 7 : ma ka lta mé l barn
’
Tabl ets . .
, .
—
, .
a

a ka n -
t he makaltu v es s e l t he divi n e r sh all put (in it s
,
‘
-

prop er This m akaltu w as us e d for o il (an d

w ater) ; o f Z i mmern l o p 85 an d p 89 C f also Ri t ,
.
,
. .
, . . . . .

pp 1 1 4 1 5 1 20 w h e re t he makaltu is men ti o n ed an d
.
—
, .
, ,

pp 1 1 8 1 9 1 24 wh ere t he barn is c all e d ma kin ma ka lti

.
—
,
.
,
’
elli—te he w ho puts do wn t he s acre d (divi n i n g) v ess el
, .

Cf als o pp 1 7 4 5 [ k m lt ka l l [n §a m] n e me tuma lli

.
—
,
a a -

ma
’
a k a llu v e ss e l th o u s h alt fill w ith o il an d w at er
,
-
,

an d pp 1 6 — ll : ( 1
4 )[ ]
k i [ ]§ § m m § a
’

7 7 4 1 2 . a r r s u a a n e e , .
— - -

i na k p t It a l ii (42) mé l z a mma ra a n a
ar a m] aja li
- a -

The mixtu re o f o il an d water which is in

’
a qa r ra b
- -
.
,
’
th e k a llu ve ss el t he si n g er sh all b rin g b efo re
- t h e be d ,
.

Th ro ugh th e s e B abylo n ian p ara ll els it s e ems by t he ,

way t o beco me cl e ar th at th e B araith a do es n ot r e fer t o

,

h en ’
s hich w as c on c ealed u n der t h e b o w l
e gg, w i s pro bably t o be
’
,
‘

re gar de d as a s ac r i fi c e to th os e de m o n s t o app ease th e ir w rath an d ch e ck

th e i r e vil i n fl uen c e P 3 6 8 w e re a d o f a w ell p reserve d g o ose egg ’
. .
,
- - ’

th at wa s fo u n d in t h e mo rt ar o f t h e Parthi an palace Referen c e s t o egg s .

i n c o n n e x i o n w ith m agic are al s o m ad e i n th e S wo d of M oses e d Gas t er r ,

.
,

p xiii l 3 3 p xv l 1 6 p xvii l 6 an d l 24 p xi x l 1 4 a n d p xxvi

.
, .
,
.
,
.
,
.
, . .
, .
, .
,
.
,

l 9 an d in Th omp son s F o lklore o f M o ssoul PS BA 1 9 06 p 1 00

.
,
’ ‘ ’
, .
, , .
,

Nos 2 5 3 1 3 5 an d 1 9 0 7 p 1 6 7 Nos 1 7 a n d 29 Th e p ass age i n T al mu d

.
, , , , .
, . .

B ab l i Ab o da Zara 4 6 (of als o Jera s h A Z ch 3 e d K ro t os chi n

a

wfi
, . . . . .
,
.
,

see a l s o 5 3
) ” 5 m m n n fl
a
y": 3 3 1
11 c
, o ul d p e r h aps b e e xpl ai n e d , , ,

b etter n ow H avi n g h ad a magic a l p o w e r an d h avi n g b e en regarde d

.
,

as e ffe ctiv e ag a i n s t e vil s p i rit s t h e egg m ay h ave a l s o b e en m ad e an ,

O bje ct of w orship .

B y th e w ay th at th e b eli e f i n th e pri n c es of th e eggs i s still alive

,
‘ ’
,

an d th at e gg s are s till u se d fo r s up erstiti o u s purp o se s t h e fo ll o w i n g ,

q u o t ati o n s h o w s I n t h e Dai ly News a nd L eader o f May 1 . 1 91 3 th e , ,

re vi ew er o f M y Past by C o u n t e s s M ari e Lari s c h q u o t e s t h e fo ll ow i n g

passage from that b ook : Th e Em press (E l i s ab eth o f Aust ri a) was very

‘
‘

s upers titi o u s an d o cc as i o n al l y w h en I h ad e x h a u s t e d t h e g o ss ip o f
, ,

Vi en n a S h e would m ak e me put t h e whit e o f an egg i n t o a glas s

,

o f w at er an d t o g e th e r w e w o ul d t ry t o read om e n s i n th e s h ap es w hich
,

it t oo k A remark able remi n i s cen c e of S umero -B abylon i an s up ers tition "

.
’
 P ASSAG E S F RO M TH E T A LM U D II

w o rk a llo w e d or fo r bidd en on S abb ath of

( . A ruch , l . o

a lso Blau D a3 a ltjiidis c he Z a u berwesen p

, bu t si mply ,
.

sp eaks about the magic al a cts an d t he usu al m agical per

forman oes (cf a lso Rashi ad . Th e l ast s en t en c e of
t h e Baraith a is prob ably to be u n d erstood in this w ay
b ecaus e on e w hisp e rs t he ch arm ove r o il in t h e ve ss el an d
n ot o ve r o il i n t he h an d o n e do e s an oi n t o n e s e lf w ith ,

t he o i l fro m the h an d bu t on e do e s n ot an o i n t o n es e lf ,

w ith t h e oil fro m t he v e ss el a s o il us e d fo r m agic al pur ,

pos es must n o t be us ed for an y oth e r purp o s e It may .

also be th a t magic a l oil w as supp o s e d to be i nj urious .

O f in t er e st is a lso t he follo w i n g p ass ag e i n T a l m ud

J eru shalm i S habb ath ch xiv 3 ( e d S hito m i r p

m
.
, ,
.
, .
,

m m a : 51: m e m u mnw m mun ma or) : s : a: fi ve r)

73 m na W N a: m
” ‘
m 1 53 3 s h r : N5 zn s hy 13 53 1 m i " ‘ ‘ “

3 53 3 r: r: l 3 m um Si meon t he s on of Ba
“ ’ ‘
u NJ ‘ ‘

(s ays) in t he n a me o f Rabbi H an in a : He w ho w hisp ers

t he ch a r m puts o il o n his h e ad a n d w hisp e rs ; o n ly h e
should n o t put (Oil) i n to his h an d o r i n t o a v ess e l .

R J ac o b t he s o n of Idi (s ays th at) Rab bi J o han an (s aid )

.

in t he n ame o f Rabbi J an ai : he (t he whisp er e r ) puts

(oil ) i to t he h an d o r i n t o t he v e ss el 1 ’
n .

H ere w e have aga i n o il m agic An d w e also l earn .

h ere th at t he whisp ere r h ad to an oi n t his h ead w ith

‘ ’

oil b efore he p erfo rmed t he ac t o f w hisp eri n g Exa ctl y

’
.

as amo n g t h e B abyl o n i an s I n Rit pp 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 w e .

,
.
—
, .
,

r ea d : a na libbi §a mn i ba §d mi m SLS I i n a ddi d i )—ma sa -

ipp a§a § ( di i sh all put SI S I h e rbs i n to

( T h )
‘ -
e v n er

s w eet s melli n g oil a n d an o i n t hi m s e lf C f also pp 1 1 4

- .
’
. .

1 5 l 20 : 5a mn a ma ha r ma ka lti
, .
mé l barn ena sfa a -

1
Ab ut th di ff c f O pi n i on
o e ibid p
e re n es o n d c mm t i s ee .
,
. a o e n ar e s .

F or p ll l p ag cf J n h M
a a ra e as s S h i ch
e . 53 f l 7
er e .
‘
a aser en , . 2, , o .
a
.

A im il p ag i t b f u n d in J u h S h b b th ch 6 5 f l
s ar ass e s o e o er s . a a ,
.
, ,
o . 22
°

wmn 1a m an: pow 1m: ms wmnn ma n 3 1 m

‘
m mm 3 1 was
3 53 : N 51 r: o r a
r
"
w 1 3 53 1 H w h f l p i n i hi put ‘
e o ee s a n s ear s

O il h i h d d w hi p a ch m n ly h h uld n t put ( O il ) i n t
on s ea an s e rs ar o e s o o o

th e h nd ai n t o t h v ss l
or
[73 W 7m ) & e n d ubt
e ef t . th’
,
c , . o o re ers o e

w hi s p ere r
’
.
I2 BABY L O NIA N O IL M AG I C
‘
With o il sh all b efore th e (divin i n g) v ess e l t he divi n er ,

an o i n t his ey e s .

Th at m agical po we r was ascri be d to o il c an also be

s een from t he fo l lo win g p ass ag e in T al mud B abli S an ,

“
b e dri n arena s mm) v 5p s s mu a: Same as pnr 3 1
~

mmm pie/5 pa: was : wa s at m

~ ~
e: a n am: s m rt: a 5 W s
a ‘

n o r m s nSm a t may wn ar m s p mom up : mus uni rs wnn - "

‘
Rab Iz haq the so n o f Se muel t he son of Mart a c ame to
an in n Th ey brought un to him oil in a v ess el He
. .

rub be d hi ms e lf w ith t h e o i l
( ), ( d) blisters app ear ed on
a n

his fa c e He wen t i n t o t he str ee t (an d) a wo man saw

.

h im (an d) she s aid The S pirit of h eat do I see S h e did .

s o methi n g to him an d he w as h eal e d R efe ren c es to t he .

’

magic al po wer of O il are also to be fo un d in T al mud

Babli S h abb a th 1 o h an d
,

Fro m t he T al mudic p as s ag e s adduc e d h ere it is cl ear

th at t he use o f o il i n divi n ation as well as in oth er kin ds
,

of magic was k n o wn t o t he J ew s in t he ti me o f t he
,

Tal mud The Babylo n i an p arall el s mak e it e q ually cl ear

.

th at t he u se of oil i n magic was o f Babylo n i an origin

an d th at t he J ews took it ov e r fro m t he B abylo n i an s .

W e w ill s e e l at er th at t he Babylo n i an s pr actis e d o il

m agic as lo n g back as 2000 B C E The Ritua l Ta blets
. . .
,

a lthough co mi n g fro m t he library o f A ssurban ip a l n o ,

d o ubt also go b ack to th at ti me Th ere c an be n o doubt .

th ere fo re as to the B abylon i an origin of th es e magical

practic e s To th e Babylo n i an s aga in th e s e practic es
.

cam e fro m th e Sumerian s Wh at c o n c ern s us n o w how

.
,

ev e r is th at t he J e w s i n t he ti m e o f t h e Ta l mud mad e
,

t h e s ame u se o f O il for magic al purpos e s an d p e rfor me d

t he s ame c ere mo n i e s as the B abylo n i an s The ex amin a .

ti o n of t he later J ew ish docum en ts an d the adduci n g o f

th e ir Babylon i an p arall els w ill mak e the Baraitha in
S an h edri n still cl earer an d w ill show how much in
formatio n th er e has b een p re s erv e d in th at sh o rt Tal mudic
p assage .
 L A T E R J E WI S H T EXT S .

l at er J ew ish docu men ts t o be d ealt w ith n o w co me

The
fro m t he li brary o f t he Haham Dr Mos e s G ast er In ,
. .

his magn ific en t coll e ction o f H ebrew man usc ripts th er e

are man y w ith m agic al co n t e n ts an d I a m i n d ebt e d to ,

Dr Gast er for h avi n g dr awn my att en tio n t o the s am e

. .

My th an ks are also du e to th e Ha ham for h avi n g ki n dly

allo we d me to copy t he t e xts r eproduc ed h er e 1 .

The first t wo t exts are co n t ain e d in C od G ast er 3 1 5 .

,

l arg e 4 (a coll ectio n o f p raye rs an d magic al presc rip

°

tio n s ; S p an ish ; sixt ee n th an d s ev en t een th c en tu ri e s ) ,

ff 53
.
3
Texts 3 4 5 are fro m C od G ast er 443 4
, , .
,
°

( m m -
1 1 11 1 5 1 1 0 ; 1 1 5 0 B ook of t he life of t he fle sh
‘ 11
’

R eme di es an d C u re s
’
Writt en at Tun is in 1 7 7 5
. .

C opi ed fro m O ld East ern an d W e st ern MS S ; O ri en t al .

writi n g) fol ,
No 4 an d ff 1 3 an d
. .
,
T e xt 6 is
.
a

fro m Co d G ast er 1 000 (11 1 1 001 1 11 1511 0 ; O ri en t al MS , six

. .

t een th s e v en t een th c en turi e s) ff 53

— b
54 T ext
7 is
, fro m.
- a
.

C od G ast e r 2 1 4 (11 1511 0 " emen MS e ight een th c en tury) ,

.
, ,

ff 2 3
.
b — a
T ext 8 is from Co d G ast er 1 28 8 (11 1 11101 1 11 1511 0
. .
,
°
,

a co ll ectio n o f pr ay ers m agic al t e xts an d r e cip e s ; di fferen t

, ,

h an d wri ti n gs H ebrew an d A r abic Writt en at " emen .

,

s ev en t een th n in et een th c en turi e s) fol 45 (old e st h an d

—
,
.
°

w ritin g in the coll e ctio n ) T e xt 9 is fro m Co d G ast er

. .

6
4 4 ( 0 0 1 11
01 n1 511 0 ; It ali an ; s ev en t e en th eight e en th —

c en turi e s ) NO 98 (fol ,
. A m o n g t he a uthoriti e s q uot e d
.

in this c o ll e ction o f 11 1 511 0 Ibn E z ra (tw elfth c en tu ry) is -

1
It may n o t b e ou t o f pl ac e t o n ot e h ere th at if Dr G as t er s w o n d erful , .
’

c olle cti o n o f man u s c ript s c oul d b e ma de a cc e ssibl e t o s ch ol ars it w ould be ,

fo u n d to be a verit abl e m i n e for J ew i s h s ci en c e .

 I4 . BABYL ON I AN O IL M AG I C
men tio n ed . On t he l ast p ag e th er e is the followi n g n ot e
v
s1 r zns 1 50 5c :
1 1
11 1 1 11 5 0 011 11 111 01 11 1
an d m ost o f th em (of t h e 11 1511 0) h ave b e en copi e d fro m
t h e m an uscript o f a bo ok o f o ur h o n ou re d t each er an d
mast er Rabbi I bn -Ez ra (the m emo ry o f t he righteous
an d holy o n e be for a This n ote cl early Sho w s
th at all t he h eali n g cur e s an d magical pr escription s in
th e s e m an uscripts are copi e s fro m much o l d er o rigin al s .

Te xt 1 0 is c opi e d fro m Co d G ast er 46 2 4 (Italian ;°

.
,

fift een t h sixt een th c en turi es ) fo l

—
T ext 1 1 is fro m , .

Co d G ast er 4 43 No 83 (fo l
.
, . .

I h ave n umb ere d t h e t exts fo r re fe ren c e purpos es The .

ord er in which I h ave put t he t exts c o mmen d e d its e lf

to me as w ill easily be s een from t he n atur e o f th e ir
, ,

con t en ts .

T E XT 1 .

more 1 1 0 011
1
113 1 11 1 511 1: ne w np . 11 1 ns 1
1 s
’
1 mm 1 1m m 1 11 1 1 1
01 11 5a 11 1 5 2 1 1 na

1 1 14 111 1 511 110 was : 511 111 11 102) 1 1 0 5 1 0 1 1 s

1 1 011
1
’
1 1

1 1 11 1
1 111 01 1 11 1 01 1 1 1 1 51: nwm wo r m 1 1 01: 1 5 5 11 1 11 5 1 a 1

5 11 11 s 5s npnwnn ns r 11 1 s 3 011 511 mm 11 1 1 5 1 : 1 111 1 51 11 0 1 1

1
1
1
1 5 1 1 n
1
e w 1 0 1
1 0111 0 11 1 51 s 51 r1 s 1
1
M11 11 1 1 1
.

11 1 1 1 11 1251) 51 14 1 1 1 01 1 5m 1 2 1
: 1 1 5 a 0 0 5 1: 1
1 s 1
1 1 120 5 001 1
11 1 1

1 011 10 0 1 s u m 0 1 11 1 5 3 1 110 0 1 51
1 1 1s nn w 0 5113 W e; 1 ‘

01 0nw1 ~ ) 1 0s 0 5 1 : 1 1 0 ow 1 s 1 1
1 ns 1 1 1 11 2 1 1 w1 1 1 1 11
1 1
1 14) 1s n~ a1

10 s 1 1 11 w1
1
00 11 1 11 1 00 5 14 510 ow 1 s 11 1
w1 01 101 1 1 5 01005 1 1

mvu wn 1 5 0 00 1 °
s 1 n1 a1 0 11 1 000 11 1 1 1
11
111 5
1 01 1 1 01
011 01 1 51

1 0 15 517 01:1 a
1 1
1 1
5: 1 5 11 1 1m m 15:1s w 1 0s 1
z ns 1 nw 11 0
1 1 1

5 5 50 s u ns nm nwn 1 5 01 u15s wan1 1 11 3 11 01 11 1 15 3 0 znwn

5s w1 w no 51 11 11 11 s 1 1 ns w 01 111 W 51 1 5 1 511 01 1 511 1 5 0115

~ 1

1 05 1 015 15 1 m s 5w1 1 a 1 01 1 14) i5 1s n

: » 1 1
.

1 no do ubt s crib e s e rror for ’

D‘ DIDT .
 L ATE R J EW I S H TE X T S 1
5

TRA N S LA TI ON .

The p rin c es o f the thu mb T ak e . A n other (p resc rip tio n) .

1

a you n g lad a n d m ak e a kn ife ci rcl e in t he earth w ith a ,

t he h an dl e of w hich is bl ack a n d pr ep are t h e n a il of t h e ,

right thumb un til it b e co me s thin an d t ak e fo ur s mooth ,

st on es an d put (th e m) in the fo ur row s of t he ci rcl e an d ,

put the me n tion ed kn ife in t he m iddl e of t he circl e

an d pl ac e t h e lad i n t o it befo re t he pill a r of t h e sun an d

a n oi n t his n a il a n d his for e h e a d w ith pur e o li ve o il an d

-
,

t h e lad sh a ll look w e ll at his n a il an d thou sh alt w hisp e r ,

i n to his ear this sp ell : True G od at his wrath t he earth ‘

,

tre mbl e th an d t he n atio n s are n o t abl e to abid e his

,

i n dign a tio n ; t he right h an d of th e Lord d o e th vali an tly

2
,

t h e r ight h an d o f t he Lo r d is e x alt e d I a djur e you ,

prin ce s o f t he n a il, fo r t he s ak e (in t he n am e ) of t he s ea

a n d fo r t h e s ak e o f t he thr e e lights th at are in t h e

u n ivers e th at you S hould bri n g t he ki n g Mi mo n in this

,

n a il an d t h e q u e en S h all also c o m e w ith him an d th a t

, ,

his t w o s ervan ts S h all co me an d th at th ey sh all brin g

4

th er e t w o l ambs o n e bl ack an d o n e w hit e a n d th ey sh a ll

, ,

slaughter th em a n d t ak e off th e ir ski n an d co o k th e m an d ,

th at th ey S h all brin g th ere th re e gl ass cups an d th at t he ,

q u e e n sh a ll co m e o n a w hit e S h e mul e a n d th ey sh all put -

,

t he t abl e in th e sl aught e r h o us e an d th at th ey 5
S h all -
,

brin g th ere t he book o f t he o ath (of adjurat i on ) ; an d te ll G

( th e m ) th a t th e y sh all eat an d dri n k (an d) th ey w ill t e ll ,

th ee all th a t thou d esirest A n d w h en thou w ilt d e sir e .

th at th ey sh a ll go (away) h e (the lad) sh all tak e off t he ,

1
Th p c d i g p
e re e c ipti n i m i i n g i t h M S
n res r o s ss n e .

1
Jere mi h x a V . 0 h t h w d 11 11 s D HB
er . N1
°
as e or s ’
,

3
PS cxviii 1 5
. . Thi s v e rse w as p ro b ab ly ch os e n b ecau se of th e
11

i m p ortan c e o f th e right thu m b in thi s m ag ic al p erfo rman c e .

4
Apparen t l y t h e servan t s o f th e ki n g Mi mo n ‘

5
It is rath er st ran ge th at t he b oo k o f t h e o ath w as t o be b rought
‘ ’

by th e s e rvan t s o f Mi m o n P erh ap s thi s IN' '

J QA m e an s an d o n e s h a ll
.
‘

b ri n g see n o t e 6 O n th e o th er h an d in m agic eve rythi n g is p o ssibl e

.
,
.

5
Or h e ( th e lad ) S h all t e ll
,
‘
Th e c o n st ructi o n s are i n m an y pl ac e s
’
.

v ery loo s e i n th ese t exts .

 1 6 BABY L ON I AN OI L M AG I C

o il fro m his n ail an d fro m his fo re h ead A n d wh en he .

in q uir e s o f the m he sh all adjure th em with the book o f

t he o ath which he brought thr ee ti me s t h e ki n g an d
1
, ,

t he q u e en an d all w ho are w ith th em also th at th ey sh all ,

t e l l the truth co n ce rn i n g e verythin g th at he w ill ask of

th e m in a man n er th at the lad sh all un d erst an d it an d ,

(also) th at th ey S h all n ot do h im an y h arm .

TE XT 2 .

11 mm 0 5 11 11 1 1 ne w 01 1 ms 1s 01 111 1s 1 111 . 11
(1) 11 mm 11 1
- 1 ”
1 1
111 1 1 1 11 1911 11 0 r1s 1 1 111 111 1

1 1112 0: 5 1 1 1s 1 s1 p11
11511 1 1 11 1 11 1 11 1 1 11 1 a 1
1 51 505 01
01 51 1 nws 1 0 11 1111 5 51 1 1 s : 01 1 115 5
1111 1 1 11 1 11 11 11 1
11 1 1 9
1 01 1 115

01 14) 15 1 11 101 1 1 11 1 1
11 0 1 111 1 1 11
111
1s 1 5s roe 11s : 01 5 115

11 10141 1 1 1 1 11 ns 1 1
5
/ 1 1 11 s 1
s r 0s 1 z1 11 01 a 1 s1
.
1
0s

11 ‘ a 11 1 101 2
) 5 0115 01 1 011 1 1 1 ns 1 1
s 5 0s 1 1 0 11 1 1 1)
1 1 11r s 1 :
. 0115

01 111 1 11 11 11
s 01 11 115 01051; 1
1
01
11 s : 1 0s 1 1 s1
.
1
s 5 as 1

11s : 1 1 1 1 e s 1 u 1 1 1111 5 5 111 1 1 1 01 11 115 5 112511) 1 1015 11 1

9 11
1 1 111 s ; 1 111 s

IO 0s 1 511 1 11 1 s1
.
1
0s 5s tr1 1 11 s 1 1 111 5s 0w
01 1 1 5 01 1 1 : 1 5 1 5 1 os 1
0 ) 1911 5 ws 11 1 11 1 0s 1 »
1 1 11 14
1 a

11 1
51 1 m m 1 0510011 5s 1 5 15 1 11 111 1 111 121 1 1 1 11 1 1 111 1 1

1 o
r s 1 ~
: 1 11 s 1 11
5 : 111 1 1 1 5 1 s 1 1m : 1 011 111 1 111 5141 11 11
1 1

5 11 5 55
w 5 5 1 51 1 s 1 505
’
s 1
5 1 0 1 0 1 01 11 11 11 11) 1 1 1 1 n o : 1
111 0 1 11 11

1 5 011 11 11 11 5 s e 1
1 n e w1 1 1 11 0 0 5s w s w m : 5 : 1
5 1 1 1 ) 01 11 1 1

111 1 11 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 01 14) 15 s ome 1 111 1 1 s 1 1 0s 1 1 1 5 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 11 1 14) .

1 1 1

11 11 01 51125 1 5 1 5 1 0s 1 1 ns 1 1 mm 15 s 5r s1 1 01 11 5 11 1 1 15

3 111 511211 11 1 1 5 1 5 111 1

T RA NS LA TI ON .

f
The p rin c es T ak e a you n g laod or a you ng
the ha nd .

girl or a pr e gn an t w oman an d b e s mear his (or her) h an d

w ith bl ack soot fro m un d e r the s auc ep an an d th en an oi n t
1
Or o ught w e t o read 1w
1s ~ 1 . S ee no et 5 on p rec e di n g p age .
 1 8 BAB" L ON IAN OI L M AG I C

TE XT 3 .

1
11 11 5
s : 0 11 11 111 11 01 111 01 1 011;
- 1
s npn 011 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
1
. n1 ns

5s 11 w 1 1
021 1 1 0 1 1 11;
’
011 11 1 05 01 111 1s 1 1 : 011 01 101 1 11 1 5 51 1011)
1 1 1 11 1 11 1 1 1
s 5w 005 1 0101 01 01: 5a 1 1021 1 11 1 1 11
1 1
4 ) 011
1011 nns
V:
3
51 0
1 11 3 7
1 S" N): 11 1
1 11 10
11 1s 1 W1 0 1 5 0s 1 0111 11 0
”

5 s 1na 51 511 01 11 : n1 1e n 1 5 11 1
1011 1 1 111 0 015 1 s 1 nnw 5 11 1 1111 7:
1

01 1 5 511 1 1 11 1 0s 01 s 0s 1 1
1 111 01 1 0s 01 51 1 1 1 111 5s 1w
1

1 5 1 0s 1 ”
0 0 m s1 .
1 1 11 1 1 5 1 ns a 11 5 01 01 01 1 5

ms 5 1 01 11 05 0111 11 1 01 0011 1 s 01 1 501 1 1 02)

01 011 1 1 s 11 0 1

5s w 151 s e 1 0s 1 51 15 1 0s 1 151 s 5 1051 1 1 1 111 1 1n1s 05111 1

5s 005 5s 1 01 0
1 ~ 0m i1 s r
1 1 0 s 11 01 1 1 1 11 00 0s 1
1 1 n5s w
”

”
W 1ws 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 m s : 1
12 1 5
0 1 nn s n 1
5 1 1 11
01
4 ) SN W’
P
. ns1 nw 011 111 01 11 1 11 1 11 r ; 1 W
1 1
m 1

TRA NS LA TI ON .

A nother (p resc rip tion ) Tak e a n ew kn ife with a bl ack .

h an dl e an d make with it a circl e i n t he earth so th at

yo u
c an sit in it w ith a boy o r a gi rl l ess th an n i n e y ears

old d n oi n t t he l eft h an d of o n e (e ith e r ) o f th e m

( ) an a ,

w ith o live oil an d t he black (soot) o f a pan , an d warn

th em th at th ey should n ot look outsid e t he an oi n t e d
pl ac e an d th en whisp er in t o his right ear I adjure yo u
,

i h ame o f) B SKT K K atriel MI Maen ie l th at y ou

( n t e n , , ,

s h all app ear un to this la d an d you shall give hi m a p rop er ,

an sw er to all th at he asks fo r m e an d all this h e sh all say ,

Th e p re c e di n g p res c ripti o n ( o n fo l 1 1 of M S ) i s h eade d by th e w ord s

1 °
. .

11 1 01 511 7 127 1113 P erfo rman ce w ith a flas k an d deal s w ith a s imilar
‘ ’

c eremon y i n w hich h ow e ver Oi l i s n ot u se d Th e spi rit i n vo k e d in

, , , .

th at p re scripti on i s calle d 11 1 11 1 52 1 1 Th e p ri n c e o f the flask ‘ ’

.

w
2 a : l e ft o ut h ere by m i s t ak e I n a p res cri pti on s i mil ar t o thi s (on
.

fol 1 2h o f M S ) t h e s ame s pi r it s are i n vo k e d an d th ere 001 i s w ritt en

. .
,

b efore 011 m 11 11 1 0 i s e vid e n tly o n e of th e m y s tic al n ames

. .

I n t h e p res cripti o n re ferre d t o i n t h e p rec e di n g n ot e t he n am e i s

“
3

w ritten 5s 1 1 1 np .
 L ATE R JEW I S H TE X T S 1 9

three ti mes A n d t he lad w ill s ee a man ridi ng on a w hit e

.

mul e o r o n a whit e ho rs e an d he sh all say un to him three ,

ti me s : B l ess e d be he th at co meth in t he n ame of the Lord 1

,

an d h e sh all s ay u n to him it pl eas es m e th at thou sh alt

do w fro m t he mu l e or t he hors e an d thou sh a lt c o m
’

g o n ,

man d thy s ervan ts to bri n g a l amb an d he sh all sl aught e r ,

it an d ro ast it an d prepar e the t abl e for him to eat it ,

an d h e sh all t e ll him e v e rythi n g thr e e ti m e s A n d aft er .

th ey h av e e at en ask your q u e sti on A n d if th ey lie thou .

s h alt say th ree ti me s : I a djur e you i n t h e n a m e o f

S an sn i e l Pat c hiel Sakiel th at you te ll me the truth

, , ,

an d w hi s p er a lso th ree ti me s i n to t he ears o f t he boy an d

a lso in his h ea d SDI SI D M S H T R IT RI T an d o u

,y , , , ,

w ill kn o w w h at y o u d esir e .

TE XT 4 .

1 00 011 11 0 11 0 01 01 0
11 01 0 1 101 1 01 1 0 1
11

1 1001 01 1 1001 00 0 5 1
1 01
1 1
0001 001 5
0 0 01 11: 1 0 1 x
11 01:

1 1 101 01051 01 10 1 11 5 00105 0 1150 1 01101 01 00 50

1
1 11 1
1
15 5 0 1 1011
10 01000 1501 11 ; 100 01000 1 50
’
11
100 01 000 0 001 01 1 1 01 0 1 100 001 0 01 0
1 5

001 1 1 00 01 0 001 1 00 1 111 5 5001 1 5000 11 1 01 1 1110

1 1

5 01 0 5 01 051 001 1
001
W 11 1 00 1 010
1
011 0011 1 0
5

01110 1
10 1 5 1 001 1 1 01 01 1 1 1
1 0 1 01
1
01
11 5 01 501
1 5 1 1 00 01 1 10
0

101 0 51 01 1010 101 0 01 001 01 1 50 1 1 0 1 500

01 1 01 1 05000
001 1 1
11 1 1101 0001 01 01 1 5 1
0 110 11
0 1 5 1 001
51 00 1 0051 xo
1 1 3 1 1
1
11 1 11 1 1 1 5010 11
00 00 51 5 001 00 1 1 50 11111 1 11 5110 1 1 1
1 1 1

1 5 001 511 010 001 1 1 00

3 1
100 1 00 01 11 01 1 1 1 0 1
0 1 1 00 01 1 : 1

1
Cf.cxviii
Ps . .

2
Th e pre c e di n g p res cr ipti o n ( o n fol 1 2° o f MS see ab ove p . .
, , . 1 8, n o te 2)
de al s w ith 01) ”1 29 B ut o il i s n o t me n ti on e d li n it
. .

3
S o in MS Tl n o d oubt a m i s t ak e for 0
.
,

B 2
20 BAB" L ON IAN O IL M AG I C

5
1 01 100 001 00 01 511 1 101 1 01 1 5 011 01 1 1 1 1 0 001 01 11 0

001 1 1 00 11 50001 1 000 1 10 01 1 5

0 01 01 100 its: 01000
1 0000 5101 001 0 51 1 5 0005 01 1 1000 000 0: 00 111 01 0

1 50 01 00 0 5 11
01 001 1 0 15 11 00 501 01 00 1 5 15 1 01

01 1
1
051115 0 001101 01 001 0 1 110 1 1 11 1
1 1 01 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 11
0 1 1

00 5 0
’
01 0100 . 0 00 11 0 0 0 1 001
1 1 1
11 1 1

T RA N S LA TI ON .

A no ther (p resc rip tio n) In ord e r th at th ey should co me

.

i n to the h an d , an d th ey are c all e d t he pri n c es O f t he

‘

h an d this you shall do : T ak e a boy or a girl that

An d
has n ot s een a pollutio n an d an oin t th eir right han d w ith
O live O il an d t he black soot O f t he pan an d put t he boy ,

O pposit e the O p en w i n dow to wards th e east an d whisp er ,

i n to his right e ar three ti mes th es e n ame s : SATU ,

KARU NA NU , an d th es e n ames sh all be writt en

be for e you o n th e p archmen t Of a d e e r an d r ea d th e m ,

fro m t he writin g in on e br eath an d afte rwards y ou sh all ,

a lso say th em thr ee ti me s b ehi n d t h e n e ck an d also thr e e

ti mes i n to his l e ft e ar an d ask t he boy wh e th e r he s e es

,

a bl a ck man an d if h e s ays that he do e s n o t s ee h e sh all

,

also
1
whisp er in t he r eve rs e d o rd er W A NUN WA RUK , ,

W A TUS An d if he s ee s a man dr ess e d in bl a ck te ll

.

him th at he should put o n w hit e g ar men ts an d r eturn at

on c e an d wh en he return s he s hall say un to him : I
,

co mman d th at thou sh alt gO at o n c e to thy ki n gdo m an d ,

thou sh alt brin g a l amb an d sl aught er it an d ro ast it an d

e at it an d aft er h e has eat en h e sh a ll t e ll him : I co mman d
,

th ee w ith t he power an d p ermissio n an d co mman d of my

master an d in the n ame o f thy supreme maste r an d by
t he co mman d of thy kin g th at thou sh alt show me al l
th at I ask cl early so that I should un d erst an d An d if it .

is co n c ern in g a th e ft t ell (him) th at he sh all show you

l
It mean s, ‘
th o u sh al t als o ; c f. above, p . 1 5, n ote 6
 L ATE R J EW ISH TE X T S 21

thi e f an d the pl ac e w h ere he ha s hidd en th e th eft

the .

An d if t he thi ef has fle d tak e a brick an d writ e o n it t he

n am e o f t he thi e f an d t h e n ame O f his moth e r an d th es e ,

n ame s BA TU ZA TU H A K U an d put t h e brick in to , , ,

t he fi re an d w h en it w ill b e co m e w hit e hot s ay : AS t he

,

n ame O f t he thi ef has b een burn t so sh a ll you w h o are , ,

appoi n t e d t o mak e h ot t h e h eart of ev ery r o bb e r an d

thi e f make hot an d burn the h eart o f th at thi e f an d you

, ,

sh all n ot give an y r est un to him an d the burn i n g o f ,

your fire sh all go in him u n til h e w ill return the th eft

to N the s on o f N An d this r e q uires fasti n g an d purifi
.
, .

c ation an d you sh all do t he w ork on t he fourth day (of

,
1

t h e w eek ) an d t he 0 0 O f this n ame sh all b e a hu m p e d

2 1

TE XT 5 .

01 1
1001 1 1
511 1 101 1 5
0 11 1 00 . 0 11 1 05 1
1 0 01 01 11 1 1 . 01 00

1 1 0 1 11 51 : 001 0 11 1
0001 0 1 0 1 1 ’
11 1 111 00 5 (8 00) 50110
1 01 1 1 10

50 505 0 1 001 11 1 1 015 01 001 000 01 11 01 11 1 1 0511 1 0 0 01 111 110 1

1 15 001 1 001 0 111 0 0 01 0 51 1

1 1 1
1 5 1 11 1 1 10 15101 1 011 1 1
1 1 1 1 1

000 0 050 1
50 ’
0 001 51 1 10 11 101 1 1001 0000 1 1 1 1 1 5 5
1 1

1 111 0 001 1
10 0 1 0 0 1
5 05000 11 0 05 50 0101 11 0 1 010 50 1 4 1

005 1 00 1
’
1 111 0 1
01 0 1
001 1 1
0 0115
1 1
10 1 111 1 1 001 0 01 0 101

11 01 05 001 011 1 00 00 00 55 001 0 1 111 5 1 100 01505 01 011

1 1 0 111 1 00 1 1 19 1 1
5; ( 1
0
1
) 1 7
0 17 1
5; 1 001 1 1 111 0 0111 1 01 1 5
1
1 111 1 01
11 5 5 01 1 : 1 1 : 1 0 1 0 1
5
11 5 11 1 1
5 11 1 1 00 1
10 1 1 1
1 111
1 1
1 01 1 0

1 1 100
1
01 1 1 11 1110
1
0 1 5 00 01 1
1 01 01 0 1
11
11 01 111 01 011 5 01111 0

. 011 0 1 1101

TRA N SLATI ON .

A no ther (presc rip tio n ) A n d th e y are c a ll e d t he pri n c e s .

o f bd e lliu m Tak e bd e llium an d write upo n it w ith o li ve

O il A U V GIL
(o ) A UNGILEIA an d t ak e a boy s even
3
r ,

1 i . e. h o l e perfo rm an ce
th e w .

2
It p ro b ab l y re fers t o t h e n ame 1 913 ,

3
Lit erally an oth er v ers i on ,
4
S O in t he MS .
 22 BABYL ON IAN O IL M AG I C

ye ars Old an d an oi n t his h an d from t he top o f t he thumb

'

to t he en d of the fi n g er an d put th e bd ellium i n to his h an d ,

i n t he an o i n t e d pl a c e an d s e iz e his h an d an d y o u sh all sit ,

up o n a stool of thre e l e gs an d put t he boy betwe en your

loi n s so th at his e ar sh all be again st your mo uth an d you ,

sh all turn y o ur fac e t ow ards t he sun an d s ay in his ear

A UNGIL I a djure th e e in t he n ame o f t he Lord G od
, , ,

Go d of truth Grod K e ep er o f the H o sts A LP HA A IDU ‘

, , , , ,

th at thou sh alt s en d fro m th ee three an g els Th en .

t he bo y w ill see (a figur e ) lik e (th at of) a man ; an d s ay

twic e mor e an d he wil l s ee two (figures ) an d t he boy sh all ,

say u n to th e m : " our co m i n g b e i n p e ac e A n d th en .

t ell the boy that he sh all a sk o f th em wh at you w ish .

A n d if th e y w ill n ot an s w e r h im shall t he bo y adj ur e

th e m an d say : KA S PAR K E LE I E MAE (or) B LE I ,
‘

TEI S AR t he ma st e r an d I a dj ur e (yo u ) w ith a s e c o n d

,

a dj ur atio n th at you sh all t ell m e th at thin g o r who has

comm itt e d th at th eft An d kn ow th at h e w ho wan ts to .

do this thi n g m ust do it on a cl ear cloudl ess day an d , ,

in wi n t e r ti me at midd ay 1
.

T E XT 6 .

1 1 01
1
1 01 1 1 1 0 1
00111 1 100 1 5 5 1
01 1 0 1 1 0 00
1 11 0

1 1 1 0000
1 1
1 01 01 0 000 1 0 1 111 01 000 11 1 01 5 51 100 1
11

11 01
1 1
0 1
00 1 1 1 101 1001 1 1 111 0001 00 5110 1 1 000 01 01

1 01 01 0001 0 01 11 00 01
10 111 0 1
1
5
0 0 1 1 1 1 0101 0000 1 1 1 1 10111 1 1 5 1

5 “09 3 5 N1 ? ) © 919
1
” PD
NDJI DJ
"

; DA
" 11 1 01 1101
1 01 5 0100 001 101 1 0
1
1 01
01 1 01
:
0 1
001 1 10
1 11 1 11 1011 1 1 101 1 1 0 0

1 01 1 1 0 001 01 1 0 1 11 1 1 1 111 0 01 5 11 1 1 01 11 0001 1 01 00

1 F ol . I 4
a
c o n t ai n s th e b e gin n i n g of an o th e r p re sc ripti on WP
?
. 01 00
01 1
1001 11
7
00000 5 $1 1 0
1 00 1 00
111
51 1
1 1: 1 011111 01 01
WDNH 1 1 171 A n th (p r ip ti n ) P in s f th h nd I n d er th at
"
o er escr o . r ce o e a . or

y o u m y s e y u rs lf it i s n c s sary t o adju e a
a e o e ai d a b o ve a ft y ou
e e r s s er

h av e an oi n t e d y ou h an d w ith l iv Oil an d y ou s h al l say

r Th e o e ,

rest i s m i ss i n g Thi s f agmen t sh ow s th at t he adjurer him self c o uld al so

. r

se e .
 L ATE R J E W I SH TE X T S 23

0011 000 00 1 111 5 500 1 001 5010 1 00 00 51 0 000 1 1 1 1 11 1 5 1 1

”
0001 11 1 00 1 5 0 1 01
1
0 1 0 0 1 0 01 0 11 1 1 00 1 1 51 1
1 1 1 1 1

1 0000 1 00
1 1 511 1 1
51 1 0 0 00 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 11 00 0; 00 1 11 1
1 00 10
1 1

11 001 1 501 1 0 1 01 1 01 1001 0111 0 1 0 015 1 5 1

11 1 1 00 1 0 1 01
1 1
:
1

5 0 1 0 1
1 00 0 0 5 1 1 1
0500 010115 1 1 05 1 50 0 1 01 01 5 0111 1 1 1

001 01 0 01 01 1 001 1 0 5 5 1 11 1 1 1 011 1 01 1 11 51 1 01 1 1 00 011 1 01 1 1 1 1 1

15 0 15 1 100 1 011 1 1 01 011 0 01 1 1 1 1 01 1 5 511 1 1 1 1 1 00 05 1

” 1

1 100 1 1 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 01 1 5 1 1
1 111
1 0 11
1 5 1 100 1 011 1 5
1 1

1 1 001 0 10 1 1
1 1
01 1 511 1 000 1 1 001 0 1 05 1 50 1 01 005 0111 1 5
1 1 1 1 1

1 5 0 0 1 05 1 1 11 0 1 5 01 00 1 5 010 1 1 11 0 1 5 1 100 1 111 5

’ ”
1
1
1 1 0 1 1 1

1 511 111 0 1 100 1 1 1 01 1 00 5010 1 00 000 0000 1 005 11 511 111 001
1 1 1 1 1

11 11 0 1 0011
10150 1 1 01 0 05 1 1 01 000 1 01 1 1 01 1 0 1 5 1 100
1 1 1 1

11 5 005 1 00 0 1 111 5 1 100 05000 1 001 1 0500 500 1 0 10500 20

1

01 051 1 1 5 50 01 051 1 5100 01 1 1 00110 051 01 1 1 5 11 51 1505

’
1 1 1 1 1

01 1 1 1 1 051 01 1 01 1 1101 1 1 01 01 1
1
050 11 11100 01 051 1 1 1 0050 1 1 1

0 011 011 5 .
11 1

TRA N S L A TI ON .

f the ha nd T ak e a kni fe the h an dl e O f which

P rinc es o .

is black an d mak e a circl e in the earth so th at you c an

sit i n it you an d the boy o r a pr egn an t w o man an d he
, ,

sh all sit tow ards t he sun , an d in your h an d sh all be the

bl ack soot O f the pan an d mix (it ) with O il (so th at it ,

b ecomes ) lik e in k an d an oin t the right h an d Of the boy

On his p al m an d he sh all st an d to wards th e sun an d you
, ,

sh all warn hi m th at he sh all n ot look outsid e the an oi n t e d

pl ace an d say in his right ear : I adjur e you ZGA M
, , ,

DGA M ZA GMA MA TE I
,
K ONTEI PA R P E A , , , ,

G MA R U BRA ANTEI HA R I UW HA R A NBTOHI

, , , , ,

UMNUS I ZA GMA in the n ame Of HATO S FA RMI , ,

TO S S NDUA N K NDUA N, KA NA D E NE D HE W I S
, , , , ,

th at you sh all show an d say an d t ell this lad by sp eech

1 R d ea
”
10
24 BAB" L ON I AN O IL M AG I C

or s ight or writin g an d he sh all t ell me cl early the truth

,

about all th at I w ill ask An d th en ask the lad : w h at

.

dost thou see ? An d y ou shall adjure so O ften un til h e

will s e e t he thirt een (prin c es) An d a ft e r th e s e t hi rt een
.

w ill h av e app ear e d you shall adju re (th em) again an d

s ay : I a djure you in th e n ame o f GA MI TTON outsid e

an d in t he n am e th at was en grav e d o n t h e pl at e o f A aro n

that you sh all S ay an d bri n g o ur mast er IPHEI PHIJA H ,

the p ri n c e of th e kn o wl e dg e an d the l earn i n g an d th at ,

he sh all co me an d sit lik e a kin g at his tabl e an d he ,

sh all co mm a d y u
n o as a ki g co mman ds his p i n c es
n r
1
to
do my w ish an d my d esir e an d all th at I ask a n d d esire
o f him An d th ey w ill i mme diate ly go an d co me w ith
.

o u r m ast e r I PHE I PHI JA H an d he w ill app ear as a ,

man beautiful an d good looki n g ridin g o n a w hite mul e

, ,

an d (attir e d in ) re d g arm en ts An d w h en he co me s say

.

un to him thr ee ti me s : thy comin g be in p eac e an d th en ,

t ell hi m : May it be good in thy ey e s t o d e sc en d from t he

mul e an d he w ill d esc en d an d th en t e ll him : co mman d
, ,

th es e thy s ervan ts to bri n g a chair S O th at thou can st S it

o n it an d th ey will bri n g it i mme di a t ely
,
An d t ell t he .

lad : say u n to him : My m ast e r t ells m e th at I sh all s ay

un to th ee th at it may be good in thy eyes to brin g
a b o ok an d thou sh alt s w e ar o n it to t e l l t h e truth ab out
,

th at which I will ask o f th ee an d he w ill brin g it i mme ,

diat ely an d s w ear o n it An d th en t e ll him th at th ey

.

sh all bri n g a l amb an d slaught er it an d tak e Off its ski n

an d ro ast it in fi re an d th ey sh all pr ep ar e t h e t abl e
,
.

Then ask your q u estio n A n d aft er you h ave ask e d your

.

q u e stio n t e ll t h e la d th a t h e sh a ll sa
y u n to th e m : go in

p eace an d th ey w ill go th eir way A n d thou shalt n o t

, .

do it o n the day o f co njun ctio n (n ew m oon ) an d n eith e r ,

o n t h e day b e for e it n o r o n th e day aft e r it n or o n a

cloudy day but onl y on a bright day an d w ith fastin g

, ,

an d ritu al bathi n g an d w hit e an d cl ean g a rm en ts .

1
Lit erall y , as the cu st o m of th e kin g t o h is p ri n ces
26 BABY L ON I AN OI L M AG I C

B 2 .

T E XT 8 .

511 01 013 171 1101 01 1 100 1 00

1 11 111 001 01 1 0 011 .1 1 1 1 05

10
”
1 1 1 a : 00111 11 1 1 00 0 50
1 01 1 11 1 0 5 010
01
0001 000 511
.0 0
1 1 05 0511 051 11111 0 001 01 1 01 05111 01 01 00

TR AN S LATI ON .

F or p regna n c y Take a c up of wat er

1
. an d drop i n to it
thr ee drops of O live O il w ith the s mall fi n g er (an d) at
,

e ve ry drop
(h e sh all s a
y) thr ee ti m e s : K ut i c l B arbi c l , ,

an d drop o n e
(drop ) an d thus he sh all do thre e ti mes
, .

If t he drops cl eave t o e a ch oth er an d it (the O il ) go e s up

he (t he child) will live an d if th e y sin k do wn an d it (the
,

o il) do e s n ot o u — he w ill n o t liv e

g p .

TE XT 9.

00 01 01101 01 1 01 5 001 1 01 0000 1 1101 1

0 10 00 1 510 00 0111 5
01 1 0 00 0011 01 0 00 01 101 01 1 0 001 01 001
100 00 0 01 5 e
01 1 00 0 5 00 00 010 001 . 00 01 0 105 001 10 01 0 1 1 00

1 0011 5 1 00 5 1 0010 1 1 051 1

01 1 1 0 111
5 ’
0 0101 00 01 1
01

1 10 1
. 501 01 1 011 1 11 01 0 01 0 0110 0001

TRA NS LA TI ON .

To
kn o w wh eth er the child is d ead or alive in the
bo we ls o f t he w o man w h en she is in her s ev er e p ai n s take ,

a dish full o f good O il an d S h e sh all see her fac e in it .

If S he s ee s her fac e t he child is alive an d if n o t t he

—
,
—

child is d ead A n d if it is d ead take a dish full o f

.

ho n ey an d h e sh all put i n five fi n ge rs over her in t he

, , ,

s aid hon ey an d he sh a ll lick th em off each on e s ep arat e ly

, ,

an d th en he sh all dri n k a littl e t epid wat er wi th ho n e y

an d sh e w ill be d eliv e r e d i mme di at ely .

1 To k n ow w he th er t h e child t o b e b o rn w ill live .

 LA TE R J EW I SH TE X T S 27

TE XT 1 0 .

100 00 0 000 01 110 011 5 01 0011 0 00 00 0000 1 0 01 00 1 1 1 05

00 1 0 1 01
1 1
05 0 0011 01 2
010 00 01 101 00 1 0 00001 0 00
1 1 1
1 01 01

0 0 0011 0 1 0 001 01 1 01
01
1 0 1 01 1 1 1
.

T R A N S L A TI ON .

To kn o w w h e th e r a m an or w o man is b ew itch e d t ak e
a dish ful l of O il an d t he m an or w o m an sh all look i n to ,

it If th e y are b ewitch ed th ey w ill n ot s ee th eir fac e s in

.

it ; an d if th ey are n o t bew itch e d th ey w ill see th eir

fa c es .

TE XT I I .

5 1 1010 01 00 10 1 0 0 01 1 1 05
’ 3
11 1 11 1 01 0 1 10110 00 1 001 .

1 010 1 1001 01 1 100 0110 01 101 1

1
1 100 01
0 00 0 001 0 01 1
1 11 5 511
1 001 1 1 1 00 0111 1 0 001 1 1
11 1
1
1 01: 51 001 1 01
1 1
1

5 5 5 1 000 011 50 5
0001 0 111 0011 0 10
1
1
010 1
1 111 11 0 1 1

"
5 10 T 0 011 10 71 0 01 50 10 7 1 0 050 10 0
1 ’

1
1 1
1 1 00 10 000 11 11 1 1
.

TRA N S LA TI ON .

To dr ive ou t a demon from a p erso n . He sh all say t he

ps al m Why 0 L o rd stan d est thou afar Ofi fi
,
‘
, re over ,
”
,
4

a n ew pot fill e d w ith d rawn w at e r an d put i n to it a littl e ,

O live O l an d say it n i n e ti mes an d he sh all w ash in it

i ,
5
,

his w hol e body an d h e sh all co n c en trat e his mi n d o n t he

,

n am e th at co m e s out of it an d h e sh all say : May it be

s
,

thy w ill 11 1 50 th at thou sh alt r emove every ill n ess an d

, ,

e v e ry d e mo n fro m N t h e s on of N fro m n o w an d for e v er .

, .

A n d t he n am e co m e s o ut : N fro m 7 15
5 5 fro m
’ ’

'
,

8 0 01
5 0 fro m
0 1 9 0 11 1
1
1 r fro
,
m 1 0 1 00 0 0 0
1 1 0 1 1 1 115 1
,
f
,

1
Th e m an an d w o ma n a re h ere a d d ress ed , th e re fore 1 01 01 ,
1 01 1
w ould h ave be en b e tt er . B ut s ee a b ov e p , . 1 5, n ot e 6 .

2
S O i n th e MS . fo r On ,

MT h as 0101 1
3
. Th e w r it er w as app are n tly n o t p articul ar ab out an
a ccu ra t e r en d eri n g . He al s o w r ite s in s t e a d o f mm ( so MT ) .

4 Ps X . .
5 I n t h e w at er w ith t h e O il O f t h e p sal m . .

7 3 9 1°
V er 7 . . V er . 1 0. Ve r . I 7 . V er . I8 .
28 BAB " L ON I AN OI L M AG I C

Li ne I 10: 1 0 t he prin c e s o f the thumb

.
1 ‘
W e s ee
’
.

alre a dy fro m t h e h ea din g 101 1 0 t h e p rin c e s o f t h e thu mb

‘ ’
1

th at the thumb pl ays an i mportan t p art in this divi n atio n .

Th en we l earn (I 2) that t he divi n e r has to make very

.

thin t he n ail o f t he right th umb o f the lad th at he has ,

to an oi n t this his n ail (an d his for eh ead) with pure olive
an d th a t the la d has to l o ok at his n ail
o il (1 .
(l .

The spirits th at are t o brin g t h e kin g Mimo n are c all e d

'
The ki n g Mi mon
’
11 100 ‘ 0
1 pri n c e s of t he n ail (l
‘
.

h as to be brought in that n a il (01 11 103 1 1 An d wh en , .

he w ish es th at th ey (t he ki n g an d q u een ) sho ul d go away ,

t he lad has to t ak e o ff t he o il fro m his n ail (an d his for e

h ead 11 I o I I ) It is thus cl ear th at a great magica l power
, .
—
.

is ascrib e d to the n ail of t he thumb if p rep ar ed an oin ted , , ,

an d look e d at in t h e pr o p er pr e scri be d w a Th e v e ry
y ,
.

b rin gin g o f t he spirits is po s sibl e o n ly through t he n a il .

A n d it is o nl y n atur al th at this pr e sc riptio n sho ul d be

c all e d t he prin c es of t he thumb (-n ai l )
'

No w t his thumb n ail is also to b e fo un d in t he Baby

‘ ’
-
,

lo n i an magic al lit erature In Rit th e r e occurs thr ee . .

tim e s the phra s e bé l sup ur n bd nz a nn ie p 1 1 0 (b) l 3

’

. .
, , ,

p 2 1 6 l 44 an d p 2 1 8 l 2 The l ast p ass ag e l eave s n o

.
,
.
, .
, . .

doubt as to w ho m this phras e r efers n am ely to t he born , , ,

t he divin e r Why is t he barn call ed bé l sup nr a bano

’

a nn ie ? Zimme rn tran slat e s : der vo n de m di es e s Nag el ‘

,

z eich en h erriihrt an d r e marks in a fo otn ot e (p I I I n ot e b )

’
.
, ,

‘
B ez i e ht sich wohl auf e in e T afe l au f w e lch e r die An frag e ,

an das O r ak e l a ufgez eich n et w urd e u n d au f w e lch e r de r ,

B etreffen d e w ie au f den sog K o n t rakt t afeln s e i n en

, .
,

Fi n gern age l an S t e ll e e in es Namen ssi eg e ls e in druc kt e .

’

This e xplan ation is un s atisfactory Why Should the .

t abl e t be call e d fin ger n ail ? A n d even if this w e re

‘ -
’
 L ATE R J E W I SH TE X T S 29

so ,
s en s e do es it give ? It is obvious fro m t he n ot e
w h at
o f Profe ssor Z i mm ern th a t h e also fe lt t he di fficulty .

No w I h av e n o doubt th a t bé l sup n r n bd nz a n n ie is to be
’

tran sl ate d t he mast er o f t he n ail of this fin ge r an d

‘ ’

th at t he w hol e phras e is a d e sign atio n fo r the M M Why ? .

B e caus e t he bar n divi n ed by m ean s o f his fi n ger n a il in -

t h e w ay shown in th es e J e w ish t exts How i mport an t .

the n ail fun ctio n w as w e se e fro m t he fa ct th at o n p 1 1 0

-
.

The barn
’

th e barn is c all e d o n ly bé l sup nr n bd nz a nn ie .

’
divin es by look i n g at shin in g obj ects (c f b e lo w p
‘
.
,
.

Di vi ni n g by m ean s of the fin ger n ail w ith all th at belo n gs -

to it is th er efore origin ally Babylo n i an The bd r zt most

‘

prob ably us e d his own n ail But e v en had he us e d .

a boy as a m e diu m as h e n o doubt did at ti me s

, he ,

w o ul d h av e b e en c all e d bé l sup u r n bd nz a n nie as h e as

’

, ,

t he magici an had t he po w e r ove r t he na il

, It is thus .

q uit e o b vious th a t t he 101 1 0 w e r e o f B abylo n i an origi n

1 1
.

It is probabl e th at 11 10? 1 0 r epre s en te d cert ain p rin c e s

1

th at had th eir origi n in th e Babylo n i an p an th e o n an d

p erh aps adopt e d in t he cours e O f ti me in t he m in ds of ,

t he J ew ish magici an s v agu er for ms (p erh aps o f an g e ls

,

an d spirits i n g en eral ) c f also t he follo w i n g n ot e s . .

Now th er e c an be n o dou bt th at th es e 103 1 0 are 1

i n clud e d in the 111 0 1 0 men tion e d in t he T almud (se e

1

abov e pp , 111 0.
1
1 0 w as t he g en e ra l n ame for t he
variou s prin c e s i n vok e d b y mean s o f o il magic In the
‘
- .

t exts publish ed h e re w e h ave 101 1 0 =11 1 0 011 1 0 an d 1

,
1
,
1
,

It w o uld be t em pti n g t o say th at bé l supur nbotnz annie mean t t h e l or d

1
‘ '
‘

o f this fi n ger n a il an d re p resen t e d a s pi rit

- thu s b e i n g the ex act
e q uival en t o f 01
1 WW B ut in vi ew of t h e c on text (s ee e sp eci ally Rit
. .
,

p 2 1 8 l 2) thi s seems i m p os s ibl e Acc o r di n g t o t h e i n terpretati on giv e n

.
,
. .

ab ov e th e prin c es of th e fin ger n ail are of c o u rse p res upp ose d i n t h e

,
‘ -
, ,

B abyl o n i an divi n ati on as w e kn ow n ow th rough th e J e w i s h t exts w h at

, , ,

rOle t h e n a il pl ay e d i n d ivi n ati o n .

An o th er q u e sti on is w h eth er u bdnu i n the p assages in Rit mean s .

‘
fin ger gen erally or thu mb
’
Th e w ord 101 i n thi s t e x t w o uld al mos t
‘

i n dic ate th at u bdnu mean s h ere thu mb Thi s w ould s upp o rt th e theo r y
th at u bd nu mean t origi nally on ly thu mb ( cf S ch ra de r Zeitschr f A ssyrioL
‘
.
, . .
,

I pp 4 6 0
, .
 go BABYLON I AN O IL M AG I C

5
0 11 : A ll th e s e prin c es
‘
had t he g e n e r al n ame o f

100 1 0
1 .

It ote th at Rashi a ctu ally e xpl ai n s

is W orthy of
“

111 0 by 10: 1 0 On t he p ass age in S an h e d rin I o I 1

.
a

(see above p Rashi r emarks : 0 1 0 00110 0 100 1 0

,
.
1 1 1 .

1 100 1 0 1 05 100 1 511 1 50100

“
1 0 11 1 0 11 0 1
1 1 11
1
Th e 1 1

pri n c es o f O il Th ere is a kin d of m

.

agic al w o rk lit w ork

.
( .

of t he d e mo n s ) w h e re i n o n e i n q ui re s th ro ugh o il an d ,

th ey c all th em pri n ce s of o il an d th at is p rin c e s o f the

“

thumb W e see fro m this th at Rashi (e l ev en th c en tu ry )

'
kn ew of t he exist en c e o f magical work thro ugh 101 1 0 1
.

Th at Rashi was fully a c q ua in t e d w ith t he m ean in g o f

101 1 0 an d t h e d etai l s o f thos e magical p erfo rm an c es w e
"
, ,

a ls o s ee fro m a r emark in his c o mm en t ary o n S an h e dri n

67 h
C o mmen tin g on t he s ayin g o f Abayya
.

1 0 01 00 Rashi s ays : 1 1 1 01 0115 511 1 1 00 5

,
1 0 511 0 1 1 1 1
(

1 1 00 1011 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 00 1011 1 0 101 1 1 1 1 01 05 1 1 01 0 1 51 051

1 1 1 1

. 0 1 11 1 50 011 1 1 1 00 0 11 1 1 01
1
He who is p articular abo ut1 1 ‘

t he v e ss el (by me an s of w hich h e divi n es ) th at he c an n ot ,

do an ythi n g w ithout t he v ess e l th at is re q uir e d for th at

thi n g as for in stan c e t he pri n ce s of t he thu mb fo r
,
“
, ,

w hich th ey r e q ui re a k n ife t he h an dl e o f w hich is bl ack , ,

'
“
o r t he prin c e s o f t he cup th at th ey r eq uir e a c up o f
’
A k n ife t he h an dl e o f w hich is bl ack e xactly
’
gl ass .
‘
, ,

as i n our t ext " F o r t he prin c e s of th e cup see t ext 7 .

It is i nt er esti n g to see th at Rashi wh o live d mo r e th an ,

h alf a m ill en n ium b e fore the time o f t h e man usc rip t o f

this t ext us es th e s ame w ords as e mploy e d in this
,

pre scriptio n Thu mb magic is also men tio n e d by .

D Ki mbi (twelfth an d thi rt e en th c en turi es ) in his c om

.

men tary o n Ez eki el C o mmen ti n g o n Ez xxi . . .

1111 001 0 01 01 500 0 001 Ki mb i s ays : 01100 01 51 1

1 1
,
1

1 0501 1 1 1 000 0101

10
0 1 0 05 0101 101 01 1 01
1 1 1

1 01 5111 11 1 011 1 1 00 1 01 0 0 0 1 11 1 00 511 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 .
1 1

001 01 11 1 111 01 0 011 11 1 11 10 00 011 01 5 11 1 11 3 1 1 0 1011 1 0 01 1 0

1 1 1 1 1 1

.011 1 01 15 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 01 1 11 1 An d all this is o f t h e w o rk

1 1 ‘
 L ATE R J EW I SH TE X T S 3 1

of divin atio n an d t he expl an atio n o f

,
is as th at o f 0101
05 (K oh el eth X an d h e do n o t sh arp en
‘
.

t he e dg e a n d th at is th at th ey sh arp en an d polish th e

surfac e of the i r on of t he arro w u n til it is ve ry bright

an d t h e divi n ers look i n to it just a s th e y look i n t he

thu mb of t he h an d in to the n ail bec aus e of t he brightn ess

o f t h e n ail an d so th ey lo o k in t h e s w ord an d so also i n
,

t he m ir r or an d so th ey look in t he live r b e c aus e it has

brightn e ss It is cl ear fro m this p ass age th at Ki mbi
.
’

k n e w all about thu mb n ail ma gic He also t e lls us -

.

distin ctly why the n ail w a s us e d for th es e divi n atio n

purpos e s : be c aus e of its brightn e ss The n ail ha s a .

bright surfac e an d w h en w ell polish e d an d prep are d (see

,

this t e xt 1 2 ) its brightn e ss is i n creas e d an d b ecaus e of

, .
,

its brightn ess t he divi n er c an look w e ll i n t o it an d s ee

t h e sp irits The s ame r easo n appli e s to t h e oth e r o bj e cts
.

of divin atio n as iron mirror liv er o r gl ass cups an d

, , , ,

bd elliu m It is i mport an t to kn ow this as it h elps us to

.
,

expl ai n t he m ean i n g o f t he w ord ( to look at c ertain

‘
-

’
obj e cts to divi n e by looki n g at c ert a i n Obj ects see -

my articl e Di e B e d eutu n g von

‘
in the forthco mi n g
'
F es ts c hrzft in ho n our of D avid H o ffman n .

This n o te mak es it cl ear th at t he thu mb -n ail divi n ation

w hich w as c o mmo n in B abylo n i a y e ars befor e t he
co mmo n era (see fo r the d at e o f th e Ritu al T abl ets Zim
mern l c p 82 also abov e p 1 2) w as in vo gu e a m o n g J ew s
, . .
,
.
, ,
.

in t he tim e s o f the Tal mud as well a s i n t he ti me of Rashi

an d K i mhi an d w as still pr actis e d in t he s ev e n t een th c e n

tury It is still b e i n g pra ctis e d in t he O ri en t at the

.

p res en t ti me ; c f Tho mpso n PS BA 1 906 pp 84— 5 w h e r e

.
,
.
, ,
.
,

t he d e scr iptio n o f a thu mb n ail divi n atio n c e r e mo n y w i t

-

n esse d by t he w rit e r is giv en Thus we see ho w magic al .

practic es w an d e r fro m g en eration to g en eration al mos t

touch e d by the h an d of ti me Thumb n ail magic c an .
-
,

a s w e see l o ok b ack upo n a p eriod o f y ears 1

, .

1 Th e cu s to m o f l o oki n g at th e n ail s du rin g th e pray er o f H a bda lah at

t h e o utg o in g o f S abb ath ( see S h ul h an A rukh O r ah Hayyi m ch 2 98 5 3 ;
‘
.
, , ,
3 2 BABY L ON IAN O IL M AG I C
C ircle in t he earth
00111 The an d m ak e a

magical circl e was i n di sp e n s abl e as it was suppos e d t o ,

prot e ct t he m agici an from a ttacks fro m t he S pirits F o r .

d etail s ab out t he magica l circl e see Tho mpson S emi tic , ,

M agic pp lviii ff Wh at t he u se o f the circl e was w e

,
. .

c an s e e from a bl essi n g q uot e d by Tho mps on l c p lx ,

. .
, . .

A ft er r e fe rri n g to the w ork Of myste ri e s t o be b egun

t he m agici an pron oun c e d the follo w in g bl essi n g : W e
’ ‘
,

th er efore in the name s afor es aid con s e cr at e this pi e c e o f

, ,
“

grou n d for o u r d efen c e so th at n o spirit wh atso ever sh all ,

be ab l e to break t he boun d ari es n eith e r be abl e to c aus e ,

i njury n or d etri men t to an y o f us h er e ass embl e d but ,

th at th ey may be co mp e lle d to stan d b efo re this circl e

an d an swe r truly o u r d e m an ds
’
.

This prot ective circl e we a lso fin d alread y in Babylon ian

magic ; s e e Tho mpso n l o p lviii ; Cf als o Rit p 1 92 , . .
, . . .
, .
,

l 46 an d l 58 This p a ssage may be q u o te d : f l S oun d s

. . .

see a so l c ompe n diu m o n festiva l an d o th er ritu al l aw s by I saac ibn

th e
Gh ay yat— I rt h c e n tu ry pub l i s h e d by I D B am b erger F ii r th 1 86 1 2 — . .
, ,
—
,

u n der t h e titl e 000 i n h i s b oo k 0000 ” 7 9W Part I pp I 5 an d I 6 ; , , .

cf al so J Mul l er E in lei tung in die Resp onsen der baby lonischen Geonen p
. .
, , .

for w hich d i ffere n t re as on s are given ( s ee la 9 Part I p I 6 ; a l s o

“
” 1 3
1 12 1 , , .

T u r O rah H ayyi m ch
‘

m ay al s o b e c o n n ect e d w ith thi s n ail m agi c

,
.
.

Th e a tt ributi on o f m agic al p o w ers t o t h e n ail s an d t h e s up p o se d app eara n c e

o f s pi rit s i n th em m ay al s o b e t h e re a so n fo r th e o l d p ro hibiti o n o f th r ow in g

aw ay t h e p ari n g s o f t h e n ail s ( s e e Tal m ud B abli M o e d K at an 1 8 a an d ‘

, ,

Ni ddah 1 7 a) Th e “reas o n m e n ti o n e d i n t h e T al m u d i s p r o bably o n ly

.

a s e c o n d ary o n e w hich ag ain m ay b e c on n ect e d w ith t h e reaso n give n

,

h ere Th e a ccid en t t o th e pregn an t w oman (see T B l c ) w as prob ab ly

. . .
, . .

s u ppo s e d t o h av e b een c au s e d th ro u g h th e w rath o f th e pri n c es of t h e

n ail Vari ou s o ther cu st om s w ith re gard t o t h e cutti n g o f t h e n ails (as
’
.

t h e day s o n w hich a n d t h e o rde r i n w hich th e y S h o uld be cut see Jewish

E ncyc l op edi a V o l IX p 1 4 9 ) h av e p ro b ably al s o th e i r l as t c aus e i n n a il

, .
,
.

m ag ic S o may for i n s t an c e o n c e rt ai n d ays t h e cutti n g o f th e n ail s

.
, ,

h av e b een regarde d a s b e i n g l e ss h armful b ec au s e o n th os e day s th e .

n ail spi rit s m ay h ave b een s upp o s e d t o h ave l ess p ow er o f i n flictin g

-

i nju ry o n th e person Th e s ame m ay h ave appli e d to th e ord er o f the

.

n ail s t o b e cut If t h e n ail s w ere cut in a certain ord er th e d emo n s h ad

.

n o p o w e r t o d o h arm Al l thi s w o ul d t e n d t o s h o w h ow deep ro o te d

.
-

n a il mag ic w as an d w h at an i m p o rtan c e th ere w as as cr ib e d t o t h e

,

11 1 011
11 0 .
3 4 BA BY L ON IAN OI L M AGI C

of ston es lso men tion e d in Ki n g Ba bylonia n M agic

are a , ,

n o 1 2 11 1 1 — 1 3
.
,
L l 2 1 5 of th at t ext co n tai n di rectio n s
. . .
—

for v arious c ere mo ni e s an d o n e o f t he c eremo n i e s c o n ,

sists in offerin g (o r putti n g so mewh ere ) four ki n ds o f

1

st o n e s : al ab aster (“W M p a r d ta ) gold (“W ba rasa ) l apis ,

u
,

l az uli ( b n kn d ) an d a s eal
a W
ka na kka ) 2
I n t he cou rs e
, .

o f t he i n c an t atio n t h e fo llo w i n g r efe r en c e is mad e to

th e s e four ston es : kima lm p a rata na ri lim-mir i dir tam a u - -

a i a r si l 6 m bm a kn i t n a - is ti in a k
( 9) k a i li —kir
‘

-
i p .
p n a a - -

li sa k n a ri e-ma (l kima hu rd sa i li jd a fl i§ta ri jd

‘
- - - - u ~
.

li§ lima (mu) i tti jd in a p i n i§e 101 a na dami qti (ti) la a b si

‘

- . - -

ki ma i “ ka na kka ln ni is s a a limné ti p l d
s Lik e - - - -
‘

a l abast er m a
y m y light shi n e
,
m a
y I n e v e r h a v e a f fli c

tion " (1 Lik e l apis l az u li may my life be pre cious

.
-

in thy sight m ay me rcy p revail " (l Like gold may

,
.

my god an d my g o dd ess be at p eac e w ith me "(1 In .

t h e m outh o f t he p e opl e may I be bl ess e d " (l 3

Lik e .

a s ea l ma
y my e vil d e e ds be tor n away " (1 An oth e r
4

r e fe ren ce to th es e ston e s is mad e in l 1 04 p . .

W e thus s ee th at to th es e four sto n e s a c ertain magic al

po wer is ascrib ed No doubt t h e four s mooth sto n es in .

o u r t ext st an d in so m e co n n e xio n w ith t he four ston es in

t he Babylo n i an i n c an tatio n V ari o us kin ds of sto n es are .

also men ti o n e d tog e th e r w ith O il ho n ey an d butt e r i n , , ,

,

Rit p 1 3 8 li n es 2 4 as n e c e ss ary in gr edi en ts fo r t he

.
,
.
,
—
,

c er emon y of the asip a ; c f a lso p 1 1 2 l 1 2 an d p 1 1 6 . .

, .
,
.
,

S to n e s were thus us e d in magic in B abylo n i a at

a v e ry early p eriod .

Lin e 4 0000 1 111 11 be for e t he pill ar of t he sun

.
‘ ’

The e xpr essio n of 0000 1 11 13 was n o doubt forme d aft er t he -

1
Me an i n g n ot clear 2 Cf K in g l c
p 60
. .
, . .
, . .

3
C f B i t p 1 26 l 1 2
.
, .
, . .

My t ran s lati on o f th e se five li n es differs in parts from that of Mr K i n g .

( cf 1 c p
. . Li n es 7 1 2 g ive I thi n k a s ati sfactory sen s e acc ordi n g
.
, .
—
, ,

t o m y ren deri n g : h i s go d an d g o ddess m ay b e at p eac e w ith h i m an d th e

,

p eop le may bles s th emselves w ith h im ; cf Prov iii 4 1 10 53 221 10 03 01 . . .

. 01 01 01 050 1 1 1 111
 LA TE R J EW I SH T E X T S 3 5

phras e 1 000 1 103 1 t h e pill ar o f the morn i n g d awn w hich -

o ccurs in t he Mish n a i n st e ad o f 1 00 of th e first Mish n a

( .

o f B erac h o t wh e r e 1 000 1 111 17 O ccurs fi

, ve ti me s w ith t h e —

verb 0511 an d has t h e s am e m e an i n g as 1 00 : t he d awn

o f t he m o r n i n g
(s e e L e vy N H W pt 3 p
’
As , .
,
.
, .

1 000 1 109 st an ds for 1 00 so h e r e 0000 1 11 17 st an ds fo r

000 0000 1 111 11

.
thus c ertai n ly means be fore t he ris e 1 ‘

o f t he s un Fro m this we see th at t he c eremo n y ha d

’
.

to be p erformed e arly in t he morn i n g b efor e sun ris e .

Exactly as in the B abylo n i an divi n atio n I n Ri t w e r e ad . .

s e v eral times that t he various offeri n gs which w er e a p art ,

o f t he divi n atio n c e r e mo n y h ad to be o ffer e d an d t he ,

va rious oth er pr ep aration s had to be mad e b efore t he ris e

o f t he s un ; c f B i t p 1 00 l 6 9 f : a ra d-ka p a lp n l c? )
. . . .
, ,
'
ina i l Sa ma s sa-a i-ta ri n ige liq qi i erina lis éi ma a n a
‘

- - s - -

ma ka r fl Sama s liz z iz ( z iz ) Thy s erv an t s o an d so sh all - ‘

- -

offe r an offe ri n g in the morn i n g hour, sh all t ak e t h e -

c e d ar wood an d st an d b efor e Samas C f also 1 55 ; also

- . .

p 1 02 l 1 0 1 (an d see H un ge r l c p
.
,
. an d p 1 04 l 1 2 7 , . .
,
. .
,
. .

On p 1 1 2 l 3 w e r ead th a t t he divi n er has to wash him

.
, .

s elf at t he d awn of t he m orn i n g b efo re t he sun ris e s .

C f also p 1 3 0 1 3 3 ff , p 1 42 l 1 9 an d p 1 06 l 4 C f
. .
,
. . .
, .
,
.
,
. . .

also H u n g er l c p 1 0 an d p 1 5 S ee also my articl e

, . .
,
. . .

B al aam — a Babylo n i an bara in Hilp rec ht A n nivers a ry ’

Vo lume p 6 1 f S O h e r e ag ai n w e h av e en ti rely t he
, . .

Babylo n ian me thod .

1 1 0 1 10011
oi n t his n a il an d
1 01101 11 1 1 1 0 0001
‘
an d an

his for eh ead w ith pur e olive o il S e e n ot e o n 101 1 0 -

’
.
1
,

an d o f also for t he an oin tin g o f t h e for eh ea d abov e p I I

.
, . .

Li n e 5 11 1 0111 000 001 11 101 0050

.
’
an d thou sh a lt

w hisp er i n to his ear this sp e ll & c The sp ell c o n sists of

’
.
,

ve rs es fro m J ere mi ah an d Ps al m s Th e Babylo n i an sor .

c e r er too us e d hy mn s an d ps al m s as sp ells c f e g Ri t
, ,
.
,
. .
,

p 1 26 an d p assi m an d Ki n g l c p assi m A n d in t he
.
, , ,
. .
,
.

Babylo ni an t abl ets t oo are ofte n o nly t he first li n e s of thos e , ,

11 1517 o 0011 i s p h ap t o b s upplem n t d ft

1
r 3 95 er s e e e a er
”
.

C 2
3 6 BABY L ON I AN OI L M AG I C

pray ers q uot ed ; c f e g Bit , p 1 24 l 22 ; p 1 26 l 3 8 if ; .

,
. .
,
. .
,
. .
, .

p 1 66 l 1 5 an d p assi m S ee als o B it p 9 1
.
, .
,
It is . .
, . .

i n t er e sti n g to n ot e th at t he J ews did n ot tak e o ver t he

magical pray ers fro m the Babylon i an s This would h av e .

cl early b een again st th e ir mo n o th e i s m an d th ey subst i ,

t u t e d th e ir o wn ps al ms an d hymn s Th ey could adopt th e .

obscur e magical c eremo n i es an d for mulae of the real ,

eligious ) m ean i n g o f w hich th ey w e r e n o t q uit e c on

(r
scious But th ey cou l d n ot pla in ly w orship Samas an d
.

Marduk ; see also t he follo w i n g n ot e For full er n ot e s .

o n th e u se o f ps al ms as sp ells se e b elo w, p 4 1 f . .

The root 005 is also us e d in Babylo n i an magic ; see

B it p 3 9 f
.
, . .

Li n es 7 8 0 517:
-
01
0 011 1.0050 51
for the sak e
3 03 1 01
0

O f t he sea a n d fo r t h e s ak e o f t h e thr e e
lights th at are
in t he un ivers e This is a v ery in tere sti n g li n e Wh at .

is the an d w h at are th e 011 1 005 0 Th ere c an be n o

doubt th at 11 11 r epre s en ts Ea who plays a gr eat rOle in ,

B abylo n i an magic ; see Bit p 98 l 4 2 ; p 1 58 l 4 ; .

,
.
, . .
,
.

p 1 6 0 l 4 an d p assim The barn kn o w l edge is call e d

.
,
.
,
.
-

n is ir ti A n im B el n Ea
’
t he s e cr e t o f A n u B el an d Ea , ,

(s e e B it p Wh ereve r Ea is men tio n e d toge th e r w ith

.
, .

Samas an d Marduk E a is men tion ed in t he first pl ac e ;

‘

see Bi t , p 1 8 l an d p 1 6 0 l an d l Cf also
5 4. .
4 13 ,
.
, .
,
. . . .

Sa rp n in Zi mmern s Beitr z K enn tn is cl ba b Religio n ’

. . . .
,

p 8 l 1 49 : l E a lip ta r §dr ap se E a may s o lv e t he

.
, .
l - - ‘
,

ki n g of t he o c ean ; an d l 1 50 : ap sa lip ta r bi t n imeki ’ ‘

-
.

‘
th e oc ean may solve t he hous e of w isdo m E a w as t he ,

god of t he d eep s ea An d i n stea d o f s ayi n g Ea t he J ew s .

s aid t he s ea The r ea l m e an i n g o f it was as it w er e

’
.
, , ,

m ad e O bscure 0 0 is th ere for e E a .

1
.

11 11 1 0050 n o doubt r epr es e n t t h e

’
Th e thr e e lights ‘
, ,

thr ee B abyl o n i an gods S in (the m o o n ) Samas (t he sun ) , , ,

an d Marduk also t h e su n
( )
1
S a m as an d M arduk pl ay e d .

a gr eat rOle in Babyl o n i an magic ; s ee B it p assi m .

,
.

1
S ee K A TJ‘ , p .
3 70 .
 L ATE R J E W I SH TE X T S 3 7

A n d S in is also foun d in C o n n exi on w ith magical c ere

mo n i es an d p rayers ; c f e g B i t p 1 28 l 1 p 1 40 1 I O .
,
. .
,
.
,
.
,
. .
, . .

S in is also c all e d bé l p n rass é the lo rd of t he d e cisi o n of

t he oracl e s ee K A T
3
p 3 6 2 S o w e h av e in this t ext .
,
. .
,

n a disguis e d fo rm
i four B abylo ni an gods : E a S in , , ,

S amas an d Marduk , Cf B i t p 1 40 ll I O I I w h ere . . .

, .
, .
—
,

th e s e four gods are men tio n e d in t h e s ame ord e r o n ly ,

with the additio n of A dad b efor e Marduk .

Li n e 8 Mi mo n n o doubt th e n am e o f a pri n cip al

.
,

‘
spirit p erh aps also r epres en ts so me Babylo n i an d e ity
’
,
.

H is q u een remin ds us of A a t he co n sort of Samas (se e

‘
-
,

H is t wo s e rvan ts r emi n d us o f
’
B it p 1 02 l
.
, .
, .
‘

Bun en e t he mess e n g e r (snkka l) of Samas an d A a (i bid

,
-

The li n es which foll ow an d in which w e r ead of t he ,

sl aught ern o f t wo l ambs an d of pr ep ari n g th em o f ,

bri n gin g thr ee cups (of w i n e o f pl a ci n g a t ab l e i n t he

slaught er hous e an d of i n vitin g th em (the gods ) to e at

-
,
’

an d to dri n k h ave th e ir striki n g p arall els in t he Baby

,

lon i an divi n ation ritu al Cf Bi t pp 98 1 1 0 an d p assi m . .

, .
—
,
.

Th e r e w e h ave t he s ame c e re mo n i e s w ith much full er

d etails The follow i n g p ass age m ay be q uot e d ina ba ln
.
-

m “ma bare a sa r di n i la i te i h t i i erin a

g i s ti n ka t r i e ar - -
Z - - - - - s

la i na §§i ( §i) ta mi t p i r i§ ti n l i ta ma sa Without gift

- - - - - - - .
‘

an d o f feri n g th e divi n e r sh all n o t co me n ea r t he pl ac e of

judg emen t (oth er w is e) th ey do n ot an n oun c e to him t he
,

s e cr e t utt e r an c e
(p 1 04 11 1 1 7 Al l thos e o fferi n gs
’
. .
,

were th e r e fo re a n e c e ss ary p art o f t he c e r emo n y wh e th e r ,

p rforme d by the Babylon i an bard or the J e wish divi n er

e
1
.

Lin e I I . doubt t he bo ok
01111 00 1 00 w as no in which
a ll t he magic al pr escriptio n s w e r e c o n t ai n e d .

Li n e s 1 2 1 3 H ere w e s ee aga i n th at t he oil

—
. was the
pri n cip al e l emen t in t he divi n atio n c e r emo n y . Wh en
1 F or E gypti an p a all e l s s ee G i ffith an d Th omp so n
r r , op. cit p .
, .
3 1 an d

P 3 3 .
3 8 BABY L ON I AN OIL M AG I C

t he o il w as re mov e d
pirits l eft Without t he all the S .

o il n o reflec tio n n o s ee i n g divin i n g

‘ ‘ ’ ‘
no ,

Lin es 1 3 1 4 0 1 110 0050 three ti me s The n u mb e r

.
1 ‘ ’
.

three was v ery i mport an t in Babylon i an magic ; c f e g .

,
. .
,

B i t , p 1 7 0 n o 56 l 4 ff an d p assim
. .
, .
,
. .
,
.

’
Li n e 1 4 11 11 0 11 000 th at th e y sh all tell the truth
.
‘

Cf Bit p 1 04 l 1 26
. .
,
.
,
. .

T E XT 2 .

This text is si mil ar to n o I O n ly in this t ext t he . .

divi n ation is don e through the =11 1 0 i n st ead of the 1

103 1 0
1 The o il is th erefor e put on t he h an d
. .

Lin e 1 F or t he r eason o f t akin g a s mall boy or girl

.

for divi n atio n purpos es see Hallid ay, Greek Divina ti on , ,

p 1 6 1 Th e re c an be n o doubt th at the in n oc en c e an d
. .

'
purity o f t he child we r e suppos e d to make him o r her
a m or e e ffe ctiv e me diu m I n t h e pr egn an t wo man it .

was n o doubt t he un born child th at was t he mai n

fa ctor .

Li n es 3 — 5 C f B it p 1 7 0 11 1 2 1 3 : a na libbi nz né
. . .
, .
,
.
— -

imni §a n s a meli sa I I I —ta a a n tn la Z L Z In t o his ears

‘

- - - - -
i as - .

to his right an d his l eft thr ee ti mes thou sh alt w hisp er .

’

Li n e 4 The n ame s us e d h e re as W e ll as t he n ame s in

.
,

l 9 are di ffi
.
, cult to e xplai n F or a fairly full discussion .

o f this ki n d o f magic a l n ame s see n o w J ame s A .

Mon tgomery A rama ic I n c a nta tion Tex ts from N ipp ur

, ,

pp 57 ff

TE XT 3 .

Li n e 2 I n this text it is pr escrib e d th at the l eft h an d

.

should be an o i n t e d with oil I n n o 4 l 2 w e r ea d th at . .

, .

t he right h an d should be an o i n t e d w ith o i l In n o 2 . .

,

l I it is o n ly s aid th e han d of t he boy

.
,
‘

'

Lin es 3 — 4 This li n e is i n t ere sti n g as it shows th at

.
,

magical po wer was o n ly in the an oi n te d pl ac e .

 L ATE R J EW I SH TE X T S 39

T E XT 4 .

Li n es 4 7 , , 1 4 . S ee bov e n ot e on n o 2 l 4
a , .
,
. .

Li n e s 5 6
—
. Cf . Ki n g Ba bylo nia n JII a gic p
, ,
. 1 1 6 :

in a kisadi-su

T E XT 5 .

Li n e 3 The s eiz i n g of th e h an d w as i mp o rt an t i n
.

magic ; cf Ki n g l c p 55 : (cat mé l ma rsi s n bu t ma

.
,
. .
,
.
a -

‘
s e i z e the h an d of the sick p e rs o n (an d re cit e th at in c an
t atio n ) .

TE XT 6 .

Lin e
7 . 1 01 1 by sight
1 0 001 01 10 1 11 1 1
‘
by sp eech or

A p ass age fro m Ros e n mii ller Das alt e

’
o r by w ritin g
‘
.
,

u n d n eu e Mo rg en l an d q uot e d by H un g e r O p cit p
’

4 is of , ,
. .
, .
,

i n t erest for this lin e S p eaki n g of cup divin atio n by t he .

-

Persi an s Ro s en miiller s ays th at through th e a dj uratio n s

,

t he divi n e r co mp e ll e d t h e d em o n s to give an an s we r e ith e r

through an audib l e voic e or t h rough t he co n st ell atio n o f
t he sign s o n t he littl e ston es o r through the i mag e s of t he
p erso n s co n c e rn i n g w ho m t he in q uiry was ma d e This .

th re efo ld answ er w e h av e u n doubt e dly h ere in 1 11 1 ,

001 11 an d 1 01 C f also H un g er O p cit p 5 botto m

. .
,
. .
,
.
, .

Li n e s 2 1 22 H ere we se e agai n disti n ctly th at the

—
.

c eremo n y had to t ak e pl ac e o n a favourabl e an d bright

day .

T E XT 7 .

I n this t ext the divi n atio n is do n e through t he 011 1 0 1

,

an d th e re for e t he cup has to be a n oi n t e d with o il A .

c an dl e o f w ax is also us ed I n st ead of o n e boy t w o boys .

are e mploy e d In t ere sti n g is also t he phras e 011 1 0

.
1

; 0 0 001
1 0 51 1
1
1 00001 1 005111
1
011 0 511 0 1 1000 o f above 1
.
,

p 29 f
. .

T E XT 8 .

I n this t ext w e h av e divin atio n th rough t he v arious

formati o n s of t he oil wh en pour e d o n w at er Most .

striki n g p arall els to this t ext are to be fou n d in the

40 BABY L ON IAN O IL M AG I C

t wo O ld t exts publish e d by Hun g er in his

B abylo n i an
B ec herwa hrsagnng (pp 3 8 I n the B abylo n i an t exts
.

so m eti mes o il is pour e d o n wa t er an d some ti me s wat e r

o n o il : of l c p 1 8 F o r very clos e p ar al l e ls of
. . .
, . .
,
.

e s p e ci a lly A 3 2 6 (p an d 2 (p
—
an d B 1 0 1
7
—
.
4 .

pp r t w o p arag raphs m a
( 4.8 O n e o y be q uote d .

A 3 4 : sa mna m me-e i-n a n a -di-e-ka ip -ra -a s -ma i-tn-w r f

a ve la m li im ra a s li i s ta n i il
y i ba la n ol If t he O il
‘
- - - - - - - - - - - - .
,

w h en y o u pour w ater o n it breaks through an d a gaiii ,

g o es up t he p erson be h e ill an d m ay he sigh will

, , ,
’
r e co ver .

A 72 : samna m me—e i n a na -oli -ka id-ba ma r z nm - -

i m If the O il w h en yo u pour wat er on it, si n ks

‘
- a-a t .
,

(to t he botto m o f t he cup ) t he sick p erson w ill die .

’

B 10 : sa mn am a -n a me-e i -n a n a -oli-i a i ol-ba i -si-iol

ka -z i-im is -ba -a t-ma a la i -li-a -a m ma r-s um i -ma -
at

nmman p l a -n a ba rranim i l-li-kn-n n-n l i-tn -nr -ra -a m .

‘
If the o il , w h en
I pour it on w at e r sin ks do wn s e i z es , ,

t he botto m of t h e cup and do es n o t go up (agai n ) t he ,

sick p erson will die ; the troops who h av e go n e in the

c amp aign w ill n ot r eturn .
’

I n B 1 0 w e h av e , e xa ctly as in our text divi n atio n ,

through pouri n g o il o n wat er an d through obs e rvi n g

w h e th e r it sin ks t o t he botto m without goi n g up aga i n ,

or ris e s agai n to t he surfac e F or the sticki n g toge th er .

of the o il drops (01 0 00 - B 1 4 is i n te r estin g

1 .

In an y c as e our t ext pre s en ts a striki n g e x ampl e of t he

lon gevity of Babylo n i an sup erstiti o n It r eads al most .

like a p aragraph fr o m t he O ld Babylo n i an oil divi natio n -

t e xts tran sl at e d i n to H ebre w .

TE XT 9 .

In this t ext we h av e an othe r form o f divi natio n by

mean s o f Oil The result d ep e n d e d upon w h eth er t he
.

fa c e could or could n ot be s een in t he o il H o n ey (1 3 if ) . . .

also pl ay e d a rOl e in Babylo n i an magic see Bi t assim ;

p , .
,

see also ab ov e p
3 4 , .
,
4 2 BAB" L ON I AN O IL M AG I C

Samaé in S choll meye r , S umerisch -babylo n isch e Hymn en

un d G eb e te an Samas (in S tndie n z ur Gesc hic hte a nd
K n ltn r des A ltertu ms Pa d e rbo rn
, an d s ee ibid
,
.
,

p 26 S e e a lso S chm idt G e dan k en iiber die En t w ic k

. .
‘
,

lun g der Re ligio n au f G run d der babyl o n isch en Q ue ll en

(in M i ttei lu n en der Vo rderasi a tis c hen Ges ellsc ha t 1
g f 91 1 , ,

H eft p 88 : D en n e s ist k e in e ve re in z elt e E rsc h e i

.
‘

n u ng d a ss e in e Hymn e w ie e i n e B esc t
, run g b e tr acht e t

w ird fan g en die babyl o n isch en Hymn en doch n u r z u

,
'
o ft m it Sip ta Bes c hW Orun g) an u n d werd en iiberhaupt
ganz wie an d ere B es c t run gen g ebraucht The diffe r .
’

e n c e w hich S ch midt m ak e s be t w een B abylo n i an an d

S u meri an hy mn s c an n ot be mai n t ain e d ; s ee about
S umeri an in can tation s i bid pp 92 1 04 W e thus see
, .
,
.
—
.

that the u se o f p s al ms an d hym n s fo r magic al purpos e s

w as an o ld Ba byl o n i an p ractic e w hich t h e J ew s n o d o ub t
t o ok ove r fro m the Babylon ian s togethe r w ith t h e re st
o f the magic . The S e m itic B abylo n i an s i n h erite d this
custo m as well as m ost o f th e i r sup erstitio n s fro m t he
S umeri an s who we r e the fath e rs o f all sup e rstitio n an d
magic in t he an ci en t C ivili z e d w o rld an d whos e i n flu en c e
is still fe lt amo n g t he n atio n s o f Euro pe .